THE LAST LEG FREMANTLE TO LANZAROTE
After five gruelling months at sea, Iain Macneil and the crew of MV Astra battled big waves, vicious currents, submerged logs and falling space debris on the last leg of their circumnavigation.
DAY 122: FREMANTLE, AUSTRALIA
After yesterday’s fun and games with our ‘polar foil’ April Fool’s joke, we arrived at Fremantle in good spirits. Despite spending just six hours alongside we managed to load 33,600 litres of fuel into our tanks, release Mikey and Dan for a quick run ashore, complete a crew change with Pete Harvey taking over from Carlos for a few weeks, and receive fresh stores and provisions.
DAY 123: IRN FEAST
We left Fremantle at 10.5 knots, hoping to complete the 3,300 mile crossing of the South Indian Ocean in less than 14 days. Astra welcomed Pete with heavy swells of 4m on the beam and winds of Force 6. With so many Scots on board, Pete’s gift of square sausage and Irn Bru were well received for Sunday breakfast!
DAY 124: WATER, WATER EVERY WHERE …
The day started with an unpleasant surprise – no fresh water. Further investigation revealed that our 1,750 litre water tank, which had been topped up on Sunday evening, was now empty. It appears the battering from waves striking the port side overnight had pushed a heavy rubber deck hose against the tap, causing it to open and drain the contents dry. Unable to access the decks due to the heavy seas, we isolated the tap
