The second of our two-part podcast is here. This is the primary school project we’ve been working on with Nance Lake of Wybunbury Delves Primary School in Cheshire. The children are reading Kensuke’s Kingdom and wanted to learn about life at sea so they send us recordings of them asking us questions. This week we discuss the weather, getting lost and what the worst thing that’s ever happened to us.
Primary School Question Time Part 2 Read Post »
Just before we left India Liz and I were interviewed by MarineBiz TV, a global television channel which has been putting together a series of programmes called ‘Sailor’s Diary’. In it each member of the Vasco Da Gama Rally was interviewed and asked about their backgrounds, experience and life at sea. We’ve managed to get hold of a copy and reproduce it here. Do please let us know if television really does put on 10lbs because I’m sure I look slimmer than I feel 😉
Hollywood Beckons: Our TV Interview Read Post »
[Explicit] Offensive, rude and quite un-PC. Whatever happened to those two lovely young chaps who joined the rally in Egypt? After 3,000 miles something changed and we ended up with potty-mouthed drunken sailors. In this podcast Terry of Roam II takes on the challenge of interviewing Robbie and Cillian, two chaps who met after cycling across Europe and joined the rally in the Red Sea. Not for children or the faint-hearted.
Drunken Vagrants [Explicit] Read Post »
We have put together this educational video for children aged between 5-10 but at 50 Liz was just as entertained, so we hope everyone gets something out of it.
Using Google Earth we have animated the course that we took on the rally from Turkey to India. It starts off with a few clips of the rally boats to give children an idea of what a boat looks like when it is sailing but the main part of this clip is an explanation of each country visited and where they are in relation to the UK.
We put this together to accompany the podcast we’ll be publishing in October for Nancy Lake’s class at Wybunbury Delves Primary School. Nancy’s class, who have asked us a whole range of questions about what it’s like to live on a boat, is aged between 10-11 but the commentary on this video clip is more suited to 4-7 year olds.
We hope you enjoy it. It was great fun to put together and we look forward to reading your comments.
Turkey to India Video: A Geography Lesson For Kids Read Post »
Exclusive! This is a classified recording between the Royal Navy and followtheboat about anti-piracy tactics. Much of this conversation is secret and for the safety of future sailors making the same passage we are obliged to not broadcast any strategy undertaken by the British Royal Navy and the Vasco Da Gama rally.
EXCLUSIVE: Navy Trades Secrets With FTB About Piracy Read Post »
On the 24th March this year we published on followtheboat.com a transcript of the communication between a NATO warship and a vessel that was being boarded by pirates. It makes for harrowing reading. In this podcast we capture the warship relaying the unfortunate news to a neighbouring Omani warship. We also catch the Net, which is the rally’s daily VHF forum, and listen to the implications of this attack.
A Vessel Is Pirated Read Post »
With just one more day to go before our arrival in Salalah we’re under the impression that it is almost all over. The group relaxes in the dead calm seas, but there’s nothing like the sight of a warship on the horizon to excite these intrepid sailors. It’s time we pulled together to show these naval chaps exactly how coordinated we really can be!
Pirate Alley: Relax, It’s The Canadians! Read Post »
The next part of our Pirate Alley excursion is quite unbelievable as we encounter three major problems within the same night! We’ve split the podcasts up and in the next couple of episodes we have a collision, more fishing net problems and you’ll also hear how one boat starts taking in water. Today’s episode, however, deals with the minor issue of a boat breaking down in the middle of nowhere!
Pirate Alley: Towing The Line Read Post »
It’s Jamie’s 40th birthday. No partying for him though as we move into our second day in Pirate Alley where two boats have to tend to dysfunctional alternators. One of the boats is Esper.
To make matters worse the inevitable happens: two fishing dows are spotted on the horizon, suspiciously following the rally. Could they be pirates? And if so, what chance do we have of reinforcing our safety in numbers strategy if Esper’s group is all over the place?
Pirate Alley: Birthday Close Encounters Read Post »
The hilarious departure from Port Aden raises our spirits as we begin our journey into Pirate Alley. Within two hours disaster strikes as one of the boats runs into a fishing net. In the dark.
This collective of boats isn’t called a rally for nothing. Listen to the boats rallying together to get us through the first of many hurdles lying ahead
Pirate Alley: Night Diving Read Post »
The day before we left Aden we were invited to another leaving do put on by Colonel Mohammed the Coast guard-cum-port police-cum-general bigwig. We also got to chat to a Yemeni woman, covered head to foot in black with just her eyes visible. Her English is excellent and makes for a great little interview.
Dancing Our Way Out Of Yemen Read Post »
This one’s for all you parents out there: Jordan and Leah are the youngest Vasco Da Gama rally participants and this impromptu recording caught them hanging out on their boat, Storm Dodger, on New Year’s Day. We get a little glimpse of what it’s like to be a teenager and young girl and, get this, Jordan even invites us into his cabin! A rare opportunity not to be missed! This is quite funny…
This last week has been dramatic to say the least. You’ll find out more in the coming weeks when the podcasts and photographs of our progress are published. Bear in mind we now have to be mindful of what we make public knowledge and what we hold back, so there will be a delay in what we report on. In the meantime we’ve been sitting out some nasty southerlies in this safe little anchorage and yesterday we had some fun. Our tender, which is a British-built Tinker, doubles up as a sailing dinghy so Cillian of ‘Cobble’ and myself put a bit of effort into rigging her up and taking her for her maiden sail! Is this the first ever Tinker to sail in the Red Sea? Maybe, maybe not, but what is impressive is that I’ve successfully managed to upload a video clip of said maiden voyage. Listen out for the gay Egyptian soundtrack!
First Tinker To Sail The Red Sea? Read Post »
This is a quickie, just a new photograph we received of Esper under sail with cruising chute, running downwind along the Sinai, Red Sea. Just look at those deep, rich red mountains! A stunning photograph, even if I say so myself!
Best Photo of Esper…Ever! Read Post »
My first and only experience with sailing boats arrived at the age of twelve in Bognor Regis. It was a school trip and involved myself and some unruly pals sprawling ourselves across a tiny single sailed yacht. The thing with kids is, you tell them something ten times and they don’t listen, what they actually need is the experience of something bad before they know not to do something ever again.
Observations Of Turkey Read Post »
