Mumbai: A Photographic Feast!

Liz and I have always romanticised with the idea of sailing into a city. Sydney and Vancouver are two such examples but we never thought we’d get a thrill from sailing into Mumbai, the state capital of the Maharashtra region of central India. This truly is a cosmopolitan city and if you have never been then don’t even begin to conjure up preconceptions of this place, they’ll come nowhere near to the real thing! Mumbai is an assault on the senses; it very quickly became one of my fave cities ever visited, proof of which are the many photographs featured in this extravaganza of a blog post. We have photographs galore! In a departure to the usual ‘inline’ photographs that illustrate my narrative, I have instead put together some slide-shows: the images are bigger and there are more of them! Prepare to be dazzled…

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Almost Dying For Aircon

We finally have aircon, but I very nearly paid the price of my life for this luxury. Welcome to auto-rickshaw hell. These vehicles from hell are made of corrugated cardboard, have liquorice wheels and are driven by nutters. In fact it seems the prearequisite to hold a license for one of these things is to drive like a complete arse. Just like my aircon delivery driver. Read how this ride from hell took years off my life. Today’s blog post comes complete with photographic evidence…

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Chatham Heroes In Cyclone Rescue

It seems our heroes aboard HMS Chatham have been in the thick of the action again this week, this time rescuing a vessel in a cyclone, saving 23 men from 65 knot winds and 8m waves. We befriended the boys aboard HMS Chatham when we were in Salalah, Oman, when the British Navy frigate was taking a breather from anti-piracy actitivies in the Gulf of Aden. They left just a few days before we did, heading towards Somalia. It appears they found trouble…

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The Haven That Is The Royal Bombay Yacht Club

Welcome to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, a bastion of colonial elitism where entry is by invite only. Set in a prime location in Mumbai the RBYC offered the rally participants a haven from the dodgy anchorage and searing heat of our new host country. Photography of this wonderful building is strictly forbidden, so here is the unofficial, uncommissioned, illegal followtheboat slide show of the RBYC!

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Welcome to India: T-bone Anyone?

Imagine our pride at having sailed over 4,000 miles, unassisted, without incident and without a scratch to Esper. I haven’t mentioned that our autopilot packed up early on in the Gulf of Aden, so many of the last 2,000 miles were hand-steered. That’s bloody hard work in case you didn’t know. Imagine, then, our horror when approaching the Indian coast, after our incident-free 4,000 miles, we were t-boned by the stupid dumb-ass Indian Navy!

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Now It’s OUR Turn To Answer The Questions!

What with our Through The Porthole podcasts and previous efforts at amateur journalism we’re quite used to asking questions of other people. It was a pleasant surprise, therefore, to receive an invitation to answer some questions directed at ourselves.

Livia is a sailor who has recently embarked on a project entitled ‘Interview with a Cruiser’, where she asks 10 questions to cruisers from around the world. The interviews are published weekly. Livia’s idea is to build a database of different questions and answers to help future or would-be cruisers make informed decisions on switching to this lifestyle.It was quite a treat being able to respond to some questions that we would normally be putting to others to answer.

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Travelling 4,000 Miles For This

You understand why we are doing this whole trip, don’t you? We’ve left the rat-race and are off to discover new places. Places that inspire and excite. Really we are looking for that perfect idyllic sea where no man can be seen for miles around. So imagine sailing 4,000 miles, only to discover this…

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Arabian Pirates Been Around Forever

Finally we leave Salalah! Long haul ahead of us so time to grab a book and get reading.

My brother, Tim, bought me ‘Unknown Seas, How Vasco Da Gama Opened The East’, by Ronald Watkins. I couldn’t think of a more suitable book to be reading on this journey, since we were taking part in the Vasco Da Gama Rally. Right now we are in the middle of the Arabian Sea, very much aware of the recent pirate activity.

It seems, however, that we were not alone in keeping a keen eye open for the odd marauder in these waters. According to the book, which opens with the early spice trade scenario, Watkins notes thus:

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Piracy Attack – As Heard By Followtheboat

Last night another commercial vessel was attacked and boarded by pirates. It happened not far from us and we overheard the conversation between a coalition warship and the motor vessel in question. For obvious reasons I am not saying which attack it was but I was able to record the second half of the conversation between the coalition warship and another warship in the area. I have written the first part of the conversation between the warship and pirated vessel from memory with Liz’s help. It makes for interesting reading but please don’t let it worry you. We are perfectly safe and currently in negotiations with the coast guard (who have big armed vessels!).

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Oman: Additional

Sadly it is nigh on impossible to undertake the paperwork required to enter Oman without the use of an agent. We know of one yacht who attempted this and was so distraught at the heartache involved they eventually succumbed and employed an agent too. More frustratingly, however, is that there is only one agent we are aware of and much of the rally fell out with him for over-charging for his services.

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Costing Oman And A Leg

Where the women are forced to wear black and their presence is absent from the streets. Welcome to Oman, a country that lives indoors in air conditioned buildings and drives around in air conditioned cars. Welcome to Oman, an expensive country boasting the most incredible beaches yet desperately lacking in soul. Read what I really think of this strange country…

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