Captain's blog June 2009

This month has gone frantically doing maintenance on the boat, carpentry, metal works, painting, varnishing, electrical jobs, flag state jobs, class jobs & preparing drydocking, F1 visit & handover. “No rest for the wicked” as they say.

G1 shipyard headoffice in Lumut, Malaysia

As for crew matters I got back Sunil and Rajaram rested from their annual vacations and I sent Vivek for his holiday.

We actually arrived from Langkawi already on the 26th May and I did not stop on the way for diving as the weather was really poor, windy and rainy all the way. We arrived at Yacht Haven 2pm with no hassles, I experienced some funny cross currents pushing us off the pier although it was slack water so my approach was a bit slow but finally we managed to tie up in an orderly fashion.

I was met by the Marina Manager Zara Tremlett on the pier after finished with all engines. Our local agents, Gordon Fernandes and Toby Koehler arrived later on in the afternoon and as we started with the official paperwork and then changing news and gossip with some Kingfisher and snacks we soon discovered it was almost midnight.

The rest of the week was spent contacting anew old contractors for planned jobs and getting worklists and quotes made up.

Next weekend 30th I visited Jira in Trang province and we did an outing to Satun and the Wang Rajan bordermarket at the Thai-Malay border. Thai nationals could wander into the Malay side and do shopping there, I could not as my visa would have been voided. Very similar to the Thai-Cambodian Aranyaprathet border market that is popular for Bangkokians to visit for shopping and gambling (in Poipet).

Near the border was the “Thaleban Nature Park” which we visited shortly on the way back. There I saw and heard mountain frogs, the noise was deafening from such small creatures.


Frog song

1st week of June we got dayworkers and contractors galore onboard and the usual maintenance hula-baloo started.

Following weekend 6th I took Richard and Jyothi out for an outing to Trang where we visited the local aquarium and sea-lion show.

14th June was the International Marathon run at Laguna and Avnish arranged for voluntary crew to sign up.

Next week I started a detox diet and had only fruit juice for next 2 weeks just to see what the effects were. The experience was not too bad but I always felt a sting of jealousy seeing people eat and it seemed to me Richard was making an effort preparing all kind of good dishes or maybe it was just my hungry imagination.

June 20th I took Saini and Kalpana to Trang province and we visited the Klong Thom Hot Springs Sa Morakot pools.

Next week went meeting with Avnish and putting him in the picture of what is happening on the yacht workwise and re: our commercial certification status. I printed out reams of statements, lists and reports covering the handover.

On the 27th was hashing day for Phuket HHH and we decided to join. Saini and me had been running there before but Martula and Richard decided to join us.

Finally, on the 28th morning I whipped out the scale and could ascertain that I had lost abt 8kg’s during my 2 weeks juice detox combined with evening jogging with Saini.

At noon we headed for Sarasin bridge with most of our crew for a handover lunch. Just after crossing the bridge, turned left to the bridge bank, there is a seafood restaurant that serves lovely and inexpensive food while watching the tide swirl by. I also enjoyed being able to eat again after 2 weeks of chugging juice. Once the lunch was devoured I took my leave and was wished a Happy vacation for the next 30 days.

I’ll keep updating you of my holiday next, until then…

Hashing with Phuket HHH

On the 27th was hashing day for Phuket HHH and we decided to join. Saini and me had been running there before but Martula and Richard decided to join us as newcomers.

The run was set quite off the treaden path, HHH signs guided us into Phuket’s redneck backwaters near the old airport road where at least 50+ runners were gathering. An obnoxious and rude Frenchman as GM was collecting registration fees and after awhile the run was explained by the hares and we were off.

I tried keeping pace with the middle of the pack but soon lost it after the trail started going up and downhill in dense brush and rubber plantations. The run was very long, abt 10km, and had 8-9 falsies laid out. The trail itself must’ve been planned with GPS as it was so ingeniously looped that at times I think we were running parallel to a previous loop. Needless to say I was knackered when I reached the end. Saini being the runner onboard finished among the first. Richard and Martula did the walkers trail so they were much better off.

I must say that having ran with 2 other hashes I think Phuket HHH is more geared towards people living in the Patong – Kamala region as well as the whole lot is quite inwards warming. Also having circles bigger than 50 persons is quite cumbersome, it does not create the hash atmosphere and this day the whole show was stolen by a bitch in heat that was being tried on by every male dog around the circle.

The star of the run...

Fees are 60THB/ member and 100 THB/ newcomer. For this sum you only get to run and participate in the circle.

Hot springs and Sa Morakot pools

This weekend I took Saini and Kalpana to Trang province and we visited the Klong Thom Hot Springs where one could sit in naturally formed cauldrons of ca 40°C hot water running down from a stream out of the jungle. According to a posted water analysis it did not contain much of any minerals at all and in fact the sulphurous smell that one usually gets was virtually not existing.

While sitting in the water I actually overheard a Bangkokian tourist asking another guy “Where do they boil all this hot water?”…

Enjoying all the boiled water...

A sign proclaimed “30minutes for good health”, there was also traditional massage stalls where one could further enhance the relaxation of a hot bath but we would have none of it as we continued onward to the ”Emerald pool” or Sa Morakot in Thai.

