Followtheboat travel podcasts are weekly audio mp3 'radio' shows, which you may download for free! They are edited aboard 'Esper' and document our travels around the world. The first series covered our sail from Turkey to India through pirate-infested waters. The second series follows us around the Indian sub-continent.
iTunes
All of our podcasts are featured on iTunes and may be downloaded for free. Just search for 'followtheboat' or click here to subscribe for automatic updates if you have iTunes already installed.Entire Collection
Every podcast may be downloaded from our dedicated podcast host page here. You may download any episode or subscribe for updates if you don't have iTunes installed.Android App
Our Followtheboat Android app is now available and it contains our podcasts. You'll get all the updates as and when they happen (every Friday), and you can download it for free here.Listen Now
Alternatively kick back and listen to our podcasts here, using the media player below. The episodes are displayed chronologically with the latest episode at the top. Just click the 'play' button to the right of the title. No need to download the episode as the media player will stream it for you.The Archive
Below is a complete list of all podcasts, their excerpts and links to their containing posts.Agra Fort
[S02E15] In this podcast we take our first train trip. We learn of a king who locked his own father up until his death, the same man who built the Taj Mahal. We’re in Agra, home to the world’s most famous building.
[S02E14] If ever the sculptor Anish Kapoor received inspiration it must surely be from this ancient astronomy site, now a UNESCO World Heritage Centre. We admire the contours and angles of these intriguing objects before wandering round the impressive Amber Fort.
[S02E13] Captured in this podcast some proof that police brutality still exists in India. Thank god the officer wasn’t carrying any of the weapons we saw in the City Palace.
[S02E12] Over the next few weeks we do the Golden Triangle, a hectic and touristic rite of passage. To ease ourselves into this trip we start with a gentle wander round the cool backstreets of Jaipur, the Pink City.
[S02E11] Next week we head off on our classic Golden Triangle, where we’ll get to see the Taj Mahal and all those wonderful cities in Rajasthan. Before we do that, we head down to the backwaters of the south Cochin and rewards the youngsters for their sailing skills. We also get to meet a group of teenagers busily revising for an important exam.
[S02E10] Tea may be the calming cuppa we need after an extremely frustrating visit to an Ayurvedic spice plantation. Ayurveda is the alternative medicine passed down through generations of Indians. Sadly many have a complete blind faith in it, believing basil can cure cancer, for example. We debunk the wild claims of Ayurveda.
[S02E09] From one hill station in Tamil Nadu to another in Kerala. Instead of clouds we’re surrounded by cardamom, coffee… and cobras.
[S02E08] Escaping the hectic city of Madurai we fled towards the Queen of Hills, climbing 30 hairpin bends before we arrived in a haven that offers the greatest views of the Western Ghats. In this podcast we take in the views of the Ghats and Pillar Rock, when the clouds aren’t too low. This is an atmospheric ramble through the mountains on the day of Pongal.
[S02E07] Think Raiders of the Lost Ark and you’ll begin to picture the interior of Meenakshi Temple, one of the largest Hindu temples in the world. We visit it during Pongal, the Hindu festival of harvest, and learn why a cow is sacred and other interesting facts about Hinduism.
[S02E06] The second part of our Madurai podcast wanderings, we start off in Garlic Alley where an old lady is duped. We make our way to the incredible Nayak Palace and end the day with a noisy procession.
[S02E05] We’re in one of the most important towns in south India during one of its most important celebrations, Pongal. Hear how we weave our way through the back streets of Marurai and into the ancient ‘Tailor’s Market’, ending up in an Escher painting.
[S02E4] Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. This podcast is a car journey that starts off badly and turns into a nightmare. It begins with a crash and ends with us getting lost in the middle of the Western Ghat mountain range. Along the way we discover a new breakfast and meet lots of people wearing green and orange.
[S02E03] We have been so busy this week that we’ve not completed editing our next adventure, which takes us into the Western Ghats mountain range. In this podcast we offer a couple of poor excuses but round it off with some great news…
[S02E02] Lonely Planet has this down as a must-do before you die, and having spent a couple of days on the backwaters of Allepey, we concur. This is a bird-watchers and fish-eaters paradise. We take a gentle motor through the backwaters, viewing sunken rice fields and people-watching the locals as they go about their business on the famous river banks of Kerala.
