All's Swell

Sri Lanka to Maldives - Day 4

The search for the elusive perfect sail continues.

We knew that the majority of this passage would have insufficient wind, but we’re not in a massive rush, and so were content to sail slowly as much as possible, rather than burn fuel and money with the engine.

Eventually 36 hours ago the swell became more powerful than the propulsion provided by the sails, and the booms started rocking back and forward, collapsing the sail with each movement, before a loud bang would signal the end of the boom’s travel and the sail would snap to attention.

A couple of hours of that was enough, and the sail came down and the engine went on.

It made for a less peaceful day yesterday, but we could console ourselves with the thought that we were making good progress, and it also meant that it was easy to spend time in the galley cooking. So I prepared Chicken and Leek risotto for dinner, and reminded myself in the process how much fun it is to cook a proper meal when you’re hundreds of miles from land in every direction.

No sooner had dinner finished though, when a mystery half metre swell appeared on our beam, and since that moment, Steely has been rocking violently from side to side. It’s been 12 hours now, and no fun at all.

It’s a mystery because swell is the remnants of sustained medium to heavy wind, of which there’s been none in this area for a couple of weeks. It may be something to do with the topography of the seabed here, or it may just be the universe reminding us that there’s no such thing as a free lunch (or risotto dinner).

At our current rate it’s 35 hours of motoring to get to Uligan, the most northerly port of entry in The Maldives. If this swell doesn’t abate, they’re going to roll by (see what I did there) VERY slowly!