Up the stream

The “Emerald pool” or at some places it was written “Crystal Pool” brought up a vision of a pool full of crystals or something like that but when we arrived I saw I had my visions all wrong. It was a round pool filled with clear water that by the reflection of the greenery close by turned the water emerald color to the eye. A very picturesque scenery and there was quite a few tourists splashing around in the water.

On the way to the blue pool

The water ran from the jungle into the pool continuously, hence the water was not murky. Soon enough we wanted to go and find out where the water was coming from and we started walking along the stream that was filling the pool. We arrived to an arid area that was just like a wasteland bordering the jungle and water was running in small streams all over. The bare grey matter was just lime. Above the lime hill there was a small pool that was named “Ascetics pool” and a small “sala” had been erected beside the pool with 2 ascetic statues inside, if one wanted to do some meditation.

We continued forward on a wooden board walk deeper into the jungle and soon we were passing huge rainforest trees with enormous trunks. We took some nice snapshots of each other between the large roots and after awhile we came onto a trodden path and some signs pointing to the “Blue pool”. We ventured further until we arrived to the “Blue pool”.

The "Blue pool"

It was in the middle of the jungle, no sound around except of us and the birds. The pool was absolutely blue. Me and Saini plunged in and swam around the pool and found out it was almost 5 meters deep in the centre although it did not look like that. The water was so clear that the sense of depth could not be ascertained. The bottom was of powdery white sand so fine that if one took a handful it was washed out when you reached the surface. Small bubbles was constantly rising up to the surface and I suspect it was either methane from rotting jungle or sulphuric gases from volcanic activity. The smell was there alright. The blue color to the pool came from the depth of the water. I only missed any Elves that would come dancing out from the jungle riding unicorns, otherwise the whole scenery was very much from the imagination fo Tolkien. We were lucky we got the whole pool for ourselves the time we stayed there as on the way back we met scores of teenagers heading the way we were coming from.

Once back at the Emerald Pool it was time to walk back the 2 km to the car and head back to our lodgings. Not a bad way to spend a day, entrance cost for foreigners 200 THB/ head. The park had imposed a ban on bringing in foods too, hence all surroundings were quite clear of rubbish (same as at the Klong Thom Hot Springs).

Sunday morning Saini wanted to see the La Khaokob cave as Richard and Jyothi had bragged about it so said and done I took him and Kalpu there and they emerged exhilirated abt 40minutes later from the bowels of the Dragon. Then it was tme to head back for Phuket and to visit Kargo to see the F1 rally at Silverstone. Unfortunately Force India did not score any points on this rally either but it was the best performance from Fisichella during this season.

Laguna Marathon in Phuket

14th June was the International Marathon run at Laguna and Avnish arranged for voluntary crew to sign up.

Me, Richard, Martula and Kalpana signed up for the 10km feat and Saini signed up for the 20km half-marathon. We had wrong starting time information so we arrived abt 20minutes late from the start but it did not matter as we had electronic tags so we could be timed anyway.

After the run...

Not that it mattered, I don’t think any of us was aiming to break the world record. I was pacing myself and jogging along and soon enough the girls had ran away from me. The sun was getting hotter and hotter and at 7.5km I had to start walking and at 9.5km I forced myself to continue running, and I did until the end. Actually at the last stretch I managed to somekind of a spurt.

We all received a medal of completion. During running I saw a few runners incapacitated from sprained ankles to torn hamstrings, serious sporting can be very taxing on the body. I also saw one guy running bare feet, true to the traditional way of running the Marathon. When I was in Greece I actually met a Greek in the local hash that had done the full Marathon barefeet and did not want to repeat the feat.

The event was well organised but I and probably other runners too did not like the traffic allowed on the roads as well as the watering stations could have placed some bins afterwards where the empty water cups and sponges could have been thrown in (this was actually improvised at the last watering station). The cleaning job afterwards must’ve been enormous.

At the end runners could get free foot massage and food. The queue for the first was too long and I did not feel fot the latter so I was just tanking up on ice water and chatting with my crew while waiting for Saini to arrive from his feat. Soon enough he finished too and after awhile we headed back to Yacht Haven for a shower and and some well deserved rest.

I finished the 10.5 k's in 1.5hrs (not sure their timer tags worked correctly though?) and placed at 712th position out of 735 participants that finished their run. Interested can see the results here

Trang aquarium and Le Khaokob cave

I took Richard and Jyothi out for an outing to Trang where we visited the local aquarium and sea-lion show. The aquarium exhibited some remarkable samples of filled up sharks and various big fishes as well as had a also aquariums with live fish as well. Not as flashy as aquariums in Shanghai or San Francisco but an aquarium nonetheless, well cared for and clean surroundings. The lion fish that was exhibited live were really big specimens. The sea-lion show was nice but the staff could have been as enthusiastic as the sea-lions themselves. Cheap entrance fees with 30 THB to aquarium and 20 THB for the show, not the usual double tier system.

Jira & stalactites

Le Khaokob entrance

After this we went for a seafood dinner at Pak Meng beach where we sat in the shadow of pine trees and watched the sun go down while whetting our palates on grilled white fish, garlic prawn, fresh oysters and other shell fish.

