[password] brucelaura

[Position] 05 21.22S 072 12.480E

[Status] Chagos, Day 26
All good things must come to an end, and I 'm talking about food! No, really, our permit for Chagos expires May 22, and we are leaving today, May 20 for the 8 day sail to Rodrigues. Our last 'western style' supermarket was in Thailand around February 9th. Our last basic provisioning was in Maldives on April 22. Our fridge is empty so yesterday I filled it with baked goods - pita bread, cornbread, coconut cake, carrot muffins and roti (tortillas). Can't remember when I've baked so much and barely had enough flour, oil and salt. The eggs in Maldives were crap but luckily I had a box of egg replacement that I think I bought in the Marshall Islands in 2015 as a back up to fresh eggs! Finally using it and it's been great for cakes and muffins.
I don't really like cooking offshore and we will be on port tack the whole way which means everything will want to slide off the counters and stove and onto the floor. I have a strap that looks like it came off a straight jacket that holds me in place between the stove and the sink. I've saved all the convenience food (jars of spaghetti sauce, cup o' soup, canned chili) for this trip. And, of course, peanut butter and crackers. I call it the offshore diet - take one boat, lots of waves, and shake vigorously. I expect to be svelte and tres chic when I arrive in French Mauritious.
So today's the day! We'll leave with the tide around noon. Looking forward to having moonlight for the night watches. Chagos will be a highlight of our travels but we are ready to move on.

Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

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