Fai Tira blog Friday 18th February 2011  

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean

This is the start of our sixth day at sea since leaving Mumbai, and so far the journey has been dominated by two major considerations, the high pressure weather system that’s been providing gentle calm conditions, but no wind; and the consequential issue about whether we have enough fuel, both individually and as a group to complete the trip should these conditions remain.......Oh yes, I almost forgot there’s also those pesky pirates to think about.

We left Mumbai, along with the other boats in our group, at midday last Sunday in a direction advised by the BWR organisers, towards an area deemed to be of least likely confrontation.

Our enforced visit to Mumbai will, I think, linger long in all our memories. Our brief rushed picture blog gave some flavour of the place, but any description would struggle to capture the atmosphere, the diverse architecture, the extremes, the cultural values,  the proud historic colonial links and the manic buzz!.

The immediate impression, when confronted from the boat with the high rise skyline, was one of a modern sophisticated city. However that was soon tempered by the additional imposing, striking and grand sight of the Taj Mahal Hotel and the adjacent impressive man-made monolith, The Gateway to India.

Time was never going to be on our side when it came to exploration, so when Ninad - our sail repair contact - acted as our unofficial guide, we gratefully accepted! Our trips back and forth to the naval base, home of the sail loft, were always along the scenic route, with Ninad providing commentary as we travelled. He was also a whizz kid on IT, and before long we were at last able to set ourselves up to make contact with the rest of the world.

So now we were left with a load of places that just had to be re-visited, but first we needed to soak up the atmosphere that seemed to be bouncing off almost every surface. So it was into the town centre and The Causeway. It’s a long street with pavements enclosed by the overhang of the grand flanking buildings, and crammed to bursting point with stalls and vendors selling everything imaginable:  all to the unceasing accompaniment of an orchestral backing of hooters, general hubbub and heat of these crazy streets.

We wandered into Cafe Leopold looking for a cold beer. It certainly had that in abundance, but also much more. Soon we were informed of its significant role in Mumbai’s recent history. This was one of the starting points of the terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel in 2008, and the bullet holes still left in the walls and glass were testimony to the violence that took place on that day. Although it was difficult to escape the strange feelings it generated, it became the central meeting point of the Rally.

I felt that all my birthdays had arrived in one go as I learned that a week-long Art Festival was taking place during the course of our visit, with the main focal point being a street fair in an area flanked by a brilliant museum, The Mumbai gallery Of Modern Art and the Jehangir Art Gallery.......Guess where I spent much of my time?

However there was still so much more to see. High on our list was the magnificent building of The Victoria Rail Terminus. I managed to arrive there just as the evening rush hour was starting, but from what Peter told me from his and Jeremy’s visit, the mass of rushing crowds, hoards of street vendors and jumble of slowly moving but unforgiving taxis.... never actually stops!  As the evening light faded I was treated to the bonus of seeing the staggering facade illuminated by fantastic flood light.

The journey back across town, to meet up with the others at Leopold’s, took me down Fashion Street, an amazing area of clothes stalls that must run for well over a mile, looking something like an illuminated Petticoat Market.

It‘s difficult to summarise the place, but for me two memories will abide.

 We were given privileged access to the mini supermarket housed in, and part of, the Royal Yacht Club. This part of the building was modern and the shelving efficiently well stacked. However, on arrival at the checkout you were confronted by an assistant equipped with a pad, magnifying glass and three pieces of duplicating (aka carbon) paper (yes, it does still exist), Then with them neatly inserted into the pad, he handed each one of the purchased items to an assistant who then read back the details, sometimes with the aid of the magnifying glass, then each item was written down long-hand. He then gave us the receipt, which we took to the reception desk to complete the payment......... Priceless!

The other was more disturbing and distressing. A search with Richard, to find a screen to watch Six Nations rugby, ended in a bar in the Taj Mahal Hotel. This would have been extreme opulence anywhere in the world and we indulged in a drink at prices that made your eyes water, yet not a hundred yards from the entrance were young families, with children playing unattended on the side of the busy main road late into the night. Their bed was the hard surface of the pavement and it was difficult to see how their plight could ever be improved.

So that was Mumbai, and now we were on our way, in my case minus a phone with all my contact numbers and camera, which together with me took an unwelcome late night swim.

Our convoy’s progress wasn’t just delayed by the lack of any appreciable wind assistance. Before long two boats encountered prop problems as they picked up bits of fishing net. The solution was pretty simple and lay with Fai Tira. With the group at a standstill we manoeuvred into position, Peter donned his diving gear and in each instance the offending item was quickly removed.

So this was it then, the journey we’d all been thinking about for so long and the last really long ocean passage of the whole trip, and now we’re halfway through it. So far what we’ve encountered are lots of noes: no wind, no pirates, no fishing boats and no fuel!

Pirates are always a very serious issue and just about everything we do as a group takes consideration of that potential. However, almost sharing the top of the bill is the difficult-to-resolve question:  if weather conditions look set to remain as they are, how do we manage our situation?.

We have tried to keep a number of options available, and have enlisted the help of the U.S. and British authorities as well as that of BWR to find a suitable refuelling stop en route; and also resorted to a system of economies, which includes towing each other through the night .

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Last night we all experienced the most remarkable display of phosphorescence yet. It was in the form of long swirling bright green lights forming on the crest of the breaking waves as the bow of the boats cut through the smooth mirrored surface, pushing the water aside to form beautiful and intricate patterns with light that was intense, colour that was vivid and shapes that were graceful.

We all need relief sometimes don’t we?!