On Sunday we drove out to Trang city that was the old Capital of Siam in the olden days (5th King) to see what vestiges was left from that era. I could not discern anything except some old temples that I was not even sure if they were from that time. Only sign left from the old times I would say is that Trang has very strong Chinese ancestry present as you could see a lot of shop names in Chinese characters, that must be from the old times when the Chinese traders came and settled down here. The reason Trang was Capital was due to the commerce generated by harbor town of Kantang which is still active and in operation.

After leaving Trang we visited the Le Khaokob cave that could only be entered by boat. We paid 200 THB for one boat and was paddled off in a shallow stream. After some 50metres we approached the entrance of the cave and was paddled to the 1st cave. Differently colored light tubes had been placed along the way to create an eerie lighting that suited the atmosphere very well. Our guides pointed out various formations that resembled elephants teeth, teats, Buddha’s etc. We were shown 3 caves and then it was on to the highlight of Le Khaokob and we had to lie down on the boat because the roof was about to get low, in fact very low.

We were paddled towards the “spine of the Dragon”, a 350m long spine like formation that snaked through the mountain and was almost water filled. At times the roof was so low that my belly was scratching it. Our guides used their hands to propel the canoe further on by pushing at the roof, we were told the water was 2-6 meters deep and that practically every fresh water fish could be found there, they especially liked to hide in the coold waters of the cave. We were also lucky that the water was so low the day we visited as on full oon and after heavy rains the tunnel becomes inaccessible as the water level rises. Somewhere in the middle the roof came up a bit and we saw a round shape in the middle of the stream that was called the “Heart of the Dragon”, then the roof came down again and we had to lie down, further on we went until we approach the “Mouth of the Dragon” and we could see daylight. It looked exactly as the mouth as one could see the meaty thing that dangles in everybodys throat when you look in the mirror. Further on were stalactites hanging down like teeth, so the mouth impression was very palpable.

After exiting the mouth, without the Dragon biting down on us, we were dropped off to the landing pier near the parking, we tipped our guides and left back for home.

Captain’s blog May

Well, last month ended in our arrival to the beautiful Island of Langkawi and we arrived in good weather, slack water and tied up in an orderly manner just stern stern with m/y Sinbad at the Royal Langkawi yacht club.

Dubey & Kalpu ready for the night

I was met by our agent, John Orr, and got the arrival procedures in progress. This time I was properly prepared and all crew had multiple entry visas to Malaysia, yessirree. In the evening John invited the crew for some welcome drinks at the marina Charlie’s bar. I met a lot of old faces that I’d seen at our last visit although the bar seemed a bit emptier than usual. People said punters were going elsewhere nowadays for entertainment. For dinner we went to the "The Pier" restaurant where one could get a decent Thai fare.

Following day was spent drumming up people who could repair our A/C plant that had given up during the trip here. In fact the plant got temporary repaired twice and we could use half the plant. I got a local contractor called Michael that had done the aircon plants at most hotels and resorts on the Island. In the evening we had a magnificent seafood dinner at Wonderland seafood restaurant.

After the contractors were all gathered and activated I left with Vivek and John for Lumut to check out the Grade No 1 shipyard. We were met by the OPrations Manager Fuad and we started with a walk around the premises. Grad No 1 is a new shipyard that has been operating for abt 2 yrs and so far has lifted 60 boats. The shiplift is a 800ton capacity lift with 12 slings. There are big sheds where paint jobs and aluminium works can be carried out and mechanical and electrical workshops. Great facility. I am planning to do our drydocking here just before the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore.

Once our rendez-vous in Lumut was complete I continued towards Singapore to do my visa for Thailand as well as meet up with Roger Chan and Angie Ng. I checked out some new radar technology, bought some stuff for the ship and had lunch with Angie in Toa Payoh. Once I had my visa I was heading back for Langkawi, I took the bus to Alor Star and from there the ferry to Langkawi.

Same Friday we went running with the Hash House Harriers, almost all crew participated with 30 RM a head, it was beers and food included. We started the run along a small creek and ended up in a rubber plantation running through some fields and finally ending up circling in our old path and getting back along the same creek. All crew finished the run and we were welcomed by the hash circle that ensued in the aftermath of the run. Once the circle completed we had dinner at Silversands in Kuah town until late.

Next Saturday we decided to scout out the diving haunts near Langkawi. We put down
our tenderboat in the morning, loaded her up and off we went to Pulau Payar that is abt 10’ SE of Langkawi. Langkawi in itself don’t make good diving due to all the limestone so the seas are all murky. We made good speed in following seas and arrived P. Payar in abt 30minutes. The Island is a group of 3 islets and the biggest one has a resort on it (surprising considering it is a nature reserve). The Islets are covered in lush green forest inviting you to go native. We consulted our diving book and scouted around until we decided to dive S of the Island at a smaller islet. We geared up, me, Saini and Dubey went down while Rajaram and Kalpana were looking after the boat.

The visibility was fine around 10 meters and we saw some coral heads, a turtle, a Moray Eel, a reef shark, some parrotfish and numerous other fish. It was not really spectacular considering it is a marine preserve, but it was better than nothing at all.

The second dive we found a breaking reef near the S Is of P. Payar and down we went again. We must have hit some convergence zone for the Strait currents as suddenly the visibility went down to just a couple of meters and I stopped to admire clown fish at a sea anemone and I realized I lost my diving buddies. I waited the requisite minutes and I surfaced as the guys could not get back to find me. Once the other guys surfaced we started back to Langkawi.

