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Monthly Archives: January 2010
The Net From Luli
The last update we gave you had us stuck in an anchorage waiting for southerlies to blow through whilst we repaired the damage on a rudder on a boat that had hit coral. Phew! Now that the winds have blown through and returned to the usual northerlies we may resume our progress southwards. This is something that we discuss on The Net.
The Net is a kind of interactive VHF radio show held on a certain channel every morning. This is a recording of one such show where we discuss our tactics for entering Sudan and Eritrea. You’ll also hear some positive words from Anthony of ‘Divanty’. Definitely worth a listen…
Scuba Diving And Snorkeling In The Red Sea
One of the greatest things about being in the Red Sea is, of course, the snorkeling and diving. Imagine, then, having the freedom to sail to a suitable location, drop the hook, hop in the dinghy, pick a dive spot and drop over the side with your gear on, ready for a dive! Of course this helps if you have Graham of ‘Eeyore’ with you. He’s a qualified dive master and a passion for diving that is matched only by his passion for sailing and making the best mango chutney this side of Africa. We were also joined by Mick, who was out visiting Pat and Tony on ‘Full Flight’. Mick kindly donated some underwater pictures for you…
Rudder Hell: Running Aground
We finally leave Egypt, at least officially. Having done the paper work to exit Egypt we made our way southwards, only to run into some nasty southerlies. With a lack of protective anchorages from southerlies we opt for Luli, which is a good 13 hours away. Unfortunately this meant we made the anchorage at the end of the day. It caught us out and three boats hit coral, one with some serious consequences.
Meet The Liveaboard Boats
This is a followtheboat podcast first: in response to an email from a podcast listener we’ve taken on board his comments and produced a programme for him! Robert Newton of North Yorkshire emailed us the following: “I am listening to all your podcast’s – good work! I would be interested to hear the boat types and sizes that you are cruising in the company of. I aspire to become a cruiser.”
Flaming Feluccas!
We spent three days in Luxor with Terry and Fiona of Roam II, taking in as many sights as possible before we left Hurghada. We’ll post up some pictures and related podcasts at a later date. To give you a little taster, however, we thought we’d post up this little podcast, recorded on our third day in Luxor aboard a traditional felucca. A felucca is a traditional sailing boat used on the Nile. We’re unsure exactly how old these modes of transport are but they are still used to get up and down Egypt’s great river. We get to chat to the skipper, a young Nubian, and also get Terry and Fiona’s take on life on the Nile.
Liz Does Luxor
This is quite possibly our most action-packed log entry. Not only do we have an excellent podcast by Liz, but we have over 50 high-res photographs to accompany it too.
The podcast was recorded on our first day of our three day trip to Luxor and takes in Karnak, Hatshipsuit’s Temple and The Valley of the Kings. It is a fantastic walk-around commentary and is extremely well observed. What else would you expect from the daughter of a professor of archaeology? It’s quite amusing too, especially the observations of the Russian whores who were out in force that day. To help put things in perspective, take a look at these candid shots, all taken within half an hour at Hatshipsuit’s Sacred Temple.
Coptics And Carriages
Last weekend six Copts were killed in Egypt in a drive-by shooting. This interview with a Copt was edited at the time this was happening…Despite Egypt’s current status as a Muslim country it actually hosted the oldest form of organised Christianity. They are called Coptics and make up between 10-15% of the Egyptian population. Hopefully further down the line I will get to chat more intimately with a Muslim and what their faith means to them but whilst in Egypt I was desperate to chat to a Coptic.
Eventually I pulled it off. I met a young Coptic woman in Luxor who was willing to chat and be recorded, a feat unto itself since most Egyptians are quite guarded when it comes to opinions. Despite taking a few minutes to open up and insisting that we change her name to Maria, the name of her daughter, this is a great insight. Furthermore we conducted our little chat aboard a horse and carriage, taking in the scenes of the backstreets of Luxor! This podcast is accompanied by a video clip of the carriage ride and coincidentally coincides with the recent drive-by killings of six Coptics.
Wanderlust
This is a ‘Through The Porthole’ profile of a solo sailor, Ian of ‘Rhumb Do’. Since the age of 16 Ian’s wanderlust has seen him in over 80 countries, and the lust to wander continues. He is the rally’s only solo sailor.
They’re Still Dreamin’
Meet Dan and Mary, a gregarious couple from the Great Lakes. Whilst their boat is called Still Dreamin’ they certainly have their feet firmly on the ground. This is a fascinating podcast profile of the two Americans who are taking part in the Vasco Da Gama rally. I think I only asked one question in the 20 minute interview!
Traveling Vagrants
For those people who don’t own a boat but would like to experience the wonders of living aboard, take some inspiration from these two chaps. Both Cillian and Robbie had been cycling across Europe and met on New Year’s Eve. Within a week they had joined the Vasco Da Gama rally aboard ‘Cobble’ and ‘Rhumb Do’ respectively. Up until this point both boats had been single-handed by their skippers, Morris and Ian.
Cillian and Robbie have hit the deck running and have ingratiated themselves within the rally group quite successfully. It’s nice to have some young blood amongst the group and they, like everyone else, have their own story to tell.
Like A Coffin
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…
Woofers And Tweeters
Pat and Tony are country people at heart and it’s always a joy to talk to them about various aspects of nature as we travel towards India. In this brief podcast recorded on a windy day we board ‘Full Flight’ and learn about their time back in the South Downs in the UK. Dog lead and binoculars at the ready…
Moody Time
When you meet Colin and Trish you quickly realise that they are a double act and talking to the two of them together is both interesting and entertaining. We board their own boat, called ‘Moody Time’ (the boat is manufactured by the British boat builder, Moody) and learn more about this couple from ‘God’s own country’, Lancashire.
Fly Me To The Moon
A happy new year to you! We celebrate the arrival of 2010 with a bunch of new podcasts, which we’ve titled ‘Through The Porthole’. (For those who had previous problems streaming their podcast we have improved the podcast media player.) They are a series of informal interviews with the Vasco Da Gama rally participants but to maintain interest amongst you non-sailors out there we’ve made a point of not talking about sailing; instead we find out a bit more about the people taking part. You’ll soon discover from this series that these people are many and varied, each with a story to tell. We start off with a fascinating man with an equally fascinating life story…