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/2011/01/02/divanty-has-left-the-building/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/01/02/divanty-has-left-the-building/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:15:55 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20878 On an overcast and mildly blustery New Year's morning there were tears on the pontoon as Antony and Davina of s/y 'Divanty' left for the Maldives. Not including Lo of 'Mistral', who leads another Vasco Da Gama rally back up the Red Sea, this now leaves just Roam II and Esper from the original gang of adventurers who left Turkey in November 2009. It is a strange feeling and a little sad too, what with spending the last few months having a giggle with the Divanty crew, but we're happy that they've slipped their lines with some favourable winds and are heading somewhere new and exciting. Good luck, Ants and Div.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2011/01/02/divanty-has-left-the-building/feed/ 2 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/22/into-the-arabian-sea/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/22/into-the-arabian-sea/#comments Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:00:31 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20714 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.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/22/into-the-arabian-sea/feed/ 0 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/13/hollywood-beckons-our-tv-interview/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/13/hollywood-beckons-our-tv-interview/#comments Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:13:57 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20683 Just before we left India Liz and I were interviewed by MarineBiz TV, a global television channel which has been putting together a series of programmes called 'Sailor's Diary'. In it each member of the Vasco Da Gama Rally was interviewed and asked about their backgrounds, experience and life at sea. We've managed to get hold of a copy and reproduce it here. Do please let us know if television really does put on 10lbs because I'm sure I look slimmer than I feel ;)]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/10/13/hollywood-beckons-our-tv-interview/feed/ 7 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/10/a-vessel-is-pirated/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/10/a-vessel-is-pirated/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:30:17 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=20526 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.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/09/10/a-vessel-is-pirated/feed/ 0 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/2010/01/18/electronics-and-fishing/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/18/electronics-and-fishing/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:50 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19260 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...]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/18/electronics-and-fishing/feed/ 3 http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/10/whats-your-boat-like/ http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/10/whats-your-boat-like/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:52:02 +0000 Jamie http://www.followtheboat.com/?p=19076 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." Upon receipt of this email we hopped in the dinghy whilst at anchor between Egypt and Sudan, and polled the rally skippers on their thoughts on their own boats. For the record, Robert, there are two Moody's, an Oyster and a Southerly on the rally. This is a nice little insight into the boats on the rally and the compromises we make.]]> http://www.followtheboat.com/2010/01/10/whats-your-boat-like/feed/ 2