By this time at late afternoon we had a stiff NW wind blowing and the waves were getting to 1,5m height. Needless to say we could not make 20+ knots in these conditions so we took 2hrs to get back to Langkawi and by that time I had nice sunburn that turned me into having a “boiled crab” look for the next 2 days.

Same evening we were invited for “pork night” at Ying Loong Makanan Laut (Seafood) restaurant. We were present in full numbers except standby crew (Sunil who don’t eat pork) and evening started with suckling pig, followed by roasted duck and wild boar curry. Very delicious food in good company, everybody went home not hungry at all.

Another evening I attended a quiznight at Pantai Cenang, very demanding questions and contest was won by the expat teacher team (not surprising). We managed as the Force India team, we held the tail…

Then I had to send Martula home for family reasons, she came back after a week at home. Rajaram and Sunil left for their annual leave as too, both will return to Phuket before July.

One night I arranged a BBQ on the jetty for 8 invited expats and the crew. The guests brought the beef, we supplied the braai, salads and beverages. Same time we took opportunity to sample out the new Four Seasons and Bohemia wines from UB Group that we received in Mumbai. The rose’ and white wines received very positive appraisals. Hope the word gets around.

21st I had dinner at Oasis, I had very delicious tex-mex food (chicken fajitas) and the hamburgers were massive and also the Indian dishes looked very delicious. A very recommendable eating experience with nice ambience.

22nd and 24th was again run with Langkawi Beach Hash House Harriers and the F1 GP in Monaco. The post hash dinner was in Thailand restaurant. The crew especially enjoyed the run but the F1 was skipped as everybody followed the IPL cricket as the Bangalore team was in the finals.

25th it was time to bid farewell to our agent John. We bunkered up and pottered into Thai waters. What happened then I will tell you next.

One Year onboard Kalizma

Today is the 30th April and if you have been reading my posts you realize that I have been onboard Kalizma continuously for one year.

Richard & Jira in front of the Buffalo Park

Usually I have been earlier only been doing 6-7 mths turns onboard, sometimes due to length of contract other times due to force majeure.

Anyway, the cycle is the same, every 3-4 months you go down on your mood and hardly feel like doing anything, this I call the process of being institutionalised. When you get over the feeling that you need to go somewhere and accept he inevitable that you gotta do some work too, the load lightens on your shoulder and you can live another day.

Although Kalizma have not been used that actively by her Owner I sure have been happy keeping her running. All kind of Engineering problems has been solved during the past year and hopefully this year will be a bit quieter.

I have to look forward for a drydock again and after that we will hopefully be a commercially certified yacht.

My vacation is kicking in sometimes in June and I will be relieved by Avnish, it'll be good to sit back and really relax, not needing to wake up in the morning and think about running the ship.

Mumbai - Cochin - Langkawi

So, we left Mumbai finally and were underway to Langkawi via Cochin. The reason for stopping in Cochin was to take cheaper fuel from there as in Mumbai nobody was selling tax free fuel.

Once at sea we got the waves from our stern and a strong NW'ly breeze. Everything was hunky-dory. Our Naga girls got sea-sick of course and for the 1st couple of days resembled zombies as we were trying to get them cheered up. Finally I resorted to giving them motion sickness pills so that fixed that problem.

Kalpu prepared for the worst

We arrived Cochin early morning on the 19th April. We tied up at Mattancheri Island and I met Augustine from Goa and Mr. Judy, our agent. I had prepared a record amount of paper that the agent specified me to have at hand. Indian bureaucrats really support the paper industry. Once all was done, the mandatory bottle gifts were asked for. I complied happily to get them off the ship.

In the afternoon I managed to sign on Richard that had arrived from Mumbai via land as he had to be left behind for some paper work. Then I went ashore. I saw the Dutch Fort and the Jew town. That is really the only attractions that can be mentioned about Cochin. The Jew town is mostly full of shops catering for the tourists, selling brass statues, perfumes, fragrant oils, textiles and whatnot. I even slipped for once and spent my last rupees on brass figurines of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh and another one half Shiva half Parvati. Then I got some fragrant oils, I settled for Jasmine and Kerala flowers, wonder who I will give them to. Toddy was also sold at many bars in Cochin, I sampled one bottle with Richard and must say it was much tastier than the toddy I had in Burma.

In the evening after our shopping spree we went with Richard to a hindu temple where the deity was the son of Shiva. We paid to do pooja and I asked for favorable weather for our remaining voyage. It turned out Richard did the same.

In Cochin the men wore mostly lungi's (sarongs) and in the heat they were lifting the hems all the time for better "ventilation".

After wards we went out with whole crew for dinner. Our first restaurant was not really that good so we just had some drinks and then headed out for another restaurant called the Tandoori. I and Saini had to leave earlier as a heavy rain shower came and we got some leaks onboard so had to go and help the standby crew.

Next day we received bunkers and filled our fuel tanks up to the brim, well, only 98% as per good seamanship standards. Then one of our gensets malfunctioned and we tried to find spares to no avail. Meanwhile I went out with Richard for last provisioning. We also got for crew lunch boxes of biriyani made at the famous Kayees restaurant, the walls inside were plastered with news clippings.

Pilot was booked for evening as we could not delay or wait for spares for the genset, so I decided to depart as the weather forecast also looked good.

