The Ocean Voyager and Me: Blue water sailing story - building a boat on Lamu then sailing with timorous wife, two babies, untried crew, no engine, no money by Di Beach

Author:Di Beach [Beach, Di]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2014-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

26

Indian Ocean

A DESIGN JOB HAD UNEXPECTEDLY materialised through friends we made at the yacht club and the three architects—Chris was not invited to join the team—worked together on plans for a house to be built on a hilly plot of woodland punctuated by enormous granite boulders. The design was a beautiful glass box that would give the occupants the sensation of living in the trees. By contrast they planned a completely enclosed womb-like den a short distance from the main house.

The drawings and the registration of the boat were completed. There was much to explore and it was time to go. In the cool of the evening while Jojo slept peacefully in her bunk, we shared a bottle of wine with one of our new friends from the yacht club.

'Well, what do you think? Time for us to push off?' Rod leaped to his feet, jumped down below and returned with the chart of the Indian Ocean. He spread it out on the coach roof.

'Ken, can we pick your brains. There are so many islands and we obviously can't visit them all with the time we have. Which would you suggest?'

'How much time do you have?'

'Well, money, or lack of it, is more the issue. Building the boat pretty well cleaned us out so we're heading to South Africa to make some more. No mad rush as long as we keep going in the general direction. I want to catch the Agulhas current as soon as possible to help us down south. So that means working our way over to the African mainland and meeting up with it at Mozambique probably.'

'As you may never be back this way, you must see some of the islands. I know Port Victoria has been a disappointment to you—it is to everybody—but the other ninety-odd islands are as glorious as any on this planet. People rave about the Pacific islands but they aren't a patch on ours. And they have the added advantage that they're pretty much uninhabited.'

'Why, if they're so great? Why don't people live there?'

'Because there's no water.'

The Indian Ocean islands are no longer as isolated as they were, however, for tourist companies have found ways to infiltrate nature’s defences. Cruise ships arrive at a lonely island, disgorge their hundreds to gaze about them as if at museum treasures in a glass case. They soon weary and steam off to the next attraction. Thus are they able to combine sophisticated tourists' requirements for both exoticism and comfort; abroad can now become an extension of home. Tourists can observe the quaint natives in their rustic mud huts from the comfort of their cruise ships, without having to forego hot and cold running water or fine wining and dining, and without having to experience the real world. The alien aspects of the environment, the insects, lack of water, remoteness, are irrelevant.

Ken scanned the chart and then jabbed a finger into the middle of the ocean.

'You have to see Aldabra. It may not be with us much longer if the military have their way and, believe me, it is unique!'

'Yes,' said Colin.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.