March 19, 2007 - Maldives to Oman, Day 8
by George & Merima

Hi Everyone:

Sunday was a relaxing day spent enjoying a fast beam reach and watching the miles wind down in anticipation of landfall in Salalah today. We were in 9's and 10's and Merima set the day's speed record on the helm with a 10.7, while maintaining our course, of course.

Completely contrary to the weather forecast, we've had a fresh southwesterly for the last couple of days which has kept us moving along while giving the engine a rest. The only bad news is that we've been plagued by a 1- to 1.5-knot countercurrent.

George with yellowfin.

Just before sunset yesterday, we continued our fishing rally by landing a 15-pound yellowfin tuna. Merima cooked up half of one of the huge fillets and the rest went into the freezer.

Last night we had our first encounter with drift net fishermen. They were able to communicate clearly where THEY were, but couldn't seem to answer when asked how far out their nets extended. We stayed well clear and made it past with no dramas. We were happy to be past that bit, as there was no moon last night and it was as dark as inside a cow.

This morning we saw our first raindrops in quite some time. Not enough to give the decks a wash, but the 100% cloud cover is keeping things cool.

At 1140 hours Land Ho was called when we spotted some low-lying land to the north of Salalah on the coast of Oman, from about 10 miles offshore.

We arrived in Port Salalah at 1345 hours, completing the 1371-nautical-mile passage in 8 days, 5-3/4 hours, for an average speed made good on the best possible course of just under 7 knots. This was the worst passage speed we've had in years, mainly due to the light winds and countercurrents - but with great company, good food and pleasant weather, it has certainly been one of the most enjoyable. We're all looking forward to a post-sail rum (or two) this evening at sundown.

Cheers, George, Merima, Kurt and Tim