Day 2 - Caught & Anchored
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 29 Mar 2019 19:30
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Day Two to Kochi, Not a Good
Day
 The Indian Ocean I
had been promised for this trip, shame about having to hand steer but as
Joe would say “It Is As It Is”.
Friday the 29th of March. At four
thirty in the morning I only just managed to see two fishing boats and their
float nets, purely because I made out the two white floats in the light from a
small crescent moon. Each boat had the two white floats (one near and one about
fifteen feet from the first off the front), we assume beyond that comes sinking
nets that settle in the current. Five minutes later I clapped my hand over my
mouth as not to wake Bear, soundo next to me in the cockpit – his preferred
sleeping place, cooler and on hand in case I need him and a huge comfort to me.
Not many feet from the right side of the girl a chap shone a torch at his face
like some Halloween gag. Thankfully, I missed his net but my pulse rate stayed
way too fast for some time. You certainly have to have nerves of steel. Anthony
(Wild Fox) had warned us about “the three million fishermen”. Oh dear,
this could be a long trip. Later, it was to get a whole lot
longer............
  During the afternoon Bear tried to rig up the Hydrovane rudder and a very elderly piece of kit that looks
like a massive walkie-talkie. Life jacket donned, over the back he went, of
course wearing his gorgeous smile and optimistic
veil. No. It wouldn’t work so all was packed away. Worth
a try. Absolutely.
 Hundreds more fisherman, at the least the bigger boats show up on AIS and on the
chartplotter.
 Sunset.
 An ominous cloud to our right
but it contained its own lightning that went on for a few
hours.
 To our left yet another unlit
chap off for a night of fishing.
 Spot the two fishing boats.
Impossible in the dark so we hope they move when they see us, that’s if they
look up.........
19:30. Well it happened. After a close call passing two
small, unlit fishing boats who shone their torches at the last minute to show
where their nets were drifting and a very sharp turn from Beez, I was
just settling to the next scan and peering eyes sharp. Quite far off I saw a
small boat in a tiny bit of moonlight, turning left a bit more, I was horrified
to know I had snagged a net. The two fishermen made no attempt to come closer
and we tried to reverse, forward, reverse until Beez engine stopped.
Someone nearby called, we said we were caught and he translated to the owner of
the net who came over and began hacking with his cleaver. “My net finished” to
my very loud “our engine has finished”. I tied a chunk of the net to our side.
Their boat bucked against ours and Bear went for fenders to stop any damage.
Just as well I hung on to our favourite big ball fender as said cleaver went
through the attached end leaving me holding the other......... They went
away...... They came back, hacked at more net and took the tied bit, now they
were clearly angry, well the older one was. I explained that we would anchor,
stay the night and go under at first light. We expected them back...........
Anchored in seventeen metres, seven and a half miles offshore, there was nothing
for it but to quaff two large sherbets and have a game of backgammon, Bear must
have been off his game as on one rubber he lost sixteen dollars and went on to
lose five two. By half past nine we were both bushed. Fishermen surrounding us,
not too far off unaware that anything was amiss as if a sailing yacht was not
out of place. Bear slept in the cockpit and was soon soundo. I went to bed and
slept solidly until half one when I checked on Bear. At two sleep avoided me so
much I listened to an audiobook and must have dozed as I woke with no clue what
was going on or who the characters were....... My IBS rose like a black stallion
rearing on a knoll before galloping off across the vale.......... Days mileage –
fifty-five.......Miles in the the first twenty four hours a ‘not too bad’ one
hundred and five......
Even eight days later as I type this
blog, there have been many visits to the toilet...............
.
ALL IN ALL HERE’S TO A
RESTLESS NIGHT
FIRST TIME IN 34,000 MILES AND A NICE PEACEFUL
NIGHT
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