We brought the Picton Castle into Port Ouest on the NW coast of La Reunion after 31 days at sea from Bali. Mostly an excellent passage too. A few days of motoring at the end to get in ahead of nasty weather. Once moored it blew pretty hard outside over the next couple of days. Happy to be snug alongside in a protected basin.
It is plenty hot here under the tropic sun on the lee windless side of this big island. So it goes. Reunion is a remarkable place in so many ways and the crew were about to learn all this. But there is of course much the ship needs to attend to as well.
Food shopping: My goodness they have the finest supermarkets I have ever seen anywhere in the world. Donald is in his element. The fresh produce outdoor markets are every ‘”farmers market” model too, with big piles of mangoes, potatoes, pineapple, pumpkins, onions and so much more.
Medical shopping: Tahlia and Dirk renew supplies here easily. Engine room shopping and deck shopping not bad although we need little. Collecting for our shop and chandlery is good here. Tammy and helpers got all kinds of nice basketry made in nearby Madagascar.
Ship’s work has included setting up the rigging, or “tuning” or “tensioning” the rig. This is about making all the shrouds and backstays tight enough. Needs to be done now and then. Ticketyboo now. Painting the topsides and waterline. Oiling the decks, so good for them. Various painting and varnishing projects. The new jib got a second layout and is now ready to finish – and we found a local sewing machine wizard/guru to expel the demons from our big Singer. And of course, always watching the weather forecasts.
They sure have a lot of cars here. Cars everywhere, all the time. On the roads anyway. Not sure it’s true, but we were told that there are 500,000 cars for a population just over a million.
Any number of fine little cafes with excellent cuisine AND the best coffee and French bread.
No doubt crew have been up to the volcano craters, the sweet little villages in the cool mountains. Not much beach swimming due to sharks hereabouts.
Soon, we will shift berths to take on fuel and then head out and set sail for Cape Town, South Africa. One odd thing is that they require two days’ notice before sailing.
This weekend we have broken the crew up into two watches and each watch will take one day as a “training day.” A refresher in training; sail handling, bracing, boat handling, emergency drills and safety gear. Mix it up so all can perform all roles well. Including immersion suits as we will be heading past 35 degrees latitude as we round the Cape of Good Hope and into colder waters before we are back in warmer waters again. Practice is good in nice conditions we have. Even the Rolling Stones practice and rehearse, don’t they? Good for a sailing ship’s crew as well. Build on their many months of seagoing experience. It is good to take a strong gang and make them stronger. Good to do.
