http://www.followtheboat.com Tales (not just) from the high seas Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:30:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/05/09/a-dash-of-curry-in-your-tea-sir/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/05/09/a-dash-of-curry-in-your-tea-sir/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 14:21:19 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=22904 If you had told me a year ago that I would be in India drinking curried tea, I'd have laughed you off the boat. I'd heard of curry for breakfast and I'd even heard rumours of curried ice cream, but curried tea? As a tea-drinking Brit I spluttered and guffawed at this ridiculous notion.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/05/09/a-dash-of-curry-in-your-tea-sir/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/04/04/piracy-costing-12-billion/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/04/04/piracy-costing-12-billion/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:52:24 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=21562 As if you non-seafaring people out there needed convincing, the latest figures via The Times has piracy costing the global economy $12 billion a year. In the same week that Dutch marines kill two Somalia pirates, a London law firm which specialises in the field, was quoted as saying “matters are deteriorating at every level”. Whilst our sailing friends are well aware of the dangers of piracy, it's not until one reads the numbers that the problem of piracy is put into perspective for the rest of us. It is truly a global concern that affects everyone. In a future post we'll be putting together a couple of ideas on how you can help support anti-piracy causes. Meanwhile, read about the latest figures here. We'd like to hear your views on the subject too.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/04/04/piracy-costing-12-billion/feed/ 6 http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/03/15/indian-navy-pirates/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/03/15/indian-navy-pirates/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:17:14 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=21414 This morning the marina manager brought us the fantastic news that the Indian navy has caught yet another boat load of pirates! It was a huge catch with 61 seized in all. Yep, 61 of the b******s. Good. The Hindu has a good report on the capture, which we precis in our blog post. What's most encouraging, however, is the photograph that has been issued along with the report. It's a photo of all 61 pirates sitting like lame ducks on board the navy vessel. Whilst I do not condone the death penalty I do hope these pirates are proverbially strung up alive by the Indian justice system. Good riddance to them.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/03/15/indian-navy-pirates/feed/ 8 http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/02/22/quest-killed/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/02/22/quest-killed/#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:38:43 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=21043 Today all four crew of sailing yacht 'Quest' were killed. Apparently the US Navy 'responded to gunfire' aboard Quest off the coast of Oman, which it had been shadowing since the boat was taken on Friday. Our thoughts go out to Scott and Jean's family and friends. They were here just a few weeks ago in Cochin Marina, India. There is already much debate on the sailing forums as to what actually happened and what will happen next. Only time will tell. One wonders if we will ever get to the bottom of what really occured aboard that ill-fated yacht. In the meantime I have removed my previous scrutiny of passage planning into the Indian Ocean out of respect. The fact remains that this is a sad day for liveaboard sailors around the world, a sad day for our freedom and a sad day for the worsening situation both on the waters of the Indian Ocean and in Somalia.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/02/22/quest-killed/feed/ 8 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/11/15/the-chandlers-are-free-%e2%80%93-so-where-does-this-leave-us/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/11/15/the-chandlers-are-free-%e2%80%93-so-where-does-this-leave-us/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:26:51 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20781 What fantastic news that the Chandlers have been freed after 388 days of captivity by pirates in Somalia. Our thoughts go out to their family and friends. The last year must have been very difficult so now it is time to celebrate their freedom and give them time to recuperate from what must have been a harrowing ordeal. But what now? Where does this leave the rest of us? Has paying the ransom actually made the situation worse?]