Six months ago I was standing on the dock at the V&A Marina in Cape Town, South Africa. It was time to fly home to Sweden, after another amazing trip with Delos and her fantastic crew.
Indian Ocean
For as long as I can remember, traveling and cruising has been a constant background to everything that has happened in my life. I grew up in Sweden, hearing my parents dream of their next sailing adventure, and seeing the hard work they put in to make it come true.
Part 1 (South Africa: Before the Passage)
Many people envision the cuisine on a boat as not much more than eating cold baked beans out of the can and rationing out water and moldy pieces of bread.
But not on Delos!
Never having had a case of sea sickness during my many voyages, totaling around 8000nm, I was extremely surprised when I started feeling waves of queasiness almost as soon as St Francis Bay disappeared behind the horizon on our trip from South Africa to Reunion Island.
“So, when are you guys headed to the Caribbean?”, Behan asked. My face tried to show that I’d never been asked that question before but in fact it was probably the 50th time that week.
It was this time just about a year ago. Delos was in Thailand and we were preparing to cross the Indian Ocean. There are lots of stories about this immense body of water floating in the cruising community.
It’s time to make a turn. A turn for good hope.
Once again I am back as “The Sailing Mum” on Delos and have the fantastic opportunity to be a part of her great crew. This time we are going to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
There have been many books along this amazing journey.
Some I read before sailing, and some while out here. I’ve gotten something from the list below and hope that by sharing it you will as well. I really hope you enjoy this list and please feel free to comment with your favs as well.
As it was just thanksgiving in ‘Murica I couldn’t help but think about the interesting holiday and what it really means…Well, right now I am sitting in a car driving through Botswana.
~ This blog is intended to explain some of the reasons behind my decision to transition from the ocean to the land. To transition from Delos to New Zealand to simultaneously harmonize land based editing for Delos and to continue on my own path with Ramatree ~
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014. The Next day I woke up, looked up, smiled big, breathed deep, tossed the covers, and sat up. I look up, look down; my feet are on the ground.
How did I get to crew on Delos?
So….. I guess it all started one glum morning, where I was feeling a little down. Looking back it started like any other morning, except for one disappointing difference. It was one of those “woke up on the wrong side of the bed “mornings.
We left Cocos (keeling) at 2:35 June 22nd, we were all in high spirits and the air was alive with excitement and anticipation for our 1500 NM long passage across a big chunk of the Indian ocean, our destination Chagos.
In the morning you see him with a cup of water sitting up on deck staring out at the open sea. Sometimes up at the bow meditating, with his headphones in. In a good anchorage he takes the paddleboard out for a ride to explore our new home and he can be away for hours.
Well, to be honest I didn’t know much at all before I arrived in Langkawi, Malaysia, to meet up with the Delos crew who at that point was Brian and Karin. Me and my girlfriend Frida were probably as blank as a page can be when it comes to boats and sailing.
Tossing and turning throughout the night, it didn’t seem like I got much sleep at all. I remember waking up in the middle of the night really frustrated. All I wanted was to sleep. Or even a bed that was still.
It was the most peaceful night. The wind was nice and easy under 10 knots from the ESE, and we were cruising along under the full moon being rocked up and down by the big, gentle southerly swell.