Cutting the Dragon's Tail by Lynda Chidell & David Chidell

Author:Lynda Chidell & David Chidell [Chidell, Lynda]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Lynda and David Chidell
Published: 2012-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

PART FOUR

The Arabian and Red Seas

David Chidell

1. Decisions

At long last the time had come for Tin Hau to be on the move once again. We had arrived in Galle in April in the knowledge that we could be there for perhaps as long as eight months, but there were no immediate pressures on us to decide where to go to next. As we had seen it, there were two main options and we could wait until July or so before making a decision as to which one to follow.

Plan 'A' was to turn right and go east. This would mean departure from Galle any time before November to pick up the wet south-west monsoon for a 1,100 mile ten to fifteen day crossing of the Bay of Bengal to Phuket in Thailand. We would then remain in that area and commence life as a charter boat.

Plan 'B' was to turn left and go west. This would mean departure from Galle in December to pick up the dry north-east monsoon for a 2,200 mile twenty to thirty day crossing of the Arabian Sea to Aden at the southern end of the Red Sea. There would follow a further six hundred or so miles of generally following winds to Port Sudan, half way up the Red Sea. Then seven hundred miles of strong headwinds and steep seas to Suez - no problem for vessels with powerful enough engines or with good windward sailing ability, but an altogether different matter for a beamy Chinese junk with a relatively small engine. Then ninety miles of the Suez Canal itself, fine as long as the political troubles of the 1970s did not flare up again (the canal had been closed from 1967 to 1975 due to the Israeli-Arab war which had resulted in the 'entombment' of some ships within the Bitter Lakes for seven long years). Finally the Mediterranean and a short two hundred and fifty mile hop to Larnaca Marina in Cyprus. Perhaps the whole voyage would take three to four months and be extremely enjoyable. Or just possibly we would not make it at all.

These were the two options, an easy passage to a fascinating country with a good climate just opening up to tourism and the charter market; or a difficult passage back to a Western country well used to tourists and yachts.

It would seem obvious. Go east. The opportunity was there. Change our original plans of becoming a charter boat in Greece or Turkey. Phuket and Thailand were so close. The potential seemed endless. And the cost of living was low. But...

The 'but' was Tin Hau. She needed attention. After the experience of living aboard her for well over a year in all sorts of conditions and climates, the list of improvements that we wanted to make filled eight pages of our 'defects book': improvements to the running rigging and other specialised junk matters; improvements to the interior; removal of certain rust traps such as the deck boxes; changes to features

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