29th January
This supposed to be a fast passage, yet there was no
wind for the first days. Once approaching Nicobar Islands, 3 days out, the
wind finally came and due to some current we were flying at 9 knots in
flat seas, wow!
01st February
Skirting Sri Lanka. Up to now it has been very heavy
traffic with cargo ships, we counted one night 8 in 3 hours. They are
pretty good, keeping out of our way. We are keeping 60 miles off the coast
to avoid the cargos and the fishing boat. The gossip was that the
fisherman are a pest, but so far we had one contacting us on the radio for
a little chat and to welcome us to India. Another 2 got
very close to us, just to wave and shout welcomes, so can't always believe
the gossip. Had our record run ever, 171 miles in 24hrs.
04th February
Dolphins keeping us company, they come at night,
sometimes, and play around the boat. Sometimes they come at sundown, doing
pirouettes, jumping out of the water, but we don't go more then 3 days
without them. Also had whales about half a mile from the boat, we only
knew it was whales because of the water spew from their blowholes, there
were about 5 of them, scattered behind the boat.
05th February
Morale is a bit low, things keep braking in the boat,
even little things are upsetting us: cupboard doors, etc.
06th February
Finally we caught a fish! We given up hopes in catching
one, so didn't even check the fishing line. We were mesmerized when
something bulky was attached to it. The dorado has been there for a while
because it was dead when we hauled it out. But it tasted delicious. That
lifted our moods for a very short time., until the alternator packed up.
Seeing we charge the batteries via the engine, with flat batteries we can't
run the fridge full of meat, and the instruments or even start
the engine. Things always break where there is no repair available and at the
worst time possible!
07th February
Two hours out of Maldives, we are going to the most northern
atoll, with a unpronounceable name , Thavandhippolhu. In this atoll there is a little island called
Uligamu, for those yachties who can't afford the cruising permit of $450,
this is the place to go. We are allowed to stay for 3days ,for $4 , but cannot cruise around the archipelago. Just as well because it
looks like we will be fixing the boat in Maldives, before leaving to Oman.
So, whoever defined cruising as fixing the boat in exotic places is absolutely
right!
08th February
Being a Muslim country,
there are a number of rules and etiquette to follow: Do not give any
presents to locals, alcohol being a big no. Dress appropriately when in
the village. Locals are not allowed on board a boat without Customs
approval. And so on. The officials, however were very polite and even
removed their shoes before coming aboard! Otherwise it has been an unsuccessful
and frustrating day spent mostly with our heads stuck in the engine bay,
tried all sorts of different ideas but still haven't got electricity going
through the boat. For now the little petrol generator is keeping us off
the dark ages. In the evening we went ashore for a dinner organized by the
local agent for all the yachties. It was a buffet with dozen of different
dishes, grilled grouper and desserts, all for 10 bucks. The typical food
is a very mild version of Indian culinary, almost every dish contains coconut. It was delicious. After dinner the locals
played the drums and sang typical songs.
09th February
There
is really not a lot around here, the village has 475
people. Right now is even less, lot of people left for Male, where more
jobs are available in the Resorts. Last week the island got swamped with
40 yachts , they took all the provisioning, so couldn't get any fresh
produce. Imad is the local agent, very young lad, helpful and very
business minded. We inquired about chances of getting an electric engineer on board.
First we have to get permission from Customs to have any local aboard,
then Imad has to be around as the engineer doesn't speak English. So we
paid the agent fee of $20, but with that, now we are allowed to stay
another 15
days. The only engineer in the atoll finally was allowed on board and left after 3 hrs
with both alternators , no solutions yet. The whole experience of having
locals on board was interesting. They were so shy to accept a drink of Coke and
when Imad glanced at our pirate DVD's from Thailand and I offered one disk, he wouldn't take it. Makes you wonder about this
rule, it is
good for the visitors and doesn't spoil the locals.
10th
February
Amazing considering that there is nothing
whatsoever here, but the Maldiveans are all equipped with palm pads, Sony-Eriksson
mobiles, Diesel and Billabong t-shirts and fashionable sun glasses. That
is the men, the women wear black and head veils. The village has a cable TV with 101 channels,
although all electricity comes from
generators. Not sure where the money comes from, the village is simple
with basic houses, but clean and we haven't seen any poverty as such.
11th
February
The engineer came back with alternators
and after spending couple of hours fiddling around, he left assuring us
that it is all working now and we have 8 amps of charge. When Graham
pointed out that should be 60 amps , he just shrugged and left. After that we
decided to forget about it for the afternoon and went for a snorkel...
12th
February
This time we tried a Austrian engineer,
instead of the Sri Lankan who couldn't speak English.
Helmut is another yachties and for our luck he understands about boat
electrics, at least we got some feedback of a few problems. While poor
Graham spent another day inside the engine bay, I went ashore together
with Geishe and Svenia to play volleyball with the local girls. They
are very shy to interact( that seems to be the job entirely for the men)
but also very curious about new visitors. Playing ball games broke the
ice, soon they were chatting away and asking questions. That is until 6pm
, when they curfew begins. We invited them for the beach party
happening tomorrow, if they are allowed.
13th
February
And the alternator saga continues...
Helmut tried his best, spent 8 hrs of his time on us without much results.
We offered some money, knowing down well he wouldn't take it. It is an
unspoken rule within yachties to help out without involving money, just
believing on "what goes around, comes around". So Graham placed
a nice bottle of Merlot into his bag, at least he could enjoy the sunset
with some wine. The 15 boats wanted to thank the fantastic treatment
we received from the locals. So a beach party was organized, via Imad.
Everybody contributed with a dish , the locals bought 2 huge fishes, set
up the fire , later the music. We were hoping that more people would turn
up from the village, not just Imad's entourage , specially the girls would
be allowed for once to meet up with the visitors. But we were wrong. Very
few of the girls were allowed, they all wore some bizarre name badges for
the Island Office. That is how they were allowed out at night, on pretence
of work. After dinner it was time to digest the food with dancing to
drums... That requires a lot of stamina, the music is frantic and dancing
on soft sand is hard work. Then it was time for the yachties to show
some different music for the islanders. They loved the more mellow beat to
the drums and the chanting...