Once again away we left Cochin with last rays of the sun and headed south along the coast, when passing the Guld of Mannar the wind got a bit stronger and a day later while rounding Sri Lanka the wind was still persisting at force 4. After that the close we got to Malaysia the wind was getting weaker and weaker.

Two days enroute our freezer broke down, Richard was boiling meat by the kilo in order to preserve it somehow.

Three days enroute our A/C packed in. Needless to say the ship turned into a furnace, not only was the sun heating up her but also the engines. Crew slept out on open deck. Bridge was the only place where you could stay inside reasonably cool as we had both doors open and a cross draft was cooling us down.

On the 26th we entered the Straits of Malacca and as we were passing north of Sumatra we could see the mountains in the horizon and Rondo Island just N of Sumatra. It looked round as the name suggests. Beside the Island were jagged stone pinnacles sticking out of the sea that looked almost like the Stonehenge from a distance. All meat was finished so we were on vegetarian fare from this day onwards.

The last night crew was forced to seek shelter inside as we had rain showers coming down. I resorted to sleeping inside the tenderboat, the cover held rain just fine.

The last day we were not so much scorched by sun as the skies were overcast, the humidity was in the 98% region. We sighted Langkawi Island on the 27th around noon, after that it took us about 2 hours to get up the channel into Kuah and finally alongside Royal Langkawi yacht club.

I was met by a familiar face, John Orr our agent and after the initial chit-chat he went to clear us into the country. In the evening John invited all crew for some drinks at the RLYC bar and later on we headed out for "The Pier" restaurant and had some delicious Thai food. Captain Graham of Queen of Andaman joined us there too and we swapped stories of latest gossip in the region.

Of course the 1st thing in order of our list was to get our A/C fixed. I'll let you know what happened to that in my next instalment. Until then.

Leaving India

As you may know if you have followed my blogs I've been in India since December and I am soon to leave the subcontinent for Thailand as not to spend the rainseason here.

Firstly one do not want to spend the rainseason here as everything gets inundated in water, flooding is very common. Secondly the seas are very rough as the monsoon will bring the swell in from the Indian Ocean. In Thailand and Malaysia we can enjoy the sunny day and be safe from the Indian Ocean swell on the East side of Phuket.

Otherwise India has treated me very well, the people have been friendly and helpful, the only thing that nags on ones piece of mind is the bureaucracy, the corruption of officials and the utter inability of contractors to deliver on their promises. There is a paper for everything that is done in India. E.g. just getting a tanker truck of fuel is so difficult and requires so many bribes that it is more easier to get a barge, the cost eventually will be the same.

When planning something to be done reserve thrice the time the contractor estimates, he may still overshoot that timeframe. E.g. in Goa is useless to try and get anything technical done, there are no facilities available. For repairs and services, go to Mumbai.

I can't say that I have experience of other places on the westcoast except Goa and Mumbai. On the way here I had to detour to Port Blair and as usual the Islanders have their own concept of time, services etc. I for one would never do any big works in Port Blair, unless one has a lot of time on their hands and is willing to fly any spares in.

Kalizma at Victoria Docks

On the other hand if you are in Mumbai you can find most services available, skilled Technicians and Engineers, materials and stores. Only thing here again is that either you stay at anchor in front of Gateway of India (where is curfew during hours of darkness) or you can get a berth in Victoria Docks. In VD you will suffer from blowing dust from the field and bird droppings. Washdown every second day is a must. The airpollution in Mumbai is remarkable. Furthermore, it is said that VD will be filled up and made into a container terminal. Surely there must be other solutions VD could be used for, just look at what they did to the old London docks but I suppose it does not have much value for the dinosaurs of Mumbai Port Trust.

Another view w/ Kalizma at VD

I guess the scheme is to make it to an endless government subsidy/ development area as there are several issues that has to be tackled before even one container ship can come alongside. Consider jobs as filling the dock, then dredging the 5m seawall and channel to 12m or more (strengthening the seawall too), after that there is continuous maintenance dredging of the channel required, then consider the infrastructure to transport the containers to and fro the terminal (construction of elevated highway?) not to mention installation of the container cranes and other equipment needed for a container port. As anyone can see all these projects will cost millions if not billions, but the area in question is relatively small considering major container ports like e.g. Shanghai so the question is that will the eventual return even cover the investment?

VD sheds at the tidal gate

Anyway, today I am departing Mumbai for Cochin and from there I will sail to Langkawi, Malaysia to receive some stores and cheap bunkers. I will also check out he new drydocking facility in Lumut. Tell you more about our trip when I've reached Phuket. Until then ta-ta.

Sunil making last call before departure outside of Gate Master's office

Captain's blog - March 2009

March was spent alongside in Mumbai only. We had a MCA commercial yacht status survey and inclination test that was concluded on the 4th. Then after this the rest of the month was spent rectifying observations done by our surveyor, Mr. Alf Cashmore. Suddenly our “to-do” list was completely full.

Alf Cashmore, our MCA surveyor

I was lucky and had Avnish here in the beginning to source out all the contractors and get the work started. Without his help I would have struggled with the bigger jobs, his contacts in Mumbai gave us a headstart.