[S02E01] Finally, after a year’s absence! Welcome to the brand new followtheboat podcasts! In this first episode we take a nice, gentle stroll around Fort Cochin, the area in Kochi where the European adventurers settled after opening up trade routes between Asia and Europe. It’s a typically warm day so Liz hides under the shade of the tree-lined avenues, forever surrounded by the cawing of crows.
[S02E00] We take a break from our travels to witness an unprecedented event in Cochin. Dish Dash, a sail boat from Dubai that hit a reef off the coast of India, has to make an emergency stop in Cochin where skipper Johnno decides to haul the boat out the water. This has never been done in Cochin and is a logistical nightmare.
This is the last podcast from our first series, but don’t worry, we return summer 2011. This podcast started off as an exclusive interview with Lo Brust, the organiser of the Vasco Da Gama rally. Recorded a few months ago before the Chandlers were released by their Somali pirate captors Jamie and Lo disucss piracy, sailing tactics and whether there will ever be another Vasco Da Gama rally. That interview concludes with a catch-up, the day before Lo left Cochin marina last week with the fifth Vasco Da Gama rally.
After over a year of podcasts documenting the Vasco Da Gama rally this is the final one that sees Emma, Katy, Liz and Jamie safely arrive at their final destination. Not without the odd storm, however.
This podcast is not to be listened to whilst eating. You’ve no doubt heard that travelling in India can be plagued by cases of Delhi Belly and this week neither Katy nor Jamie escaped its wrath. This is a step-by-step account of a rather hilarious day that was only funny for the observers.
There’s nothing I like better than sailing with a bunch of girls in bikinis – what man wouldn’t, eh? In this weeks episode we’re joined by Liz’s old friends, Emma and Katy. They very nearly didn’t make it though…
This is the podcast you’ve been waiting for! We finally get to visit the slums of Mumbai, taking in Dharavi, where parts of Slumdog Millionaire was filmed, as well as the poorer central Mumbai slums where we take in street dwellers living in wendy houses and glorified bunk beds. Despite this, we were almost always welcomed with open arms. Click on the link where you can play the podcast in your browser, or download it to your computer to listen to at your convenience.
This week sees our first podcast from India! Mumbai is an incredible city and we were keen to explore as soon as we moored up. In this week’s podcast you’ll be pleased to know that Liz takes the helm and navigates around a wonderful little guided tour of just a small part of Mumbai. In the searing midday sun we begin at the Hanging Gardens…
Once again Jamie gets confused as to what day it is in this podcast, but a sharp knock by a fishing boat against Esper’s hull soon brings him back to the real world.
It seems we are not the only boat to suffer damage, however, as other vessels on the rally have their own problems. Still, let’s not let this mar the celebration of a wonderful crossing of the Arabian Sea. Eight days and 960 miles later Mumbai’s hazy skyline makes herself known to a tired but elated Vasco Da Gama Rally.
In our penultimate Arabian Sea crossing podcast Jamie decides to erect something very big that scares Liz. Meanwhile back at Wynbury Delves Primary School the kids send the Esper gang a message. It feels great to know that we’ve done something good, especially after a day of no wind, sunburn and cursing.
Broken steering, hurting backs, sweaty cupboards and incessant chat on the VHF enough to drive the calmest person up the wall. Sometimes it’s best to just turn off the VHF, stop looking at the chart plotter and put to one side all the stuff that interferes with what sailing is really all about.
Coinciding with the Chandler’s release from Somalia by pirates this week we return to the high seas, now entering the middle of the Arabian Sea. We are in the same area the Chandlers were two years ago.
What was a great sail is now turning into a bit of a nightmare with steering problems and no wind. And then there are the freaks on the VHF radio…
The second of our two-part podcast is here. This is the primary school project we’ve been working on with Nance Lake of Wybunbury Delves Primary School in Cheshire. The children are reading Kensuke’s Kingdom and wanted to learn about life at sea so they send us recordings of them asking us questions. This week we discuss the weather, getting lost and what the worst thing that’s ever happened to us.
