Leg 10 of the World ARC, Lombok to Cocos Keeling, was split into two passages, broken with a quick stopover at the Australian territory of Christmas Island. This small volcanic island is 350km (190miles) from Java and 1550km (840miles) from the Australian mainland. It has an area of 135 square kilometres (52 square miles) and a population of just under 1700.
The island is the flat summit of an underwater mountain. The mountain, which is approximately 4,500m (14,800 feet) high, only has 300m (984 feet) above the water. With its steep sided cliffs rising to a central plateau, it reminded us of Pacific island of Niue.
Being short of time on the island, a tour was in order to find the hidden gems. Our guide did not disappoint and we visited the southern blow holes, several spectacular viewpoints and Ma Chor Nui Nui Temple. This Taoist temple was chosen specifically for us as Ma Chor is the god of the seafarers and an offering to her will protect those travelling out at sea and give them a safe journey to and from the island.
Of course, no trip to Christmas Island would be complete without discovering the island´s crab population. Most famous are the red crabs which annually swarm over the island in their migration to the sea. At this time of year, the island is covered by millions of crabs, roads are closed, tunnels are built and there are even crab bridges. Our visit did not coincide with the migration, but we still saw plenty in land scuttling to and from their burrows. We also spotted blue crabs and the enormous robber crabs.
Christmas Island turned out to be a great find, so we sneaked in an extra day to do a dive. Again, like Niue, the visibility was superb. There was very little coral, but the underwater rocky gulleys, overhangs and swim throughs created an amazing dive.
The only disappointing thing on the island was the amount of plastic on the east coast beaches. The residents have regular clean up parties, but they are fighting a losing battle as the seas bring daily deposits of plastic across the sea from Indonesia.
Having stayed a little longer than our allotted 48 hours, we, along with our buddy boat Tam Lin, were the last rally boats to leave Christmas Island and head for Cocos Keeling.
On this passage, the wind continued to blow from the SE, but was slightly stronger – Force 5 (17 – 21 knots). The sailing was good and spirits were not even dampened by the 2-3m seas. Escapade made great speed and set a new daily record of 161nm.
The passage was further enhanced by Martin catching not one, but two fish: tuna and mahi mahi. The freezer was full!
The time flew by and, after 3 days, 10 hours and 531nm, we dropped anchor just outside the fringing reef, ready to enter the bay in daylight the following morning.
Cocos Keeling is another Australian territory. However, it is very different to Christmas Island. Cocos Keeling consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands. Only two of the islands are inhabited with a total population of about 600.
At Cocos Keeling, the fleet were reunited and all anchored at the uninhabited Direction Island. We had views of a sandy palm fringed beach and crystal clear water. It was the perfect place for snorkelling and beach BBQs.
Twice a week, the ferry came from the neighbouring Home Island. This usually brings holiday makers to Direction Island for sun, sand and swimming, but ARC participants took it the other way to visit the small supermarket, attend the skippers´ briefing and also the take part in the prize giving. The residents put on a delicious spread and treated us to a display of local crafts.
WOW nice fish Martin, looked huge did it fight much
Wow, you did it ! Great catch 😃
Wow, you did it ! Great catch 😃- see you soon
Interesting info about Christmas Island. Good luck with next stretch!