08.01N 98.08E
JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Mon 2 Feb 2009 04:24
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Hello everybody
Happy New Year it looks as though 2009 could be a
tough one.
Well we are heading for SiriLanka having left
Thailand this morning after celebrating the New Year with our family and friends
with a superb dinner and a fantastic fire work display with the fireworks
competing with hundreds of miniature hot air balloons looking like UFO's in the
night sky.
Perhaps as the new year starts it's time to reflect
on our journey so far;
when we assembled in Gibraltar for the start
of our journey everyone was full of anticipation for the adventures to
come.Crossing the Atlantic was the first awakening with the initial lack of wind
and nearly 3000 nm to go wondering whether we would have to put into the Cape
Verde Islands to re-fuel as it was the wind piped up after 10days and we were
set fair for the Caribbean arriving in Antqua after 20 days.The line squalls
certainly livened up our passage we did learn to dodge them using the radar
but needless to say we did get caught out a few times and the boat coped with it
very well as it has all the way through.
After our first long crossing it was a relief to
arrive in a warm sunny climate but I am not sure that we were prepared for the
cost of everything including the boat repairs and modernisation.In fact the
theme all the way through our voyage has been costly repairs and shoddy
workmanship just like the UK boatyards.
After sailing the Caribbean we stopped in
Bequi for the New Year brilliant place great food and 14 of us sat down for
dinner our 1st Christmas away from our family.The Caribbean was fun and sunny
but expensive.
Leaving their we were on our way across the
Caribbean Sea towards the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean.But on the way was
Bonaire and Aruba in the Dutch Antilles north of Venezuela the ABC's as
they are known were great for diving with crystal clear water and brilliant
tropical fish just off the beach.At this time Jenny and myself had to return
home and Alan with our friends Bon and Jon flew over from the USA to sail to
Panama which was a real roly-poly ride with large rough seas but then they
arrived at the San Blas Islands and the Kuna Indians,which was a brilliant
experience.
We joined the boat again at the Panama Canal and
its there that I think our true adventure started with the almost frontier
like atmosphere of Colon and its "no go" areas the South American influence then
the transit of the canal through the jungle and the huge locks capable of taking
tankers and aircraft carriers all built by the Americans and still pretty
much as it is today entering the Pacific Ocean under the "bridge of the
Americas" puts you in a different world.
Eight days on and we arrived at the truly
enchanting islands of the Galapagos with its unique marine and animal life
no wonder Darwin came out with his theory of "The Origin of
The Species" it is truly magical.
Then we had our longest Ocean crossing 21 days and 3,200 nm and out of the
mist arose the Marquasas a group of volcanic islands which looked and felt
remote and primitive after all it was only at the turn of the last century they
stopped eating the missionaries.
From the majestic and foboding volcanic islands to the atolls of the
tuamotos where the largest items were the palms trees withthe land only
being a few feet above sea level but with tricky passes into some beautiful
lagoons some beings the breeding grounds for baby sharks and nearly all of them
the breeding grounds for black pearls Onwards to Tahiti which is over developed
and very expensive but the gateway to Morea, Bora Bora, Houhine the coral garden
of Taha a true Polynesian experience.
Next en route was Raratonga ,Tonga and Fiji and the Cook Islands and
finally after probably 8,000 nm from Panama the hidden and primitive delights of
Vanuatu were we climbed up the side of an active volcano and looked into
the molten mass on the island of Tanna where there were no made up roads and
transport was by pick up truck and dinner was meat don't know what meat just
meat.
Onto Australia with the wonders of the outback and the Northern
Territories,the Gan Railway and the Aborigines,crocodiles, spiders,
snakes, kangaroos we had a brilliant time with our friends Pam and Len,poms
from the uk but have lived in Oz for over 20 years we spent avery enjoyable 2
wks in their company seeing their family and travelling to the parts we wanted
to see it was great.
After Oz it was onto the most diverse area that we had encounter INDONESIA
the people are so poor but happy and would share with us what little they had
,the Komodo Dragons and the Orang-utans of Borneo what an adventure to sail and
trek though the jungle to see these magnificent human like creatures in their
habitat which is quickly disappearing thanks to illegal logging.
After all the sights and wonders that we have seen coming to the relative
civilisation of Malaysia Singapore and Thailand is a letdown although the
scenery has been wonderful in some of the places.
Our next and probaly last adventure is a tour of SiriLanka which we start
on the13th January after that its the Maldives or Cochin then the Gulf of
Aden,(pirate territory) Djbuti,Suez and the med.
We have travelled some 22,000 nm since leaving the UK and will have
completed 27,000 nm by the time we return its has been so far a real experience
to approach comunities from the sea which is their front door in many cases to
shop at their markets eat their food and have a little glimpse into their daily
life instead of jetting in and seeing nothing.
It sounds as though I feel we are at the end of our journey well we very
nearly are and it has been an unforgettable
experience.
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