This week’s podcast is a special project put together for primary school children. It started when Nancy Lake emailed us asking if we could answer some questions for her class at Wybunbury Delves Primary School. As their teacher Nancy is reading them ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ by Michael Morpurgo, a story of a boy who becomes ship-wrecked. To help put the story in context we have answered some of the children’s questions about what it is like to live at sea. We hope that you and your children (should you have any!) enjoy this week’s feature.
We’re now fully into the Arabian Sea and not shopped for weeks yet Liz still manages to pull off a culinary delight in the galley. It is the perfect meal for a perfect day’s sailing, having left the wind pilot to do all the steering. THIS is the kind of sailing we love!
In this week’s podcast we return to the Vasco Da Gama rally where we finally leave the coast of Oman and head into the Arabian Sea. Next stop: Mumbai!
You can hear the sense of relief as we leave the convoy, but Dan on Still Dreaming, our ever hard-working net controller, spots something mysterious in the sky, and reports on further piracy attacks.
Many of our podcast listeners don’t get a chance to check out our website updates so we’ve made the job easier for you. Last month we were interviewed by MarineBiz television channel about our sailing background and the interview was broadcast earlier this week. We’ve decided to turn that interview into an audio podcast, so here it is in all its glory. Finally, the tables are turned and someone interviews us!
Offensive, rude and quite un-PC. Whatever happened to those two lovely young chaps who joined the rally in Egypt? After 3,000 miles something changed and we ended up with potty-mouthed drunken sailors. In this podcast Terry of Roam II takes on the challenge of interviewing Robbie and Cillian, two chaps who met after cycling across Europe and joined the rally in the Red Sea. Not for children or the faint-hearted.
We spent some weeks in Salalah and almost went stir crazy. The long wait for Indian visas and administrative red tape meant we were stuck in a country that was too expensive to explore. The only thing that saved us from going mad were the beautiful beaches and the nearby Oasis Bar.
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.
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.
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.
With just one more day to go before our arrival in Salalah we’re under the impression that it is almost all over. The group relaxes in the dead calm seas, but there’s nothing like the sight of a warship on the horizon to excite these intrepid sailors. It’s time we pulled together to show these naval chaps exactly how coordinated we really can be!
We only spent two nights in Mukala but it was enough to relax, refuel and flirt with the local fishermen… and that was just Millie. We depart and start off with a positive attitude. It is soon erroded as we catch again and again communication between Nato warships and commercial vessels who have spotted suspicious fishing skiffs in the vicinity.
Pirate Alley: In last week’s podcast there was drama after drama, with boats being towed, colliding vessels, more fishing nets and some even taking on water. The next day, feeling that we deserved a rest from this stress, a number of boats, Esper included, decided to break rank, make the most of the favourable winds, turn the engine off and go for a well-deserved sail. Unbeknown to us we had chosen THE most dangerous stretch of water in which to have our fun. Only a week previously there had been a pirate attack in the exact spot we hoisted sail. Only one person was aware of this, though, and boy did he have something to say about it when we dragged ourselves into Mukala.
This week’s podcast is our 40th episode! It finds us caught up in fishing nets again, slap bang in the centre of pirate alley. In last week’s episode Lo Brust, the rally leader aboard his boat Mistral, had successfully thrown a line to Jean-Claud and Marlene aboard Anthea. Anthea is now being towed by Mistral. It didn’t take long for another two boats to run into trouble… as well as each other. Patience is a commodity that can run out. Hope you enjoy this week’s drama, and don’t forget we provide a direct download link if you don’t use iTunes.
The next part of our Pirate Alley excursion is quite unbelievable as we encounter three major problems within the same night! We’ve split the podcasts up and in the next couple of episodes we have a collision, more fishing net problems and you’ll also hear how one boat starts taking in water. Today’s episode, however, deals with the minor issue of a boat breaking down in the middle of nowhere!
Pirate Alley: Jamie’s 40th birthday. No partying for him though as we contend with disfunctional alternators and two suspicious fishing dows. Could they be pirates? And if so, what chance do we have of reinforcing our safty in numbers strategy if Esper’s group is all over the place?
The hilarious departure from Port Aden raises our spirits as we begin our journey into Pirate Alley. Within two hours disaster strikes as one of the boats runs into a fishing net. In the dark.
