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Monthly Archives: September 2010
Turkey to India Video: A Geography Lesson For Kids
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.
Back To School Round-Up: Kids Projects & Trading Secrets
Got kids? Facebook this week has been awash with proud parents posting up pics of their kids in their new school uniform, compete with descriptions of teary eyes… and that’s just the adults. Liz and I have got into the new term spirit too: followtheboat is involved in a school project which might be of interest to any parent out there with young children. Some educational audio and visual treats coming soon. Also we might just be contravening some international act with our surreptitious recording of the Royal Navy trading secrets with us in Oman. That’s our exclusive podcast that comes out today. Oh and Liz got shortlisted for another writing comp but we said we wouldn’t bore you with those announcements any more 
Anyway, it’s all in the link below.
EXCLUSIVE: Navy Trades Secrets With FTB About Piracy
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. What we can broadcast, however, is a very interesting discussion between two senior Naval officers and the skippers and owners of private sail boats on the rally. The British Navy is one of over 60 different countries operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in the fight against piracy. If you know little about the piracy situation or what we as boat owners have to go through when considering our route through this dangerous stretch of water then you will find this very interesting.
What Do 7 Metre Waves Look Like…
So what do 7m waves look like from the inside of a cruise ship? I’ve put together three video clips in this post. In the first we see the effect of a storm on a cruise ship’s passengers, crew and gear. This CCTV clip was taken from a cruise ship that hit 50 knots winds off New Zealand and makes for scary viewing! The second clip gives you a bird’s eye view of a rolling cruise ship, and the third is a small clip taken from the bridge of a commercial vessel enduring some sci-fi looking waves. Anyone booked their cruise this year?
A Vessel Is Pirated
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.
Boo Hoo! India Is So Expensive!
I had one of the most ridiculous conversations with two yachties last week. The couple were complaining that India was really expensive. Incredulous I responded by arguing that food here is so cheap one can eat out at a restaurant for a quid. Quite frankly these Moaning Myrtles really get on my wick. Ready for a rant?
Pirate Alley: They Think It’s All Over…
The home-run! At least that’s what we believe before we get to Salalah. More on that in a later episode but in the meantime we make the most of our last part of the official Pirate Alley stretch and amuse ourselves by tuning in to the VHF. The freaks really come out at night you know.