Year 2- 7th October 2025 –Trip to Bawean -Java Sea – The Blue Baron flies

After our shift ended at 8.00pm I went to bed as Steve and I had the red eye slot – 2.00am-5.00am. At about 9pm, Mark woke me as there was a tanker bearing down on us and he had called them on the radio and they had failed to answer. We put the sail away quickly and motored out of the way and let it pass. I wondered whether anyone was awake on board – a scary thought.

 Steve and I were on watch at 2.00am. We were still sailing when we took over and had been since we first put up the sails which was good. It was not strong but quiet and gentle. The moon was out and providing good visibility. The watch was uneventful other than we also had a tanker bearing down on us and again they did not answer the radio. We altered course by 20 degrees and kept out of the way. Toward the end of our shift we gybed and headed toward Bawean, our destination. There were also a number of fishing boats we had to dodge. Mark and Ruth took over from us and I went to bed.

 I woke about 9.20am and the crew were making breakfast which was handy. It was a lovely day and already quite hot. We were still sailing with the genoa. I decided that we should try the Blue Baron again as I had the crew to help sail it. The Blue Baron is the parasail which flies at the bow like a sort of spinnaker and which has a parachute slot in its centre. It takes quite a lot of work to set it up but once flying properly the boat sails well and in light winds.

 I had to get out the block which goes on the prodder at the front. The two tack lines go through it and back to the cockpit. The sheets attach to the sail and come back outside everything to blocks on the deck and also back to the cockpit. We had to get the sail out of the forepeak and laid it on the deck to ensure that it was not twisted. I chatted through what we were going to do and ran through all the lines to ensure they ran the right way and were not under or around the wrong thing. We then lifted it with one of the halyards and we were going to fly it on a starboard tack so on the port side.

 When we were ready we lifted the sail on the halyard and then pulled the snuffer and up she flew. We were not quick enough to pull in the sheet and initially it twisted but I was able to pull out the twist and she was flying quite nicely with a little adjustment and we had to adjust a few sheets. We were doing about 5-6 kts in about 7-8 kts of wind. We continued sailing for a while and then unfortunately the wind died again so we had to snuff the parasail and get it down and on to the deck which went well. We then laid it on the deck and tied it to the rail on the port side and tidied up the lines. It had been good to sail it again and hopefully we will do so again soon. See the picture of the day.

 The afternoon continued and Ruth had made a loaf of bread and Janet had made some Hummus and we had both for lunch with carrots and cheese followed by fruit. As the afternoon wore on the wind increased but it more on the nose so we put up the genoa and staysail as the angle was right and we sailed nicely about 5-6 kts in a flat sea. There were a number of colourful fishing boats around and we waived at them and they waived back.     

 We did our shifts, rested and chilled and it was very hot. We all felt with the parasail that we had had a bit of a workout. By about 5.00pm as it was getting dark the wind died again and we were back on the engine. The sunset was wonderful as the sun became very pink and then ruby red as it disappeared over the horizon. The moon appeared and I read that today’s moon is the first supermoon since November 2024. A supermoon is 13% bigger and 30% brighter. Janet cooked a good chicken curry and as I wrote this we are settling down to another night. The moon is shining on the water and there are lots of fads and fishing boats about so we needed to keep a good lookout. I am hoping the wind will come back and the forecast suggests this may be at 11.00pm so we shall see.

It had been a good day at sea and we have made progress and had more experience with the parasail.     

 The picture of the day is the parasail flying.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com