We are underway again. 16:30 LT we departed from Perth. Everytime when we have new guests, we will execute a abandon ship drill. In this drill we train how we will abandon the Clipper Stad Amsterdam. These regular drills are also a good training for the crew. In case of an emergency they will know what to do. When the pilot boards the ship we depart. Directly out of the port we set sail and stop the engine. I hope that we can sail every mile of the 3300 Nm to Port Louis on Mauritius. The 25 – 30 knots of wind from the south pushes us with 11 knots to the Indian Ocean. Due to the prevailing winds and currents we will make a wide turn to the West. The first piece is the Brouwer Route. A Dutch seaman , Hendrik Brouwer took this route to stay clear from Portuguese vessels. We will first steer Northwest, then North to stay well clear from the dangerous reefs of the Australian coast. The most famous ship that steered to port too late is the Batavia. It crashed on the reefs 60 miles of shore.

 Andi Manser
Captain Clipper Stad Amsterdam