Winds so light by now that the twins were raised and set on the port side as a second Gennie.

With each passing day, the seas became ever flatter: now they were a gentle rolling ripple. Only a few are privileged to view the Indian Ocean in this state. How fortunate we were!

Heavy low rain cloud drifted across the skies above, seemingly only a metre off the surface. One desired to reach up and touch the woolly bundles.

The ‘regular as clockwork’ afternoon winds didn’t eventuate. With 146.3nm remaining, at a speed of 5 knots we would find ourselves arriving in Rodrigues after dark. No desire to manoeuvre through an unknown coral reef using a chart that hadn’t been updated since it was first mapped in the late 1800s, and not wishing to lose a day visiting what we had been informed was an astounding island, with a turn of a key Big Bertha roared to life. In tandem with the speed provided by wind and sail, Gratis averaged 6knts