Shipping to the Med
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Sun 27 Mar 2011 11:10
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Sunday 27th March
Firstly, I need to apologise for the lack of blogs that
have been uploaded since we've arrived in Oman. The silence has been for a
number of reasons, but mainly because we had some important decisions to make on
just what to do next. Many things needed to be researched and questions needed
to be answered and we were advised that for the sake of our security, the best
option was to keep our thoughts and plans away from the public.
On arriving in Oman we had to deal with a whole host of
emotions. We were relieved that we were there and finally safe, but we were
saddened that others who should have been there with us weren't. Our experience
is not something that I would wish upon anyone and we feel extremely lucky and
thankful that we arrived in Salalah unharmed.
We arrived on the Friday and were due to leave Salalah
to sail onwards through the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti on the Monday. Having
survived on very little sleep for the last week we were physically incapable of
having such a quick turnaround but we were also emotionally unstable to embark
on another potentially dangerous passage. I'd like to emphasize that when
we made the decision to sail from Mumbai to Oman we undertook every precaution
that we thought necessary at the time. It turns out that we were blissfully
unaware of the real dangers. However, in our defence, the situation did worsen
whilst we were out there, things are changing each day. We had had it drilled
into us that the pirates weren't interested in our yachts when they could go for
the big money with the cargo ships, but the hijacking of Quest suddenly had us
all on high alert. From that moment on, things were different on board Jackamy
and within our group of 6 yachts, the atmosphere changed. And then when the four
hostages, our friends, were killed, we realised we should never have been
out there in the first place, we were running a gauntlet.
A briefing was held on the saturday for all yachts with
Tony, from the Blue Water Rally. The topic for discussion was no longer
simply the plans for our onward route, other forms of transport
were also reviewed. We had three options, the first one being to sail on
within a few days, the second was to put the yachts on to the back of a lorry
and transport them over land to the north of the red sea and
finally we had the option to transport the yachts by sea on a cargo
ship.
This could be one of the most difficult decisions some
people have ever had to make. I think everyone knew what the right decision was
but accepting it and agreeing to it was in effect deciding that this long life
dream of sailing around the world has come to an end. We just had to keep
reminding ourselves that there were no guarantees if we sailed out of Salalah.
It would be like playing the lottery, except it isn't money on the line, it's
our lives.
And then whilst at the memorial service for those
aboard Quest, Michael from MARLO, the Maritime Liason Office, one of the
coalition protection agencies, came to talk to us. He revealed some very
important information including the capture of another yacht, with a Danish
family and two crew members on board. This sealed the deal for us and we knew
then that we were undoubtedly making the right decision, sailing onwards would
be crazy.
And so, we made the very sad decision to ship Jackamy
to the Mediterranean, to Marmaris in Turkey. The 2009-2011 Blue Water Rally has
effectively come to an end, 18 months after we left Gibraltar to sail
around the world. An action team was quickly set up by the skippers and
crews to handle the planning and negotiations necessary to ship the 20
yachts currently berthed in Salalah. Paul's job was to act as bodyguard for
Brian and Hans who were operating the procurement and finance sections - a very
important role! Things moved quickly and a maritime transport company has
now been contracted to ship the yachts.
We have kept ourselves occupied with boat work,
including daily cleaning to rid the boat of all the sand that keeps finding
it's way inside. We have visited the Hilton frequently to use it's facilities,
mainly the swimming pool and beach. But the Oasis Club is our 'local' and
where we spend a fair bit of time, they serve very good food, have a huge screen
to watch sports as well as a bowling alley on the side. So Tuesdays have become
our bowling night and Thursday is quiz night. We're turning into expats! We've
also been exploring some of what the Dhofar province of Oman has to offer.
Mainly the deserted beaches and the desert - that's pretty much all there
is!
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