Hello all.
It's been a chock full couple of weeks so be forewarned; this will be a
longy. Writing this at sea four days out of Cochin.
First things first. Our passage so far has been with light winds and calm
seas. Just today, we've finally had enough wind out of the right direction
to actually turn off the motors and truly sail. Slower going than we'd
like, but between the distance and a nasty 1 knot current against us, we
probably do not have enough fuel to motor all the way. So, except when
we're charging the batteries, we are coasting along at between four and six
knots. Only 1,000 miles and about 8 days to go. As it turned out, we burned 900 liters of fuel and good wind the last couple of days saved us.
Second, nothing new to report about Rose. Her condition remains good and
all her blood tests are okay. Her back is bothering her but that has nothing to do with the other condition.
Back to Cochin--It is dirty there. Rose claimed, when we left, that the boat
had never been that filthy. It was very clean when we arrived from the salt
water bashing we took on the way, but that didn't last. It's been nice and
calm at sea, and we can make water to wash with now that we've left so it's getting
better, but it really needs a good pressure washing. So you will no doubt recall there
were several items of repair necessary. Thank God we were at this little
"boatyard" so the men could come and go. Notice the quotes. The yard had a
rough concrete dock and one set of rails to haul boats as well as a couple
of sheds. The place was a wreck as the new English owner had been gone six months, but
he started to get things cleaned up while we were there. The whole
operation was only about 100 feet, if that, wide, but it was separated from
the street by a high opaque fence and actually had a live-in watchman who
sort of came with the place when the new owner bought it. Spoke no English
and locked us out a couple of times and even locked us in one morning when
he got coffee!! It took about three days to get water (well water not
really drinkable but good for everything else) and electricity. What with
the good security, power supply for the refrigeration and easy access for
someone to look after Charlie, we were still glad we chose this place over
the anchorage. Everyone else was across the channel at a place called the
Bolgatty anchorage, on anchor-no shore power, no clean water to make water
and at a "resort" that didn't even have a proper bar. We discovered this
when we met Freebird for Sunday brunch at the resort--allegedly one of the
best in Cochin!!! We, on the other hand, were at Fort Cochi, the tourist
center of the area, and, while it still wasn't easy to find a place to get a
real drink, there were loads of good restaurants, plenty of shopping and lots
to do and see. We were actually on a narrow road across from the Muslim
orphanage (very handy when telling the "auto-rickshaw" drivers where to take
us) in a warehouse district with all sorts of spice markets. Rarely ate on
board as the food was so cheap and good. The auto-rickshaws are sort of
rickshaws with the motorcycle sort of built in. You have to be there to
understand, but they are dirt cheap--about $.60 to the main tourist area
about 2 or 3 k away.
We wanted to do some inland exploring, but, first, we needed to get repairs
underway and sorted out. This proved to be a nightmare. To make a long
story short, surprisingly, there is a big language problem, and I am
convinced that Indians were born short of a full deck. For instance, the
freezer guys kept trying to work on the wrong unit in spite of me showing
them. I almost gave up when I checked on their progress in the engine room
and found they had started to dismantle the SCUBA compressor instead of
working on the freezer compressor. Outboard guys came and swore I had an
electrical problem and they would send an electrician the next day. Next
day 2 more guys show up and tell me they are mechanics and I need an
electrician. Then, when we were away--yes, we did get away--nothing got
done and we were getting close to departure. I became suicidal, but it all
worked out in the end and we got everything fixed for really little money.
The one exception was the VHF. Tried a new connector, but still only have
about 7 miles range (should be 30) which is a nuisance and affects AIS
reception as well. Will need a new antenna in Oman. What are the chances
of that??!!
So, having thought we had everything under control, we booked a trip to
Mysore, site of a huge palace and some other interesting stuff. We, if we
had more time or the inclination, could have done a longer tea plantation,
national park type of thing, but we had pretty much already done that stuff
elsewhere and Rose wanted to see Mysore. We, especially Rose, also like to
take trains so we can see the countryside. The only problem is there is no
direct train from Cochin to Mysore--you have to go about 800 k to Bangalore
then get another train south for 2 hours to Mysore. Loads of security and guys with Uzis as a result of the Mumbai bombings, we guessed. No problem, as we had
air-conditioned sleeper tickets for the 13 hour first leg and first class the
next day to Mysore. It was pretty amusing, but hard on the bottom as the
seats on the sleeper are really long benches with padding about the
thickness of an exercise mat. We took a morning train so we'd have
daylight, but the windows were so dirty and scratchy, photos were
impossible. Then there was "fartman", one of our compartment mates. Holy mackerel!! For
thirteen hours!!!??? They did serve food--not too good, and buckets,
literally, of sweet coffee and tea (cha) au lait--pretty good for 5 rupees a
cup--$.10.
The only rip-off we experienced was on arrival in Bangalore at about 8:30 at
night. We had to spend the night there due to the train schedule. Some
guy, and this is typical all over, approached as as we disembarked, asking
if we needed a taxi. Sure we said, but it turned out he wasn't a metered
taxi and had no clue where our hotel was. While we negotiated the price
down, an hour and 800 rupees later after several stops to ask for
directions, we finally arrived at the hotel--about 15 minutes and 250 rupees from the
station if they knew where they were going. Rose was sure we were going to
be mugged or worse as along the way we took some pretty spooky back roads.
Anyway, the hotel ($30) turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and we
grabbed a quick room service snack before bed. The layout was sort of a
suite thing with 2 bedrooms off a common sitting area. Breakfast, included,
was also via room service and we were fairly leisurely as the train to
Mysore was at 11. We had really great seats and free bottled water on the 2 hour
journey down, and the station was about 15 minutes away from our hotel
there. The Ginger Hotel was one of a chain and a pretty basic Holiday Inn
type place, but it was in a good location and had a legitimate coffee shop
with really good coffees and pastries. The hotel dining was less than
splendid and was all buffet. We only did breakfast and ate out the rest of
the time. I did manage to squeeze in an Ayurvedic massage where they use
tons of oil including your scalp and, in this case, a steam bath afterwards.
This is the only kind of massage we saw in India, and you get, and must
have, a shower afterward. They use sandalwood oil which supposedly has
therapeutic value.
We arrived on a Sunday and lucked out because they light up this palace on
Sunday night--admission free--and holidays only. They use 97,000 bulbs.
Yes, this is a huge palace. So we did that and had some snacks at a place
across from the palace, then back to the hotel to rest up for the big
sightseeing day tomorrow. After breakfast, Monday, we headed off back to
the palace and spent a couple of hours touring it. The rate for Indians is
R20 but R200 for "foreign tourist". Really amazing when you consider this
type of thing was still being constructed in the early 1900's and that the
Rajah or whatever was a fairly minor guy. Man, they had it made. After
lunch, we wandered around and went to the local outdoor market where Rose
bought a bunch of oils, like Jasmine, amber and some others. Used as bases
for perfume and all sorts of medicinal stuff, even mosquito repellent. It
was getting to be a long day, but we wanted to see the art museum in the
same general area and off we went. It was a quick run through and on our
way out we ran into Samile, who solicited us for the rickshaw ride back to
the Ginger. We also worked out a deal with him (it had been our plan right
along to get someone to "show us around") to do a tour the next day. There
is a holy Hindu mountain nearby with great views and a big temple--"one of
the 8 most holy mountains in India" So Tuesday, we did the temple with a
million hawkers around, saw the holy bull, hit the post office and a "real"
grocery store to get snacks for the train trip home, stopped in several
stores looking for the the right kind of wood box for the salon table
(didn't find one), and, finally, went to a real oil factory since the guys
in the market, according to Samile, water theirs down. Bought a bunch more oil. We were done
about 2 (that's when I got the massage) and thought we arranged with
Samile to pick us up for a ride to dinner--he'd done that the night before.
He must have been pissed off that I didn't give him enough money (gave him the agreed amount plus 20%)for the
tour as he never showed up. We never did exactly figure him out as he
always had someone else drive the rickshaw and he just came along. Anyway,
while pissed off about no ride to dinner, the story has a happy ending as
we ordered out for pizza and it was pretty good.
The next day, we took the 11 AM train back to Bangalore--not as nice as the
one on the trip down and a 3 PM train back to Cochin which arrived at about
2:30 AM. We had a nice family in our compartment this time with a cute
little girl and had loaded up on snacks to avoid the train food.
Unfortunately, this one didn't have the coffee and tea guys so we had to
settle for the water we brought with us. Nazar met us at the train for the
40 minute trip home--longggg day.
I've already expounded on being suicidal when, waking the next day, I found
nothing was really fixed. Spent most of that day arranging workmen while
Rose went shopping. I also had 3 parcels coming in via FedEx with parts,
mail and sundries. FedEx has not distinguished themselves this time and has
summarily dismissed my demands for restitution. First they claimed the
address was incorrect resulting in a 2 week delay in delivery. Then they
screwed up with customs--normally yachts in transit are duty free--resulting
in $300 in duties. Then they refused to give me the packages even though
someone was in the office on Friday because it was a holiday. A real bummer
and expensive to boot, but there's very little we can do as DHL has been
equally horrible.
Entertainment wise, we filled the weekend, after finally getting the FedEx
and Rose getting her hair cut and colored even more blond, with a
traditional dance show on Saturday with elaborate costumes and makeup--one
of those must do things. Sunday, Valentines day, we took an all day tour
of the "backwater" so named as it is a series of tidal estuaries about 45
minutes outside Cochin. You take a bus to the boat and are then poled--no
motors--around the channels and lakes and get a traditional lunch which
wasn't too bad, returning about 5 PM. Met some nice people including an
Englishmen with a 70 foot canal barge--definitely need to keep in touch
with him.!!! Monday was provisioning day for Rose and Checkout day for
Tim--takes hours. A final dinner out at a pretty good Italian place and off
we went at 7 on Tuesday. We're back to motoring and the prospects of
decent wind are not good, so who knows when we'll arrive because sooner or
later the engine has to go off and the sails take over. This morning there
was absolutely no wind, but it seems at night things pick up. If we can
just sail 8 hours a day or so we can make it on the fuel we have. Keeping
our fingers crossed. Oh, a final note. A couple of days ago we sailed
right through a school of fish so I thought I might as well put a line out.
Took a while to get a lure set, etc., but I didn't even have the line
deployed before a nice tuna hit it. Unfortunately, once I landed it, I
didn't have a tail noose set and the damn thing threw the hook and got away
before I could tie it down. Probably will update this as we go along and
send it on arrival in Oman.
Sunday Feb 21. Well something had to happen. I've just finished lugging
and siphoning 6 jerry jugs of fuel--we're almost halfway and have about 600
liters left--180 still in jugs, so we might make it as there is no wind and
none forecast for a few days. Since I was already grubby, I checked and
topped up the starboard engine oil--we've been mostly running that one as it
has fewer hours than the other. While checking on a leaking deck shower on
that side as well, I noticed the steering cables were quite loose. This has
happened before and isn't a big deal to tighten. HOWEVER, when I checked
under the helm, lo and behold, one of the cables on that side had broken.
Bummer. What are the odds of repairing that in Salalah. Fortunately, each
side has independent steering so we're okay--just no backup. Keeping
fingers crossed.
Tues. Motor on the autopilot has crapped. Working well enough as I write
to limp the last three days in to Oman, but getting a repair or replacement
is a problem as we're only there 5 days before the pirate alley convoy
departs. On the bright side, we had a 50-100 strong pod of very large
dolphin swim with us today--twice!! Awesome. Also had a green flash at
sunset according to Rose. I really didn't see anything different!!
Thurs. Tired of fiddling constantly with autopilot which doesn't seem to
want to hold a course as the sprocket keeps slipping so the "brain" doesn't
realize the wheel hasn't turned. Whatever--at least I know what I mean.
Anyway, for this very eventuality, I had purchased a "wheel pilot". While
this is designed for a boat about 34% lighter, I figured it would work in
light air and calm seas. It was about 20% of the cost of a full autopilot
backup so I thought it was worth a try. However, when push came to shove,
I was leery about turning it on. Given our luck lately, who knows what
could happen. Hallelujah, it works!! No more tending the wheel. Still
working on getting a new drive unit to Salalah, but haven't heard anything
today and we are running out of time.
As for pirates, there was a "suspicious incident" with a freighter about 150 miles NW of our position around the weekend, so we ran dark and took the radar reflector down for the rest of the trip. This worked okay until we passed near a legitimate ship who, while no doubt having us on radar that close, decided to teach us a lesson and came damn close. After that, we turned the lights back on near shipping traffic. Not that we were paranoid, but about 50 miles out of Salalah, a ship appeared on the AIS receiver (which provides details about the ship, it's course and closest point of approach) which was supposedly only 168 feet, of "other" description and bound for Somalia. The guy was stalking us!!! and our course wasn't the way to Somalia. Are the pirates getting smart and faking being a real ship to get close to their victims? Flashed him with the green laser to get him to move off which seemed to just piss him off and he got to about 1/4 mile off before veering away behind us. This was over about an hour period so we were quite nervous. With the VHF really not working, we had no way to call on local shipping or the authorities to assist us if it had been a pirate.
Okay, just to finish off as this is getting long, we arrived at dawn on
Sat., and check in was a breeze with the able assistance of our Omani "go to
guy", Mohammed. Holiday weekend as it is the celebration of the real
Mohammed's birthday. Our phone number here is 968 977 85179. For some
reason, they've blocked Skype!!! We haven't done much touring as time has
been spent arranging repairs, lugging very heavy jerry jugs of fuel and
cleaning. Good group here waiting for the convoy to Aden--about 20 boats,
and there is a western style bar/restaurant called the Oasis which is
outstanding and our yachtie hangout. As for repairs, they are pulling the
steering cable today and have a new one coming in from Dubai; VHF antenna
due in today. In spite of the protestations of the NZ dealer that amateurs
couldn't possibly service the pilot drive, the guy here seems to have fixed
it. This is a $2,500 drive motor and they used plastic gears. One was
stripped causing the problem and the Omanis replaced it with SS steel.
Worked in port. Sea trials when we leave. Keep your fingers crossed. The
Omanis are super friendly and, surprisingly (to us, at least), their English
is the best we've seen in quite a few countries!! The anchorage is quite
crowded and one of the Dubai sheiks is in with yacht, support ship and 3rd ship
with toys. Port control keeps making us poor yachties move so they have
more room to maneuver!! Going to try to do a bit of touring today. There's
a good museum and some archeological sites. Apparently out in the desert we
have Job's tomb and the Virgin Mary's father's tomb. I, for one, was not
aware that we knew who Mary's father was, but it's here, nonetheless. So
far, really enjoying Oman and regret not having more time. Not nearly as
cheap as where we've been but not outrageous either. Nice to have a change
of venue.
Cheers to you all. Will let everyone know when we've passed the danger
zone!!
Tim & Rose
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