This collective of boats isn’t called a rally for nothing. Listen to the boats rallying together to get us through the first of many hurdles lying ahead
The day before we left Aden we were invited to another leaving do put on by Colonel Mohammed the Coast guard-cum-port police-cum-general bigwig. We also got to chat to a Yemeni woman, covered head to foot in black with just her eyes visible. Her English is excellent and makes for a great little interview.
In recent months Yemen’s economic and social problems have been well documented but the most evident problem to the visiting tourist isn’t covered by the news. It is ‘gat’, also pronounced ‘cat’ and spelled ‘QAT’ which is a legal drug openly available and openly consumed throughout the country.
The beauty of what we are doing is that you get to make friends in high places. Meet Colonel Mohammed, the big cheese of the Yemeni Coastguard. This happy chap hosted a reception for the Vasco da Gama rally, showed us his fleet of boats and eventually invited us back to his office. It was here that along with Fiona and Terry of Roam 2, Francesca and Marco of Easy and Free, we learned about the colonel’s sex life. His secret is the aphrodisiac-cum-opiate ‘gat’. It is chewed in the afternoon but its effect in the bedroom takes place after dark. Apparently. It’s all in this week’s podcast.
We learn more about gat, and how it is destroying Yemen, in next week’s podcast.
This is a moment to remember: we finally leave the Red Sea, pass through the notorious Bab el Mandab and into the Gulf of Aden. A podcast for your listening pleasure.
Sadla Island, Eritrea. In this podcast we take a trip ashore and start by crossing the isthmus from the west towards the windward side on the east. We’re looking for turtles but we find a bit more than what we bargained for!
The Convergence Zone. A place where the unforgiving seas force lesser men to give up and go home. This podcast begins with us leaving Freedom Bay and looking at problems on other boats in the rally. It ends, however, in Marsa Dudo with an analysis of a problem we encounter ourselves. This was a grueling hundred mile trip that should have been completed in 24 hours. It took much, much longer. Along the way Esper finds herself in a critical situation.
This podcast is an insight into a very important skipper’s meeting, held on board Mistral, the boat belonging to rally organiser Lo Brust. You’ll hear the lapping dinghies and gentle breeze in the background for authenticity.
This is a very important meeting as we discuss the convoy sailing tactics.
What I love about this podcast is the relaxed attitude we take to motoring into a few headwinds and the expectation of an easy motor sail to Marsa Dudo, 100 miles away.
Also listen out for the blase comment about the military not causing us any problems further down the coast. Needless to say we were kicked out of two anchorages by smiling Eritrean navy personnel.
We leave Massawa and head to an anchorage called Ras Corali, 30 miles away. From hereon in, the direction of our progress becomes problematic. How do we head south east without motoring directly into wind?
And should we move at all when half the rally is going down with a mysterious illness? Still, we should be grateful we have the available medicines on board to cope with a fever, some people aren’t so lucky.
This podcast captures a few yotties discussing passage plans in between diving under the boat to scrape the prop and giving the locals some much needed medicine.
We spent some time in Massawa and we took in a trip to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, which is based above the clouds in the cool mountains. We didn’t take the podcast recorder with us as we were concentrating on photographs, but in this podcast we recount both the trip up the mountains and the city itself, and laugh at Ian of Rhumb Do, who froze in his seat when a curious primate decided to stick his head through the bus window.
In our last podcast we visited a place called Khor Nawarat, which was our last stop in Sudan. Having finally learned how to use our wind pilot we make the next 180 miles under sail alone and find ourselves in Massawa, the port town of Eritrea. Despite being the second poorest country in the world Eritrea is clean, friendly and relaxing, and Massawa a welcome return to some kind of civilisation, including bars that serve local cheap beer! We spent some time in Massawa and managed to wrangle not just a trip to the mountainous capital, Asmara, but get invited to the Fenkle party, which was a celebration of the country’s independence twenty years ago.
In our last podcast we had just entered Sudan, where we discovered an idyllic anchorage and met Duygu The Dugong. We reluctantly left this spot a couple of days later and continued sotuhwards on to our next Sudanese marsa, Inkeifel. Expect plenty of fish, the perfect barbie-on-a-beach, a mangrove swamp and a possible sighting of Ursula Andress, though I suspect that last bit is all in Jamie’s mind.
