Mauritius - Laurence

G'day to all,

It almost seems like a blur, yet during my time in Mauritius so much was accomplished and many new friends and sincere fellow sailors took a part of Zac's dream and excitment in his quest to be the youngest to solo cicumnavigate the world.

I set off with the boom tied to the top of the station wagon. It looked quite a spectical racing through LA traffic with this just over 13 ft of carefully wrapped boom strapped to the top with a little red onesie (complements of Ben) that acted as my flag for carrying cargo that sticks out over three feet behind. The ordeal of dropping the boom at British Airways cargo terminal took a little longer than anticipated but big thanks to Tim Blofeld from Midex who jumped on board and took care of all the complicated shipping details.

The trip to the UK went well and Jen was priviledged to visit a unique part of England not normally on the tourist route of overseas visitors. Lymington in Hampshire is truly one of those rare gems, on the edge of the New Forest on the coast. This is where I had the privelidge of being raised. It was a two day vist that proved to be more necessary than originally planned. Zac grandmother's bithday was a few days before we arrived. That needed to be celabrated. It was also a year since Zac's grandfather passed away. It was appropriate to celebrate his life with my step mother for it was through dad that I and in turn, Zac, inherited the passion for the ocean .

A quick call to the US to check on the family revealed what Zac had discovered at Rodrigues Island. Zac needed a new forstay and roller furling system. Fortunately, southern England is the sailing mecca that it is. Even so, I had to move quickly in order to execute the request. Nick Cox from Ocean Rigging was able to furnish the forstay, stay lock fittings and turnbukle but the roller furler proved a little more challenging. IMP were listed as the importers for Schaefer furling systems. I called Fred Cook from Shaefer Marine who furnished the 2100 fuller system at no charge. A huge thanks for their support. It did involve a drive halfway across the country which I was accompanied by Mum, Tom (stepfather) and Becky(neice). I think they were a little concerned whether I would stay awake for the drive. Jenn spent time photographing the local area of Lymington with Laura (stepmum) checkout Jens blog to see some of the photos. http://jennedney.blogspot.com/

The trip to the UK was short and sweet but we were on a mission and it was all too soon time to say our goodbyes and head for Heathrow Airport to catch a flight to Dubai and on to Mauritius. However we were quite loaded up with additional luggage: a furlling system is hardly somthing you tuck under your arm and go skipping through the terminals with. Oh no, spectacle number 2. We tried to off load much of our additional luggage at one of the many cargo shipping companies. When I was quoted an astronomical price, I tried to explain that I didn't want to buy the air plane, I just wanted to transport excess luggage. I knew time was running out for our departure but thought we'd try our luck with the airline we were traveling with. This proved to be the better deal by far. As we struggled with our excess luggage to the check in counter we were greeted with the you've-got-to-be-joking look. When I assured the young lady I was being quite serious she was actually rather helpful. We did not see all thatexcess luggage again until we arrived in Mauritius.

We arrived 2 days before Zac which gave me time to scope out the situation and put us in the best vantage point to achieve the goal of fixing Zac's yacht. Zac arrived at 9:30am Wednesday tired from two nights with no sleep. He pulled in to the usual reception of TV and newspaper reporters which he handles well and of course the usual formalities with customs and immigration, etc., etc. It was good to see him. He had been through a lot since I had last seen him in Darwin. A quick survey of his yacht allowed me to evaluate the extent of what Zac had been through. He had done very well to save the rig and stabilize the forstay in the adverse conditions that he had faced only days before. After dealing with the media and formalities he moved Intrepid to the La Seffren Hotel Marina where we waited for the boom to be delivered. This kept on being delayed but Phil, the manager, very kindly took us to lunch. Later in the afternoon the boom showed up with a shipping agent just to make sure it was going on a boat in transit and thus avoid paying duty.

It was decided that we should have the boat moved to Grand Baie 15 miles up the coast. Port Louis seemed to be very hustle bustle and quite congested which would only hinder progress. Zac was in agrement and after a much needed night's rest it, was agreed to move Intrepid the following day. Zac dropped the hook right in front of the Grand Baie Yacht Club where we had made contact with one of the best connected sailors, Michele DuVille. They were excited to have Zac there and eager to help. We were made to feel like family. Mauritius is a very beautiful place which reminds very much of Hawaii but in the southern hemisphere. It has a mixed cultural background. English, French and Indian make up the majority of the population. It is still connected somehow to the commonwealth.

Unfortunatly Zac and Jen both had some sort of flu that was only contageous for the under 30's - I being somehow immune. It was unfortunate we had much work that needed doing and little time. Zac would work half days before needing to rest in the afternoon which I encouraged. We needed Zac to regain strength to prep for his next leg. Michele took the main sail in to have it repaired along with the pulpit which was badly damaged. Dr. DJ worked on the boom transferring everything from the old boom to the new. We worked long and hard days. I knew my time was limited. Dr. DJ, Michele, Nicholi and Patrick helped in a huge way and they assured me that they would look after Zac after I left. Michele had built several race yachts and was about to start building a new yacht. Zac and I had the priviledge of looking at the new plans that Michelle was so enthusiastic about. I will be quite excited to see the finished yacht. Zac spoke about his many experiences at the yacht club on Friday evening. There was to be a race half way around the island the following day which we were invited to join. It was so tempting. I'm not sure if Zac was as excited about the offer. Jen put together an impressive slide show to accompany Zac's talk. It was great evening enjoyed by all.

Mauritius is truly a beautiful place with the Grand Baie Yacht Club situated in paradise. The weather seemed to be good one day and perfect the next. I struggled with my French which is commonly spoken there but I think they appreciated my effort even if they couldn't understand me some of the time. Zac is going to do another talk at the yacht club for the Junior sailing members which he seemed excited about . Zac is getting a lot better now and is starting to get excited about his next leg to Durban. Yes it comes with it's own set of challenges and Zac is well versed at handeling them. He realizes more and more that his preparation is crutial for his safety.

The reason this trip seemed like blur is because we are so busy. I know Zac would have liked me to stay longer and I would have loved to. Knowing how qualified Michelle and Dr DJ are and how the Grand Bay Yacht Club are helping Zac, I feel confident that Zac will be able to set sail early next week. Additional thanks to Rob, the sailmaker in Mauritius, for mending the main sail for no charge, the metal fabricator who welded Intrepid's pulpit and the ladies in the office at the Grand Baie Yacht Club. I would like to thank all the prayer warriors that draw near when times get tough.

It's late and I'm just a little jetlagged. I think that 'under 30's flu' might be getting to me which makes no sense because I'm 45. Oh well .

Cheers,

Laurence

An early birthday celebration!