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/11/15/the-chandlers-are-free-%e2%80%93-so-where-does-this-leave-us/feed/ 19 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/08/12/a-virgin-flight-from-india/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/08/12/a-virgin-flight-from-india/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:09:21 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20490 Now that I've secured a cat-sitter for Millie, I can start thinking about my return home. I have to renew my visa, you see, so today begins my search for a flight. At the same time Liz has clocked up a bank of air miles with her old business airline, Virgin, so if push comes to shove I could always use these to get back from Mumbai to the UK. If, however, my experience will be anything like the famous Virgin Customer Complaints letter I think I'll be looking for alternatives. Some of you may remember this one doing the rounds last year; it is now heralded as the greatest customer complaints letter ever written. It's quite apt that it's Virgin and that the flight concerned was from Mumbai to Heathrow, exactly the same flight I'll be looking for. For those who missed it or have forgotten just how amusing the letter was we reproduce it here in all its glory, complete with photographic evidence: Dear Mr Branson REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008 I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit. Ironically, by the end of the flight I would have gladly paid over a thousand rupees for a single biscuit following the culinary journey of hell I was subjected to at the hands of your corporation. Look at this Richard. Just look at it...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/08/12/a-virgin-flight-from-india/feed/ 5 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/10/dont-talk-eat/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/10/dont-talk-eat/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:51:01 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20276 “...that and a threesome with two lesbians”, smiled my friend Cillian as we sat in Hotel Ceylon, tidying up a delicious mushroom masala. “Hmmm, I don't know”, I replied. “I still think food comes out on tops”. We were discussing the merits of food, eating and dining out. We were pretty much in agreement that the greatest pleasure in life was food. “Did I mention that they were Swedish?”, Cillian added. OK, second greatest pleasure.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/10/dont-talk-eat/feed/ 3 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/06/the-dharavi-slums-of-mumbai-in-photographs/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/06/the-dharavi-slums-of-mumbai-in-photographs/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:25:16 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20071 To me photography is often about engaging with people. Despite being told to do so by our taxi driver I point-blank refused to stick my camera out the window of the car as we drove down one really poor street. Yet on my second visit, this time walking down the same street, we bothered to talk to the people I was snapping and everyone we met appeared so happy. Except one family. You'll notice in amongst all the photographs of smiling faces are two brothers who look very sad. Why were they like this? It doesn't bear thinking about but their eyes tell a different story and their portraits stick out like sore thumbs. It's a stark reminder that behind all the laughter life is still damn bloody tough.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/06/the-dharavi-slums-of-mumbai-in-photographs/feed/ 10 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/04/the-drink-of-brave-men/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/04/the-drink-of-brave-men/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:25:49 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20050 On Sunday I'll be publishing my shots of the Dharavi slums of Mumbai. That's on Sunday but today is Friday, so let's keep it light-hearted. Let's discuss beer! Beer. The love of my life, the bain of my waist-line. A refreshment to be enjoyed at the end of the day after a hard day's sail, a hard day's work or a hard day's drinking. Whatever the occassion, beer is there to help you celebrate. Here in Catholic Kerala, however, beer isn't so understood. The booze shop is a shuttered, over-the-counter, slip-the-beverage-into-a-plain-paper-bag-before-my-wife-spots-me affair. The pubs are dirty, dark cockroach-infested holes. The imbibement of this fine libation is not encouraged like it is elsewhere in India and the mantra "alcohol consumption is injurious to health" is seen on both the labels of bottles and across the tinted windows of aforementioned grimey bars. Is 'injurious' actually a word? Whatever, whether you like beer or not you'll be impressed by the sales pitch of one such beer called Zingaro. The masculine gold and red Zingaro label has an Indian, of the Native American persuasion, taming a wild horse with 'Super Strong Premium Lager' emblazoned across the bottom. But it's the blurb on the back that had me in stiches...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/04/the-drink-of-brave-men/feed/ 11 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/04/20/now-its-our-turn-to-answer-the-questions/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/04/20/now-its-our-turn-to-answer-the-questions/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:27:32 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19750 What with our Through The Porthole podcasts and previous efforts at amateur journalism we're quite used to asking questions of other people. It was a pleasant surprise, therefore, to receive an invitation to answer some questions directed at ourselves. Livia is a sailor who has recently embarked on a project entitled 'Interview with a Cruiser', where she asks 10 questions to cruisers from around the world. The interviews are published weekly. Livia's idea is to build a database of different questions and answers to help future or would-be cruisers make informed decisions on switching to this lifestyle.It was quite a treat being able to respond to some questions that we would normally be putting to others to answer.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/04/20/now-its-our-turn-to-answer-the-questions/feed/ 2