Load testing our wooden boom

We had plenty of electrical work for additional emergency lighting, moving of navigation lights, laying new cables for various lights, additional bilge alarms and so on. In the engine room we had nothing special but some additional insulating jobs and fitting engines with local sensors and gauges so the Engineers would know how fast I am sailing. We also got new exhaust silencers made to our auxiliary engines as the old ones were the one causing problems during our trip to India, now we got brand spanking new exhausts made out of CuNiFer steel.

Further to our survey we needed deadlights for saloon windows and aft door. Finally we got a loadline assigned as well.

Our CO2 system needed some modification as well as we needed additional callpoints and sensors and a remote alarm panel to the bridge.

Another contractor was assigned to make stainless steel railings to comply with the 1000mm height requirement. Furthermore, we needed air tight flaps to our engine room ventilation outlets.

One of Mumbai's pan stalls - Pagal Pan (Crazy Pan)

On the 10th it was the time for Holi, the festival of colours. We got all crew on the pier and we pasted all red while having glasses of bhang at the end of the day, after that only the standby crew remained onboard while other crew went home to their families. On the 11th I went out with Richard and Martula to Juhu beach to see the action. We did not even get 100meters off the ship when we met a marauding group of Indians with bags of colors. At Juhu beach we encountered people by the busload, all in different colors. At places the seawater was having color, some estates was throwing parties with music blaring and colored water running off from the gutters. After having seen enough we headed off to Colaba and had a lunch at Leopold’s.

On 14th I went out with Xerxes, Martula and Sunil, they took me to Gokul restaurant where we enjoyed some snacks and Old Monk rum.

On the 18th I had to shift berth from #16 to Victoria Dock #15, Port Captain took one bottle of whisky for the effort. The next day a sail yacht came to our old berth, s/y Georgia. Beautiful boat. Later on during the day I went for a lunch with Aashim Mongia, our agent here in Mumbai. The venue was at Khyber restaurant and was specializing in north Indian food. We had a delicious curry with garlic nan bread and dhal. I was so full that I did not eat anything until the next day.

Then we got sailing orders for Thailand so I had my hands full of arranging visas to Malaysia and Thailand. Our departure from India is now set to 16th April for Langkawi, Malaysia. I also got a stewardess appointed to us, her name is Kalpana Brahma. Now we are a full crew.

From the 19th onwards we lost A/C as the heatexchanger contractor failed to box them back up, so it was leaking. Needless to say we were hot. All crew slept out on decks for days. Every morning I woke up to crow’s that live in the area. The 20th I visited Thomas with Richard and stayed overnight (no A/C onboard, remember?). The next day we visited Rodney up in Virar so in effect I traveled through whole of Mumbai by train.

Chor Bazaar

On 20th I went to Chor Bazaar with Jyothi and Richard and got us a clinometer and some brass knick-knacks for the ship. For myself I got a few brass statues of Buddha and Kali, the God of Destruction and an Aladdin lamp (the genie was missing though).

On the 21st was Richard’s birthday and we celebrated onboard with a cake and flowers, still sweating of course.

Crawford Market, textile section

On 23rd we got some action as we went for a compass adjustment and engine performance test. Pilot hopped off as soon as we got to Middle Ground and told me “Captain, you know the place, anchor where you see fit after you’ve adjusted your compass”. Oh well, no objections on that point. So we swung in front of the Colaba workshop and got our compass adjusted and then we drove the crap out of our main engines and took readings of their performance. All results were satisfactory. Then we anchored again in front of Gateway and stayed there until the 26th when I moved back to Victoria Dock #15.

Darukhana beach

On the 28th I visited Darukhana ship wrecking yard. It was huge, it was dirty, it was indescribable. I saw 5-6 ships in different stages of scrapping. One ship being demolished I suspect might have been an ex-Finnish or Swedish ship as I could see the old name “Hamnö” embossed on the bow. Cutting was going on all ships and the shore was littered with gas bottles, cut out metal plates, ship furniture and equipment, people was milling around everywhere, the activity was like in an ant-nest. The immediate beach front was full of stores built from old steel plates and odd parts and inside was steel pipes, old propeller shafts and whatnot for sale. There must be tons of steel lying around. Business was going on briskly. All around was small hutments of slum dwellers, one could see old women around, food hawkers and kids running around. The pollution in this area was extensive, the beaches were soiled black after years of yard works.

Darukhana beach

Captain's blog Feb 2009

Feb started with works related to our commercial certification and then on 1st Feb Boss came for a short visit and he probably would have liked to stay longer but unfortunately the small boat curfew was still valid so there was no landing possibility after dark. Soon enough we got orders to sail for Goa on 3rd Feb.

River Princess wreck at Candolim Beach that has eroded the beach by several meters

The trip was uneventful, when we came closer to Goa we saw the anchorage full of cargo vessels waiting to load ore at Mormugao port. At night it looked like a small town in the horizon with all the decklights visible.

Kalizma in Goa

Once in Goa on the 4th we made our clearance, met Augustine, our Company contact in Goa and Kenneth Pereira, our Agent. Funny enough the officials did not want bottles and I soon discovered the state of Goa has cheaper liquor so they can buy it themselves compared to the officials in Maharashtra. Later on I also met with Govind Tiwari, GM for the local Kingfisher brewery in Ponda and we discussed some arrangements to cover for any possible eventuality.

Anyway, Goans favor their own local liquor, fenny, that is either made of coconut or cashew. Depending on the skill and equipment of the distiller it can be a pleasant drink or a one that feels like you are swallowing a cheese grater.