In this latest podcast we finally cross the boarder of Egypt and pass in to Sudan, one of the poorest and most war-torn countries on this planet.
For us, however, its poor economy is made up for by the very rich beauty of nature. The anchorage of Marob is our first taste of ‘real’ Africa and within 24 hours we have run-ins with turtles, ospreys, camels and, get this, a dugong!
“Ships that pass in the night” is a great nautical term that has passed into everyday English parlance. In this podcast we go back to its original context and pass not just another ship in the night but a strange, alien-like object too. Under the cover of darkness identifying what these things are is a great game that whiles away the night watches.
It’s been a while since we gave you a progress update; for the last few weeks you’ve been hearing from some of the Vasco Da Gama participants and getting to know the different people taking part in the rally that takes us 4,500 miles from Turkey to India.
There’s been a reason for this staggered narrative though: we’re passing through some of the most dangerous waters in the world. Piracy has been a growing concern in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. British sailing couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler of the sailing boat ‘Lyn Rival’, previous Vasco Da Gama rally participants, are still being held hostage in Somalia at the time of publication. The threat of piracy is very, very real so we are avoiding publishing our exact whereabouts, hence the automated, scheduled podcasts. But now we can continue with the adventure and we get back to our progress on the water…
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…
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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…
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…
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.
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…
This Christmas day the Vasco Da Gama rally participants and friends had a pontoon party in Hurghada Marina. Around 20 or so people took part in this ‘pot luck’ festive dinner. Liz and I were due to take part in the celebrations, and we did, but not without a hiccup (read a morning spent in the hospital A&E)!
Yesterday was Friday, holy day here in Egypt, and there is no mistaking it! All day the town reverberated with the sound of the mullah calling the men to prayer, a sound that is amplified through the many speakers adorning the minarets. Jamie jumped on his bike and recorded a little tour of these sounds, which are quite extraordinary to the western ear.
This is the second of two 20 minute podcasts recorded as we transited out from the canal and into the Gulf of Suez. If you’ve ever wondered what a Beaufort Force Seven (gusting eight) is like, we can now tell you. We have the underpants to prove it. That cargo ship approaching the side of our boat didn’t help but we made it across from the Sinai back to the west coast of the Red Sea and eventually into Hurghada.
This is the first of two 20 minute podcasts recorded as we transited out from the canal and into the Gulf of Suez. We finally leave the evil clutches of the Suez Authority and into open waters where we anchor for the first time in Egypt, have the best sail of our lives…ever… and catch a little fishy.
The is the second podcast recorded whilst transiting the Suez Canal aboard Esper. In this episode we leave Ismalia with a new, quieter pilot and make our way towards Port Suez. We encounter some fishermen in the Bitter Lakes, which enrages our normally subdued pilot, and Ian of ‘Rhumb Do’ suggests lamb chops for dinner. It’s not what it seems…
This is the first of two podcasts recorded as we transited the Suez Canal from north to south. We set off from Port Said around midday, took in the afternoon sun and watched as a huge convoy passed, and spent a bit of time chatting to our pilot. Learn a bit about Egyptian families, the types of ships that pass and what goes on on the canal.
This is the second 20 minute instalment of our 400nm crossing from Turkey to Egypt. In this episode Liz catches our first official trolled fish, Jamie proves he can’t navigate by the stars, we ride 3m waves and eventually land in Port Said. You can either listen online or you can download the mp3 file to listen to at your convenience. Enjoy!
We promised you a podcast of our crossing and so here it is: this is the first of two 20 minute podcasts, documenting our 400nm crossing from Turkey to Port Said, Egypt. In this episode we break things and talk about various aspects of navigation and night sailing. This is the perfect podcast for introducing you landlubbers to the wonders of sailing, especially if you have never stepped on board a boat before. Download it to your iPod or notebook, or play it direct via the ‘play’ button. Enjoy!
This, our first official followtheboat podcast, is an interview with a young south African family half way through a sailing circumnavigation. They’ve visited a staggering 30 counties in 3 years but their trip has been put on hold as they attend to a dismasting hiccup! As if that’s not enough, Ronnelle has returned to their home in America for three months, leaving dad Neil to look after Emille, 7, and Pete, 5. There’ll be hell to pay if that mast isn’t up when she returns in the new year!
