http://www.followtheboat.com Tales (not just) from the high seas Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:30:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/20/mumbai-mumbai-the-official-ftb-song/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/20/mumbai-mumbai-the-official-ftb-song/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:51:16 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20118 Followtheboat has an anthem! You may have heard the official World Cup song by Shakira but we've gone one step further by signing up the even more beautiful female vocalist, Annie May, to write and sing FTB's 2010 Indian Anthem. This is a must-see exclusive, just for our friends...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/06/20/mumbai-mumbai-the-official-ftb-song/feed/ 9 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/ 9 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/03/07/dancing-with-yemeni-fishermen/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/03/07/dancing-with-yemeni-fishermen/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:00:52 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19712 I am the first Englishman to dance with Yemeni fishermen. Actually I think the accolade I was awarded by the coastguard who gave me this video clip was that I was the first foreigner to lead a troupe of Yemeni fishermen in dance. Ever. Don't worry I'm not being serious, even though the coast guard was. I was quite touched that one of the coastguard-policemen came looking for me to lead me up to Colonel Mohamed's office to watch this clip. All ten policemen were huddled round a TV with a camera plugged in to it, watching this clip! The actual event was a leaving ceremony put on by Colonel Mohamed of Aden for the Vasco Da Gama rally and the fishermen were breaking out some traditional dance routines to a live band. I have to say they were excellent and the music was pretty cool too. Check out the video clip.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/03/07/dancing-with-yemeni-fishermen/feed/ 13 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/18/first-tinker-to-sail-the-red-sea/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/18/first-tinker-to-sail-the-red-sea/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:39:02 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19090 This last week has been dramatic to say the least. You'll find out more in the coming weeks when the podcasts and photographs of our progress are published. Bear in mind we now have to be mindful of what we make public knowledge and what we hold back, so there will be a delay in what we report on. In the meantime we've been sitting out some nasty southerlies in this safe little anchorage and yesterday we had some fun. Our tender, which is a British-built Tinker, doubles up as a sailing dinghy so Cillian of 'Cobble' and myself put a bit of effort into rigging her up and taking her for her maiden sail! Is this the first ever Tinker to sail in the Red Sea? Maybe, maybe not, but what is impressive is that I've successfully managed to upload a video clip of said maiden voyage. Listen out for the gay Egyptian soundtrack!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/18/first-tinker-to-sail-the-red-sea/feed/ 3 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/06/i-feel-so-reel/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/06/i-feel-so-reel/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:42:48 +0000 Millie The Cat http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=5402 I was very disappointed to read some of the comments you lot made about my dad's efforts to line-fish off the back of the boat. You have to remember that whilst they look small to you, they are in fact a complete meal for a cat like me, so when he starts getting so good he pulls in not one, not two but three fish, one after the other, you have to admire his success. My dad's great, I love him!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/06/i-feel-so-reel/feed/ 2 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/01/flaming-lipsi/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/01/flaming-lipsi/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:57:54 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=5373 Lipsi. A quintessentially Greek island untouched by the hoards of package holiday tourists that populate the bigger Dodecanese islands. I'd say the people here are a mix of holidaying Greeks, a few backpackers and a bunch of yotties, not forgetting the gentle locals, which makes for a very peaceful atmosphere indeed. These next few log entries, including a special post by Millie The Cat, cover the rest of the Dodecanese islands and start with Lipsi, which is littered with some of my fave photographs of the Dodecanese islands. Let me know what you think of them by leaving a comment at the end of the page!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/08/01/flaming-lipsi/feed/ 5 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/07/21/my-big-fat-greek-tragedy/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/07/21/my-big-fat-greek-tragedy/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:15:41 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=5302 Liz has left me. She has gone and now it is just me, the cat and Esper. To pull myself out of my misery I attempted some single handed sailing, proving to myself and the world that I can stand alone, man against the elements, a conqueror, a hero. Impressive was the fact that I have never sailed solo before; even more impressive was that I managed to log two continents. Well, this all sounds good on paper, but the reality was that my first week was a complete screaming disaster. Dragging anchors, smashed solar panels, dysfunctional engines and rolling harbours all contributed to me desperately wanting my Queenie back on board. All this is set against a background of consistent 25-30knot winds that have been plaguing the Greek Islands all month. The usual self-deprecation is illustrated with loads of pics (look out for 'Moon Goat') and a couple of video clips too. ]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/07/21/my-big-fat-greek-tragedy/feed/ 11 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/#comments Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:08:35 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=4374 It doesn't seem to matter where you are this weekend: Turkey, England, Germany... it's wet wherever you go. If the weather's not ripping pontoons apart in Marmaris it's holding up traffic on the M25 and making the autobahn a dangerous place to travel. For those who haven't seen it we have some video evidence of the damage that wreaked havoc across Marmaris, recorded by Mike of 'Roam', hot off the press. In stark contrast to that we have a great movie of 'Ilios', 'Viva Solo', 'Esper', 'Full Flight' and 'Lady Jessie' all demonstrating what we like doing best. Any opportunity to send Liz off up into the air attached to a bit of string , camcorder in hand, has got to be worth the effort and she captured some fantastic video clips, which we present to you here. A pleasant musical refrain replaces the dirty-mouthed Liz battling with a shaky video camera.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/01/24/a-tale-of-two-cities/feed/ 19 http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/30/aerial-shots-of-esper-under-sail/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/30/aerial-shots-of-esper-under-sail/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:52:00 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=3978 We did a lot of things this year. We did a lot of new things this year. New people, new experiences, new places and all that. One of the highlights, however, has to be sending Liz up into the sky to get a bird's eye view of Esper under sail, with Mum and Dad helping to hoist some light wind sails.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/30/aerial-shots-of-esper-under-sail/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/15/who-says-cats-cant-swim-2/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/15/who-says-cats-cant-swim-2/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:54:43 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=4742 A classic video clip of little Millie going for a dive in the warm waters of Boynuz Buku and proof that not only can cats swim but actually aren't half bad at it either!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2008/10/15/who-says-cats-cant-swim-2/feed/ 0