Following days went cleaning and polishing the ship up as well as getting stocked and decked out on flowers in anticipation of the Boss. He came 7th late PM and stayed until 8th. On the 9th we shifted in front of Baga beach and prepared jet skis with Augustine but eventually nobody came.

On the 10th crew continued routine maintenance and I went out with Richard to Panaji (capital of Goa) for some shopping and we had a terrific lunch at the Zest, there were not many customers and the service was impeccable and the food delicious.

Crew at Ponda spice garden

On 12th We visited the brewery in Ponda and also the Spice Garden close to it. Poor Raja Ram was elected to stay onboard and look after the ship.

Our spice guide

15th-16th Boss came again and we had party at anchorage. Our sailing plan to Mumbai was cancelled and left open. We carried on.

Richard in front of Ponda brewery

17th I was invited to attend Abroe’s sisters wedding in Goa. Abroe used to work as deckhand on Kalizma before but is now a part of the ground crew in Goa looking after Bosses boats and jet skis. We were me, Vivek, Raja Ram and Sunil that was attending from the ship.

The vows had already been exchanged and we arrived to the reception party. A band was playing old classics and people was dancing in the superheated hall, the atmosphere was really captivating. Due to the heat the canteen was ferrying out glass after glass of Kingfisher and RC. I know, I had a few.
After the dinner we all paid our respects to our hosts and gave them an envelope for the future and wished them long happiness together. It was time to get back to the ship.

On 18th I went with Richard and Martula to Anjuna Beach for some shopping (Wednesday is only day). The back of the beach is lined with millions of stalls selling stuff all over from India. One could see pashmina shawls from Kashmir, copy CD’s, hippie clothing, spices, coffee beans, silver ware, paintings, carpets and antiques among many things. Many vendors were addressing me in Russian as they seem to have taken a liking towards Goa and are nowadays a main tourist here. I just browsed on a lot of things and prices appeared inflated but in India you are expected to haggle for your purchase. Eventually I settled for a tin set of Hindu God figurines of their whole God pantheon (or the most of it) for a measly sum of 1000Rs. I’d say it was good deal. I got almost same set 200Rs cheaper in Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar two weeks later.
After our shopping spree we finally entered the beach and found our way to the “Loodhi Café”, it is perched on a cliff a bit up from the beach and gives you a good view. Best of all they got a live band. We managed to secure ourselves chairs at the bar as it was jam packed. At first there was a band playing blues and then they changed into rock, very good stuff. They called themselves “The Essence”, when the sun started to set the band was changed into another outfit whose leader was a Frenchman called “Paco” and he had a Rajastahani on tablas, a Keralaite on drums and an Israeli and Japanese on didgeridoos while Paco himself played an electric sitar. The group performed a most interesting fusion chill out music that really fitted into the atmosphere that was by now consisting of the sweet burning smell of charas. We just relied on Kingfisher and enjoyed the music and atmosphere, by 10pm it was time again to head back to the ship.



On 21st Boss arrived at 1am onboard and I was told of the Grandi Island cruise. We did the needful and made things happen. Luckily Saini joined us this day back from UK from his OOW studies, the extra pair of hands was very welcome.

22nd Boss left and gave me sailing instructions for Mumbai.

23rd was Martulas birthday and Richard arranged a farewell party for the ground crew and Martula. In the morning we went with Richard to Calingute in search of a birthday present for Martula and also to pick up her birthday cake. There was so much stuff available and e.g. the silver being sold I have no idea if it is fake or not. I all got stamps but it seemed fake, who knows, I did not buy anything. Finally we settled on a small “Happy Buddha” figurine. Once onboard we do up a small birthday card and prepare some beverages for the ground crew. We go ashore at 5.30pm and meet Augustine and we set up some tables and music. Unfortunately the Ashena crew couldn’t join us as they have guests onboard. We sit down and have a few and soon enough it is time to get Martula’s birthday party on a roll. We all load into cares and go off to the Flambee restaurant at Aguada. They already know us and we start ordering drinks and food. Martula is given presents, we all are having a ball. Once the dinner is eaten it is time to get out the cake, it tastes marvelous. After this we have some more music and dancing and closer to midnight we start heading back to the boat.

24th morning we say goodbye to Kenny, our agent and Augustine. I get paperwork done and we start heaving up anchors so off we go.

25th morning were approaching the hustle and bustle of Mumbai and we get our pilot on time at Middle Ground and sail straight into Victoria Docks where we tie up at berth #15.

Following days are hectic preparation for the pending surveyor visit from MCA. I will let you know about that next month.

Cruise to Grandi Island

Boss gave orders same day early morning that he wants to cruise Grandi Is. Next morning we scrambled up all agents and navy personnel as the area is controlled by navy. Sailing took us only a couple of hours and we anchored at SE tip of Grandi Is.
We were followed by Augustine and his small fleet of jetskis out of Sinquerim and I had to go around all approach channels and pilot stations so I approached the Grandi Is from the NW.

Grandi Island

Once securely anchored I jetskied around it with Abroe and saw all small beaches (3 of them) and tourists that abound at the only really worthwhile spot in Goa in respect of diving and snorkeling. I also checked out the Navy controlled Hansa beach at the mainland, a long desolate beach with nothing on it. Perfect for a BBQ. The only really good looking beach on Grandi Is is on the NW side where the jetty is. As the Navy has not been that active (it seems) the jetty has partly collapsed and there is no activity on the Island.

