TELL-TALES

Skylax blog INDIAN OCEAN 2010

This edited blog will cover our cruising across the INDIAN OCEAN from MALAYSIA to SRI LANKA, INDIA, MALDIVES, OMAN AND YEMEN. The latest entries appear first. The first bits are around LANGKAWI where we are waiting for visas for INDIA and doing a few boat jobs.

1. Most yachts are going through in convoys, some of them quite big (20 + boats), some much smaller with just 4-6 boats in them. A few of these convoys claim to have special contacts with the Yemen Coastguard, MSCHOA, and in some cases the navy of a particular country. In fact any of us can and have contacted these agencies and their advice is always DO NOT GO. They cannot offer special protection, this comes only from private security firms and costs tens of thousands of dollars. In fact one we contacted out of curiosity laughed when we said our cruising speed was 6 knots. Some yachts are going it alone and some yachts are even cruising the Yemen coast.
   
2. Position reports on the various radio nets operating are given using a code. More details later but you can easily make up your own. VHF communication is on low power only.
   
3. Most boats will run only a small white light at night. Radar reflectors are also being removed.
4. Most yachts do not carry firearms.
5. Some of are carrying a bottle of champagne to toast the gods on a safe arrival in the Red Sea.

11-02-10

India is the Asian Tiger, an economy projected to grow at close to double digit figures and an economy set to rival China in the future. The evidence is everywhere. No longer do you see the old Morris Ambassadors, a British car from the early 1950’s built here, or the old Royal Enfield Bullet, a single pot 350cc motorbike built here until recently. Instead there are modern Suzuki cars built under licence, the whole Tata range of cars which offer everything from super-minis to 4x4’s. The motorbikes are mostly Honda Hero’s built under licence. India is swiftly moving into the 21^st century and the Indians themselves know this and are proud of it.

It all comes with a whiff of arrogance and it’s little wonder that India’s neighbours have coined the phrase ‘the ugly Indian’, a phrase piggy-backing on the phrase used during the Viet Nam War to describe ‘the ugly American’. As a tourist you see little of it and the locals are just as smiley, just as friendly, just nice people to be amongst. But on the margins the untouchables and gypsies are still there even if, in Cochin at least, they are banned from begging and soliciting.

On the river some of these people come out at various states of the tide to fish with small surface nets, gather firewood from Bolghatty Island, and retrieve bits of discarded rubbish that might be useful to them. They live in an encampment under one of the modern apartment blocks being built in Ernakulum and their brightly coloured washing adorns the shore line. On the river they come out in round woven coracles almost identical to those that were used in Ireland. They are wickerwork with some sort of waterproofing between the weave and how they paddle these big baskets with a single paddle is beyond me when the boat has neither stem nor stern. Still paddle them they do, although when the tide is running strongly it takes a lot of effort to avoid being swept onto the yachts at anchor.

They keep pretty much to themselves although now and then they will ask for water or a cigarette. On the shore where you leave the dinghies there will often be one of the young girls with a baby on her hip gently asking for money, I say gently because begging is banned in Cochin and you don’t get mobbed the way you do in Mumbai.

 One of the last canoes ferrying goods - though the lateen rig has gone to be replaced by a long-tail powered by about 4 HP at the rate he was going.

The large ‘canoe’ style boats with a rough lateen sail that used to ply the river are pretty much gone to be replaced by motorised barges. There is still the odd smaller canoe ferrying goods upriver though these are also motorised. This time around I’ve seen just one canoe with a sail.

Outside of Cochin much of what goes on is small scale agrarian with small-holdings growing everything from market vegetables to spices like pepper and cinnamon, a bit of rice and small mixed orchards with fruit, cashews, and coconuts.  You can take organised trips into the waterways south of Cochin and it is a ‘must do’. To get up the canals you are poled along as the waterways are pretty shallow in places. Out on the larger stretches the canoes have outboards to get around and sails are rare these days.

The Asian Tiger is running on oil and the old sailing craft are dying out… except there are three local windsurfers in Cochin now.

 The coracle families

TOP

11-02-10

I love Sri Lanka and we had a good time there and a good trip with our driver and guide into the highlands. But two boats I know of have had a bad experience and a nasty con with one of the drivers/guides that tout at the gates of the port. I don’t normally diss locals like this, but in this case I know both of the boats well and trust their opinions on the matter.

Seman (I think that is how you spell his name) is one of the touts outside the gates of the port. He will organise a mini-bus and driver who will give you an experience from hell. Both of the groups who used Seman were subjected to a tour which ignored their requests to go to places they wanted to see and instead they were carted around to places where the driver gets a kick-back. Now this is fairly common but the difference in this case is that the driver will wind up being more and more irascible and eventually will ask for more money and in both the cases for the boats I know of, will in the end say that he will inform the police that he has been assaulted unless a substantial payment is made. Seman will then subject you to nasty phone calls and text messages telling you that his ‘life has been ruined’ and unless you pay up, the police will prevent you from leaving Galle.

The similarity of the behaviour and the con at the end (‘my driver says he has a broken arm from being assaulted and must go to hospital… he will inform the police he has been beaten up … unless you pay a $100 dollars… etc.) in both cases suggests this is not an isolated incident and my advice would be to book with another tout or agent. The Windsors, Dee Dee Yacht Service (who we used) or anyone except Seman should give you an enjoyable tour through the highlands. Or take local transport (bus and rail) or hire a motorbike or car.

10-02-10

Ernakulum

We arrived off the entrance to the buoyed channel at 2300 and I hummed and harred about a night entry. Then I spotted a ship heading for the channel and pulled in behind confident that he drew a lot more than us and would have a pilot on board.

Fat chance. It turned out to be one of the large dredgers keeping the channel dredged and it was operating in the buoyed channel. Less than halfway down it stopped, turned around, and began dredging. Cochin is not an easy one for a night entry as the buoys are a considerable distance apart and in the haze that afflicts this coast you need a pair of binoculars to pick up the next buoys. Or buoy. As the channel gets closer to the entrance between Vipin and Fort Cochin you only get single buoys (either port or starboard) and not pairs of buoys as further out.

 Mr Bijou does the paperwork

Still we got in safely and anchored off the Malabar jetty ready to clear in on the morrow. Most of the formalities are as detailed in Indian Ocean Cruising Guide and customs duly came out to us in the morning. They now ask for a beer or three for the guys in the boat but are otherwise polite and helpful. Mr Bijou, the customs officer, filled in much of the paperwork or advised me on what to put where, and then was waiting ashore to help. You go to the Harbourmaster first and will need 440 rupees (approx. 50 rupees to one US$). You can only pay in rupees. Then you go to customs and Mr Bijou guided me around the various offices to get the paperwork done. And finally to immigration.

You may be met by an ‘agent’ these days (usually Nasir Boat 72 or Nasir & Ibrahim) and these guys are OK. They will help you clear in and take you to an ATM to get rupees. I used Nasir and Ibrahim who later came and guided me into the Bolghatty anchorage. I gave Nasir 500 rupees for his services (he had been with me through the offices and on the boat for 4 hours or more) which was probably a little over the odds, but not much.

The channel into the Bolghatty anchorage is as shown in Indian Ocean Cruising Guide but has now been buoyed! The waypoints below give the track in which has around 2.5 metres least depth AT OR CLOSE TO HIGH TIDE. The largest draught boat to get in here drew 2.8 metres so it probably entailed a little dredging through the soft mud.

Bolghatty anchorage waypoints:

1.   Turn to channel 09 58.20N   76 16.57E

2.   1^st set of buoys 09 58.39N   76 16.52E

3.   2^nd set of buoys 09 58.64N   76 16.27E

4.   3^rd set of buoys 09 58.80N   76 16.21E

5.   Anchorage 09 58.63N   76 16.27E

Bolghatty anchorage

The anchorage is as shown in Indian Ocean Cruising Guide. You need to keep the west side channel free for mini-tankers and other craft going up and down the river and leave some room on the east side free for the local ferries. Anchorage is in 3 metres on mud.

These days yachts use their dinghies and can leave them over by the tripper boat pier or at the Bolghatty Hotel pier. There is a water tap close to the Bolghatty Hotel pier (100 rupees for a month). The bum boats (Nasir and Nasir & Ibrahim) will get diesel, petrol, gas, take away rubbish, laundry, and generally help out where they can organising mechanics, gardiennage, and anything else.

On the edge of Bolghatty Island a marina is under construction. The piles are in place though there is no sign of the pontoons yet. It looks like there will be around 25-30 berths here, maybe more. There are rumours that anchoring will then be prohibited in the river, but I suspect a lot of the berths will be dedicated to the waterside apartments and villas immediately behind the marina. Lets see…

The Bolghatty Hotel itself has been massively renovated and whole new buildings have been built. It has a bar and a restaurant (buffet 350 rupees and not at all bad) and is pretty swish. Tripper boats now operate around the anchorage carrying predominantly Indian tourists … ‘these yachts from Britain, USA, Australia…’

Ernakulum

Ernakulum market

The buzz and cacophony of sounds in Ernakulum come as a bit of a surprise as the anchorage is not at all noisy. Once you get to the main street there are Tata buses charging you down, auto-rickshaws careering in and out of the traffic, and people everywhere.

In town there is still the wonderful warren of alleys with shops selling everything from saris, pots and pans, hardware, sacks of rice, books and stationery, sticky sweets and sticky snacks. The wonderful fruit and veggie market near the canal is still there and there is a ‘supermarket’ not far from the dinghy dock.

You can still get around Cochin by the local ferries which run all over the place including Willenden Island (where you clear in) and Fort Cochin. These are calmer more sedate places compared with the hustle and bustle of Ernakulum and well worth a wonder around. Oh and the Taj Malabar Hotel still does a wonderful Sunday buffet lunch at 750 rupees a person.

TOP

10-02-10

In the Gulf of Mannar the NE monsoon is funnelled through the gap between the bottom of India and Sri Lanka. This gives rise to winds of 20-30 knots gusting out of the gulf and raises a considerable sea. So far so much the same as in Indian Ocean Cruising Guide.

Today with lots of weather overload everyone is looking at their grib files and waiting for a window where the gribs give 15-20 knots for the gulf. As I’ve mentioned before, gribs are not good at picking up anomalies caused by local geographical features, not too mention squally weather around fronts and lots of other weather situations. Gribs give a broad paint-brush picture of weather but the algorithms cannot (yet) pick up local variations.

In the case of the Gulf of Mannar the 15-20 knots predicted by the gribs turned out to be the usual 20-30 knots you usually get through here. For the three times I’ve done this passage at various times with the NE monsoon this has always been the case.

For Skylax this was a fast trip if a little splashy and a bit uncomfortable after the pleasant downwind trip from Malaysia to Sri Lanka with the NE monsoon aft of the beam. Because the wind funnels out of the gulf along the edges, the wind at the beginning was tight and we could barely maintain the rhumb line course. As you get further into the gulf the wind goes a bit further aft and for most of the trip the wind was 60 degrees apparent at 7-8 knots boat speed. As you get towards India the wind goes further aft until it aft of the beam and boat comfort improves dramatically.

From India down to Sri Lanka the pattern is the same with the wind tight on the nose and gradually going aft until you drift around the corner to Galle.

 This fishing boat off the bottom of India had over half a mile of surface net out ... eventually  I got around it

09-02-10

 Pole fisherman on the coast around from Galle... said to be the oldest continuous form of fishing in the world

If you are prone to internet and cruiser rumour then the likelihood is that Sri Lanka does not figure on your list of destinations to visit in this part of the world. Internet forums and nautical chat-rooms are full of stories about how awful the place is, how bad Galle harbour is, and how you get ripped off for anything and everything. Well that’s the rumour mill at work and any cruisers loss for not visiting this wonderful island.

The truth is that there is minor corruption, Galle harbour is pretty much like it was when I last visited it 13 years ago despite plans to make it more yacht friendly, and clearing in and out carries minor penalties in the way of ‘gifts’ if you are a soft touch like me; but otherwise Sri Lanka remains one of the most spectacular tropical islands in the world and the Sri Lankans themselves, the everyday folk you meet in the street, some of the nicest people on this planet. All this despite a devastating civil war, the 2004 tsunami and internecine political rivalry that often spills over into violence.

I met Anil while looking for an auto rickshaw in Galle.

‘Come with me or they will charge you tourist prices’ he said. ‘I know you, I’ve seen you around the harbour… where is your wife?’

I explained she had to go back to the UK because of a death in the family. ‘So sorry’, he said, ‘so sorry for your wife’.

And then he proceeded to tell me about the tsunami. ‘I lost my fishing boat, my young daughter was swept out to sea and drowned, for four years we have been living in a camp, but now we have a small house. Sadly my other daughter has polio.’

I listened to this catalogue of disasters and grief told to me quietly and with restrained dignity by Anil and wondered how he could still be so helpful, so warm to me, by comparison the rich foreigner.

‘What can I do?’ I asked.

‘Tell others’ he said. ‘Tell them we are still here’.

‘Maybe a mosquito net’ he said, ‘For my daughter’. I gave him the meagre 500 rupees he needed and he blessed me and held my hand.

A small price in the face of need and, after all, what goes around comes around.

Or does it? Touting is a sophisticated way of life in Sri Lanka and touts are adept at spotting opportunities and exploiting them. Two days later I was waiting for a friend around the same area. Up popped Martin who told me how he had lost his fishing boat in the tsunami. Also my wife and my younger daughter. And my other daughter has polio. Maybe you could buy me some milk powder… Now just maybe the similarity, the almost exact ‘coached’ nature of the stories, is coincidence. Or not. I didn’t buy him any milk powder and really the amounts are small (1US$ is approx. 150 Sri Lankan rupees), and what goes around comes around.

The Highlands

From the coastal flats you head up into the highlands, to old colonial retreats in the cool of the mountains like Nuralia at some 6500 ft (take some warm clothes), past Buddhist temples, through tropical rain forest and waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet, and of course through vast tea plantations.

This is another Sri Lanka away from the booming surf on golden beaches and proas setting out through the surf to set nets in the inshore waters.

BOP tea party in the highlands ... we can all become tea snobs. BOP: broken orange pekoe

Most yachties will organise an excursion in a mini-bus with a driver from Galle and this is not a bad way to go. It depends on your driver and sometimes on the accompanying guide. Some of the drivers are just not amenable to your requests whereas others will listen to what you want. Alternatively take local transport and even if you take a mini-bus, its worth doing a morning trip on the slow train than winds up through the mountains – the drivers will usually put you on the train at Ella and collect you from one of the stops along the way.

Don't miss the slow train

Around Galle

Around Galle you should take time to wander around Fort Galle which is now being slowly renovated. It is a wonderful mix of old Portuguese, Dutch and English colonial architecture with little gem shops, a museum which also has gem and jewellery shops, art galleries and everyday shops in the old buildings. And if you tire of the touts you can always pop into the restored elegance of the Fort Galle Hotel for a cold drink or a cappuccino on the veranda and spoil yourself with a little old world charm – though it comes at a slighter higher price.

Yep, the British were here...

TOP

09-02-10

Downtown Galle

Procedures for clearing into Galle are pretty much as I have detailed in Indian Ocean Pilot.

Yachts arriving here call up Galle Port Control on Ch 16 and you are requested to anchor off the harbour while the navy comes and checks you out. You are then allowed to enter the harbour which has a boom across the entrance with a narrow channel around the southern end. The navy will then direct you to go on the pontoon near the entrance (stern or bow-to with an anchor out) or anchor fore and aft in the inner part of the harbour.

Agents

All yachts must have an agent which will be either GAC Shipping or the Windsors. It’s best to email the agent with details of your boat and crew before arrival so they can do the relevant paperwork and have it all ready on your arrival.

Once berthed in the harbour the agent will come out with customs (who will angle for a bribe, usually alcohol or cigarettes) and quarantine who may also want a little ‘gift’. Yes I do usually give them a little something, usually cheap vodka or rum I have bought in Langkawi for next to nothing, but lots of yachts do not.

Your agent will then take you ashore to get a shore pass from security and to immigration.

In 2010 GAC shipping cost $US225 and the Windsors cost $US200.

GAC shipping: Srilanka@GACWorld.com

Windsors: Windsorreef@wow.lk    Don’t always expect to get an answer from the Windsors, but they will usually have got your email and will have the paperwork ready on arrival.

You need to give details of

·         Crew on board including nationality and passport numbers. If anyone is flying out of Sri Lanka list them as passengers and not crew.

·         Boat details including LOA, beam, draught. Flag, port of registry and registration number.

 Transportation: Port Galle to Galle town was 100/130 R Sri Lankan in 2010

Facilities

In the harbour itself water and diesel must still be arranged by jerry cans. The agent (GAC or Windsors) can arrange to get diesel. There are water taps in the harbour where you can fill jerry cans and the water seems to be good, although you should still treat it.

Various ‘agents’ who wait outside the gates for yachties can do laundry, arrange trips, and take you into Galle in an auto-rickshaw. They are all generally helpful and prices are around the same for most of them. Mike runs a provisions shop and can fill gas bottles and can bring the groceries and anything else into the port area ONCE for any particular yacht. His prices are fair. Dee Dee can arrange laundry and most other things. Marlin seems to be in semi-retirement but is around.

Any of these and the Windsors can arrange trips into the highlands and you should do this – the highlands are where the big tea plantations are and there is more than just tea to see.

There is now a good supermarket, Sea Fair, a short walk away from the harbour and there is good fresh fruit and veggie shopping in Galle itself.

