Yesterday morning half past eight we dropped anchor at anchorage “H”. We could not proceed to enter port since “Queen Mary II” was expected to arrive. And so we took advantage of the situation by doing some odd jobs in the rigging that we could not do while at sea. The total lull came in very handy, but without a soothing breeze it became very hot on deck. Fortunately we did not need to go to the beach. We do have our own swimming platform after all. And so nearly everybody went for a swim after hours. The bosun had tied a rope on the yard arm for the dare devils that wanted to swing into the sea. The most beautiful jumps were shown and everybody enjoyed themselves very much.

At 5 PM it happened at last. “QM2”went underway heading for Mauritius. We will proceed along the same course later on. It will take her nearly six days to get there. We make a little less way and we will have to make a small detour in order to take advantage of the current and the trade winds in order to sail westward. We will be at sea for 18 days before arriving in Port Louis.

Andi Manser

Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam