Tomorrow we leave on an epic journey, and if the winds are in our favour we may get further than the horrific Equator trip of last week! We hope to be updating our progress via satphone, which will log our position on a map. Check out our progress over the next few weeks as we sail the 1,400 mile trip from the Maldives to Malaysia.
Our shipping agent, Muzhid Rasheed of Seline, is a young and ambitious man. A supporter of Nasheed, he is like many of the local people we met in the Maldives. A man of integrity, honesty and professionalism, he is in the vanguard of the new-school Maldivian outlook on life. Sadly he has to contend with the corruption and insider dealings of competitiors who pull strings in an attempt to put him out of business.
I’ve jumped out of aeroplanes, mountain-biked the world’s most dangerous roads, surfed following seas at 15 knots, and hit storms off Africa that had crew throwing up, but nothing could have prepared me for the four days of hell Liz and I just endured. You see it wasn’t the weather itself that terrified us, it was the situation we found ourselves in after the first squall hit. We entered the Twilight Zone, and for four days got trapped in an increasingly desperate situation.
We’ve learnt about the politics of the Maldives, met young, enterprising businessmen and finally seen the ‘other’ side of the Maldives. Mafushi and Guiridhoo were real eye-openers for us, a side of the Maldives we hadn’t expected to see. Having spent quite a few days tied to a mooring buoy in the bay of Guiridhoo, [...]
Politics in paradise? Backpacking through the atolls? The Maldives may be a luxury holiday destination, but people still have to make a living, and political agendas are alive and kicking. Taking inspiration from India’s homestays, Maldivians are opening up their houses to travellers. Liz describes the two islands on the next part of our trip, and profiles the new generation of Maldivians looking for a fairer future.
Despite being at anchor these past few months I’ve managed to stay on top of my photographic duties. The Urban Picnic Street Photography Competition, which I helped set up with Rob Hill of Urban Picnic was a huge success, drawing in hundreds of entries from around the world. As a spin-off to this Rob has set up a bi-monthly ‘inspiration’ feature where two street photographers come together to work on a project with a common theme.
A quick post of our short trip from Vellasaru to Rannalhi. Mainly a pictorial record of our two nights at anchor there.
Finally, after two months of shaking down Esper post her three year snooze in India, Liz and I had an opportunity to kick back and relax and enjoy the Maldives for what it is. Mum and Dad Furlong were out for two weeks and we looked forward to this break, referring to it as a [...]
“This isn’t as bad as I expected,” I said to Jamie, as we sat on Esper in the slipway, waiting to be hauled out.
He didn’t bother to reply. We were coming to a rolling boil in the midday heat, and any attempt at conversation or movement was painful. Millie lay on the floor in the saloon with ears twitching. She began to pant and stared up at me through the hatch. “What hell-hole have you brought me to now?” she seemed to be saying.
The Maldives isn’t always paradise, sometimes it can be hell. Read Liz’s account of life in a boatyard at boiling point.
The Maldivian island of Thilafushi was infamously documented in the BBC series Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve. Venturing onto this island Reeve was pictured gagging as he made his way around the huge burning rubbish tip where refuse is constantly smouldering. Reeve spent most of his time swallowing flies on his visit here. Would our visit to Thilafushi be any different?
A week in a boat yard is never much fun, and after hauling Esper our misery was compounded by the discovery of some serious osmosis (water ingress). The joy of sailing the idyllic Maldives went out the window, at least for a few hours, as we inspected the water blisters covering many parts of the hull. Experts reassure us that osmosis isn’t as bad as people believe, but when you see the pictures of our rudder you might think twice before agreeing with them.
After returning from a coffee we found a group of lads looking over the harbour wall, waves smashing up the side. There, in the water completely submerged, were our dinghies, barely afloat. Even the outboard was underwater!
Boating can be an expensive lifestyle, but yachties are notorious for taking advantage of anything with the price tag of ‘cheap’ and ‘free’. In this little piece I estimate we saved ourselves over $700 today. One hundred and fifty dollars just to visit an island, I ask you!
Island Hideaway is paradise on earth. There, I’ve said it. What was supposed to be a quick two-day stop-over turned into a five day mini-break as Liz and I indulged ourselves in the seven-star luxury facilities at Island Hideaway. This is a resort island, with villas ranging between $500 and $3,500 a night, and where the most expensive Burgundy sits smartly on the menu at $13,500 a bottle. Want a taste? Check out this little video clip…
Having dropped anchor in Uligamu, after a frustrating four-day crossing from Cochin, India, we put our worries to one side with a wander along the desolate beach of the Maldive’s most northern (but one) island. This is a little photography slide-show for your entertainment. Just click on the image below to begin and don’t forget you can view it in full-screen mode to get that “I’m-really-there!” sensation!
Saying goodbye to friends is hard enough. Saying goodbye to friends we’ll probably never see again had me choked. It caught me by surprise but as I hugged Gladwin, my Indian brother, I was lost for words and my eyes welled up. The pontoon at Kochi marina was a hotch-potch of our close friends, our Indian ‘family’ and the marina staff. They all waved us off as Esper slipped her lines and it was at that moment it struck me exactly how much I would miss India. Surely a passage to the Maldives was just the tonic we needed. If only!
Everything you ever wanted to know about living aboard in south India, including visas, checking in and our, Kochi Marina and resources around Cochin town. Includes a Google map for reference.
Boat ownership is a mix of ups and downs. Today was a really crappy day for us but rather than getting depressed about it we should look to others and their small victories. Take Gladwin, for example, our Indian friend who couldn’t swim. Check out this inspirational video clip when life throws you those little obstacles…
One frustrating aspect of living in India is the lack of decent booze. Rum is in abundance, but it can be quite sweet; wine is available with just three labels worth talking about, but their flavour does not justify the price; and as for the whisky… The only way I can describe Indian whisky is ‘caramalised fire-water’.
Ever been to a wine tasting in India? Did you know that “terroir” is a term that has no English translation? It is like the fifth element, and is that “je ne c’est quoi” produced by the environment in which the vine grows: the fungus that grows in the soil, the insects which crawl in the soil, the strength of the sun and the amount of rainfall. They all affect the taste of the wine in your glass. Apparently.
Yesterday we were visited by a camera crew. Apparently, in our absence over the summer, they ran a story on Nazer, the man who looks after our cat, Millie, whilst we were back in the UK. Yesterday they returned for a follow-up story, so you should see us all in the news very soon – if you live in Kerala, that is! Below is the original story that ran some time this summer. I’m pleased to say those awful blue tarps are now off as we busy ourselves for our departure to the Maldives early next year.
The Kathri Suma family of Gujarat is the only family using this technique of cloth decoration. It is unique to this one village. In this clip you’ll see my photographs and some video of the family at work. The black scarf at the end of the clip is a present we bought for a friend who helped out organising my photography courses. Thank you, Karen!
My Christmas came early this year. I’m chuffed to announce that I won October’s Guardian ‘Been There’ travel photography competition! The theme was ‘Weather’ and I submitted an image of school girls splashing their way through a monsoon puddle.
‘When Nazar met our coddled cat, he fell in love. Unlike many Indians, he adores pets, but the few ragamuffin moggies you see in India are tiny. To him Millie was an exotic sleek-coated giant. When he discovered she knew the word “fish” he’d arrive at the boat calling “Fish! Fish! Fish!”… ‘
I was pretty stoked to get my Bedouin shot chosen by Lyn Hughes as her photo of the week on the MyWanderlust website. Lyn is owner/editor of the independent travel magazine and recently visited Jordan herself, so perhaps my shot brought back a few memories for her!
This week followtheboat.com was awarded Wanderlust’s Blog Of The Week. This prestigious award recognises quality travel blogging from around the world and puts us forward to the Travel Blog of the Year award, which will be announced next February at the London Destinations Show.
As the world has its eye on the 2012 Olympics, we watch a group of Gorkha schools racing, fighting and performing cultural dances in the Himalayas. The competition is no less fierce than it is in east London, but some of the events are surprising. Cock fighting, anyone?
One or two inhabitants stood inside the gate observing our sweating, panting faces with dead-pan expressions. A wide and well-tended path stretched upwards to the main group of buildings. We had walked into another country: there were no plastic bottles, crisp wrappers, bright blue tangles of frayed nylon rope, plastic bags, sweet wrappers, turds or stinking puddles anywhere. Just nice green grassy borders either side of the well-trodden path, and a hand-built wooden stairway.
I know some of you simply don’t have the time or the energy to read all our stories, so as a special birthday treat I’ve pulled out all the stops and created an exclusive animated version of Liz’s tale, ‘Murder on the Kolkata Express’. Some of you may have read this brilliant short story already but wait till you get a load of this, this is quite unique. It’s a lot of fun too.
Happy birthday, Liz!