There are good hardware shops in Galle, but the chances of getting even basic yachting equipment like multiplait or marine stainless steel is next to non-existent. Basic mechanical repairs can be carried out and you can probably get things knocked up in local engineering shops.

And then a little pampering in the Fort Galle Hotel

TOP

09-02-19

Leaving Malaysia (usually Langkawi) and Thailand (usually Phuket) the winds will usually be fresh NE-E for a bit before dying off in the wind shadow of the Asian peninsula. Up to the Nicobars the wind has the usual diurnal variation going from NE-E in the morning to light SE in the afternoon and variable easterlies through the night.

Yachts leaving from Langkawi will usually head for the Great Channel between Great Nicobar Island and the northern end of Sumatra as it is closer to the rhumb line than more northerly channels. Yachts leaving from Phuket will usually use the Sombrero Channel.

Overfalls & ‘whirlpools’

In the sea area east and west of the Nicobars you get upwellings from the sea bottom even though you can be in very deep water. You will see areas of disturbed water a bit like tidal overfalls and the sort of whirlpools you get in places like the Messina Strait in the Mediterranean. At first these can be a bit intimidating and there is a bit of water being thrown around in the steep waves and the boat will be swirled around a few degrees either side, but they only cover a small area and you will soon be through them until you get to the next lot.

Nicobars

It must be remembered that the Nicobars belong to India and are off-limits to yachts. The Indian navy and air force patrol the area which have sensitive military installations and are not lenient with boats that pull into an anchorage in the Nicobars.

Nicobars to Sri Lanka

There is usually a good west-going current in the Bay of Bengal although it seems to be best if you stay higher, around 7 degrees North. Staying north also seems to pay dividends wind-wise and you will usually have more consistent winds around 7 degrees as opposed to 5 degrees. Once clear of the Nicobars the NE monsoon usually blows quite consistently around 10-20 knots although there are days when it can drop below 10 knots for a time before kicking in again.

Another advantage of staying around 7 degrees is that you are clear of the rhumb line course for shipping coming up the Malacca Strait and heading west to Sri Lanka before crossing to the Red Sea and Suez. You will come across a few fishing boats, usually beaten up old Bangladeshi, Indian or Sri Lankan boats, and a few stray ships heading to Bangladesh, the Andamans and Burma.

Once you get near Sri Lanka the wind is channelled down the west coast of Sri Lanka and around the bottom, often getting up to 30 knots or so. The current here is SW going west around the bottom of Sri Lanka and often runs at 2 knots or more. Staying north means you can just turn SW to go with the current and the wind and follow it around. As you approach Donda Head the wind will often die to nothing.

Around the south side of Sri Lanka there will be fishing boats around, but not too many, and its useful to stay around 10 miles off the coast which keeps you out of the separation channel for ships and away from some of the smaller fishing boats.

There are few who do not find this passage a pleasant and easy one with comparatively benign seas and good winds. Squalls do occur and can blow at 35 knots or so for an hour or two, but compared to the Atlantic and Pacific they are less frequent and not as violent.

TOP

04-01-10

This book is just recently out. You can buy it from online booksellers of from Adlard Coles Nautical

This comprehensive guide to the world of chartering, compiled by Rod Heikell, shares the breadth of his knowledge and experience, recommending types of charter, best types of boat, as well as essential information about the world's cruising areas.

Taking a practical approach, he explains everything prospective charterers need to know before setting sail: visas required, healthcare, money, and what to expect from foreign harbours and anchorages. At the heart of the book is a country by country round-up of charter areas around the world with pros and cons, best times to go, wind and sea conditions, harbours and anchorages, eating out, safety, documentation requirements and getting there. Each area is illustrated with a map and colour photos.

This unique guide is a must-have reference for charterers the world over, and a mouth-watering appetiser for those dreaming about where they would like to sail in the future.

04-01-10

Again from Thailand I spotted this in the anchorage at Ko Muk. So if you think your boat is looking a bit too beige you can always get some eye-catching graphics in Thailand. Gives a whole new dimension to the other wise beige appearance of an Amel and might be worth considering as an anti-pirate device...

TOP

04-10-10

First something frivolous from Thailand before we set off into the Indian Ocean and towards Pirate Alley.

Really you do buy cans of this stuff in great expectation, but I have to report it tasted mildly lemon flavoured (as it says on the bottom: citrus flavoured carbonated drink) and perhaps I didn't drink enough of it but it's neither intoxicating nor does it boost the libido. Hey...we both tried it.

TOP