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/2011/10/07/two-beach-birthdays/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/10/07/two-beach-birthdays/#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:16:30 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=24127 Our autumn series of followtheboat posts take us to the Himalayas. It’s an exhausting trek into the moody, cloud-covered mountains, but before we head north we’re going to take two weekend breaks on the beach in Kerala. Stupidly we booked our driver through the same company who arranged our fateful Western Ghats adventure. And guess who our driver was? Yep, the very same chap who claimed never to have had an accident in 21 years of driving, forgetting the accident Liz and I were involved in within 20 minutes of jumping into his car on our first trip (I think the definition of an accident in India has to include at least one fatality)]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/10/07/two-beach-birthdays/feed/ 1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/30/towing-the-line/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/30/towing-the-line/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:30:19 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20378 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!]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/30/towing-the-line/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/23/pirate-alley-birthday-close-encounters/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/23/pirate-alley-birthday-close-encounters/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:30:59 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20303 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?]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/23/pirate-alley-birthday-close-encounters/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/16/pirate-alley-night-diving/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/16/pirate-alley-night-diving/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:30:58 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20296 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 ]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/16/pirate-alley-night-diving/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/09/dancing-our-way-out-of-yemen/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/09/dancing-our-way-out-of-yemen/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:30:36 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19948 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 were thrilled to find that they had invited a group of ten young fishermen who were dancing to a live band, performing traditional dance. They then invited the rally participants to join them and Jamie couldn't resist busting out his moves. One of the coastguards very kindly gave us a video clip of this momentous ocassion, telling us that this was the first and only time an English man has danced in routine with Yemeni fishermen! You can see the clip on the website. After the dance we polled some of the rally participants about their thoughts on the next leg of the trip, which takes us through Pirate Alley. In this podcast 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.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/07/09/dancing-our-way-out-of-yemen/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/24/best-day-of-your-life/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/24/best-day-of-your-life/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:29:51 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19144 Can you think of the best day of your life? You've probably got a few, or perhaps you hadn't given it much thought. It's rare that a day happens and then lie in bed on the same evening concluding that it must be one of the best days of your life, but that's what happened today. Today goes down as one of the most idyllic, perfect days I have ever experienced.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/24/best-day-of-your-life/feed/ 10 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/23/fish-glorious-fish/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/23/fish-glorious-fish/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:28:43 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19138 Fishing. It starts off like this...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/23/fish-glorious-fish/feed/ 6 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/13/scuba-diving-and-snorkeling-in-the-red-sea/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/13/scuba-diving-and-snorkeling-in-the-red-sea/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:32 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19035 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...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/13/scuba-diving-and-snorkeling-in-the-red-sea/feed/ 9 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/06/snorkeling-with-me-dad-2/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/06/snorkeling-with-me-dad-2/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:35:22 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=18897 the fact that there were some wonderful memories taking Dad snorkeling in the Red Sea is a bonus! This was a simple downwind sail of around 12 miles due south of Hurghada, a case of dropping the hook and spending a very memorable few days at anchor.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/06/snorkeling-with-me-dad-2/feed/ 1 http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/02/gulf-of-suez-podcast-part-2/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/02/gulf-of-suez-podcast-part-2/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:18:36 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=18791 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.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2009/12/02/gulf-of-suez-podcast-part-2/feed/ 3