Orders were to arrange full dinner BBQ at Grandi Is jetty. Whole afternoon was spent ferrying stuff over and setting up tables, BBQ, cutlery, lights, candles and whatnot. Boss went for lunch at Gautam Singhanis yacht, the “Ashena” and came back at about sunset. The party was ongoing and at about 11pm a decision was made to move out to the beach. I was thinking of staying onboard and Boss asked “aren’t you coming?” so I just hopped onboard the tenderboat and off we went.

Sunset with m/y Ashena in front of us

Once we arrived the jetty we anchored the bigger tenderboat at the head of the jetty and used the smaller Kalizma tender (which is a RIB) to ferry people to the beach.
The highwater was close so the beach had almost receded totally under water. All chairs were pulled up to the extreme end of the beach, the slowly rolling waves kept wetting the guests feet, the barbecue was half in water, tables had to be righted once in awhile to prevent from falling over. The guests was loving it, the wine and drinks flowed and all were in high spirits.

While all was going well, my deckhand Dubey, who had been stationed on this Island during his Navy time, took me up on the Island slope, a concrete pathway leading up to the old barracks. We walked along the pathway in the light of a torch and I saw the old well that had been used, it was huge with about 5m diameter and maybe 10m deep. Now there was hardly any water on the bottom and big trees was growing out of it. We continued up the path and came to the old generator building, only the seat of the generator was evidence there now. All buildings that I saw had only the walls left, roofs had been removed or blown away. Dubey told me that when he was stationed here he would every morning get himself a tender coconut for breakfast in the groves that had been growing there.

At same beach there was also 2 other boats with some local people overnighting there and they had their own party ongoing at the remains of the partly collapsed jetty. After some time they also became curious of our party and approached us and was very excited of seeing our Boss. Eventually they wanted to join the party and Bosses bodyguard needed some serious persuading to do before the youngsters believed him. In the end Boss posed for a photo together with the guys.

Having done all this, the beach had receded quite a bit and was now getting a few meters of legroom to swing, but the clock was ticking and Boss decided to retire. All our guests were ferried back to the Bagpiper tender and left back to Kalizma. Crew started packing up stuff and we waited for the small tender to return.

We packed all our stuff and ferried it back to Kalizma and once all was onboard I sent Augustine with the bagpiper tender, our tender and the accompanying 3 jetskis back to Sinquerim. Our tender had to go as they were the only ones with a GPS chart plotter.

Following orders were to return to Sinquerim as well and that we did. I anchored off Aguada at 5am. All crew still awake went and threw themselves in for a few hours of shuteye, including me.

MCA yachts - medical certificates

Many foreigners who work on yachts always get confused when they are asked about their ENG1 medical cert.

This is the medical certificate that states that you are fit for work or not. All commercial ships in the world have the same ILO standards and MCA has their own (following ILO) format that is called the ENG1. In case you live abroad you need to find a Doctor that is MCA (Maritime Coastguard Agency (UK)) qualified.

Examining the MCA site one can find listed all MCA qualified Doctors in the world that are entitled to issue MCA ENG1 medical certificates. Any other Doctor not listed but saying he can issue said document is fake.

MCA approved Physicians

However, yachts that are flying other red ensigns, e.g. Cayman Islands also approve the national seamans medical certificate, but it has to be in English and state whether fit for work or not as well as being as per the ILO standards for Seaman's medical examinations.

More can be read at the Merchant shipping notice no 1797,

MSN 1797 (A)

Furthermore, as per MCA following countries seamens medical certificates are considered equivalent to ENG1:

COUNTRIES WHOSE MEDICAL CERTIFICATES ARE ACCEPTED AS EQUIVALENT TO THE UK MEDICAL CERTIFICATE

1 February 2009

This list updates Annex A of Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1765. To obtain an equivalent medical certificate you must approach the respective maritime authority to be advised of the location of their approved doctors.

This list reflects new Regulations, which came into effect on the 1 September 2002. Medical certificates issued by countries previously recognised as equivalent (listed in MSN 1746 (M+F)) will be acceptable until the date of expiry.

Further countries will be added to this list as and when medical standards and systems have been assessed for equivalency.

Australia
Austria*
Belgium*
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Cyprus*
Czech Republic*
Denmark*
Estonia*
Finland*
France*
Germany*
Greece*
Hong Kong
Hungary*
Iceland**
India
Italy*
Jamaica
Latvia*
Lithuania*
Luxembourg*
Malta*
Mauritius
Netherlands*
New Zealand
Norway**
Pakistan
Poland*
Portugal*
Republic of Ireland*
Romania
Slovakia*
Slovenia*
South Africa
Spain*
Sri Lanka
Sweden*
Ukraine

* EU Member States
** EU (European Economic Area) States

Link to MCA website

Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen: Amendment 04

Merchant Shipping Notices, Marine Guidance Notes and Marine Information Notes: Consolidated to April 2001

Visit to brewery

We arrived the brewery at noon and was met by the various smells of fermenting grains and hops that is associated with a brewery as we were guided to Govind Tiwari’s office where we were greeted with some lunch and cold fresh glasses of Kingfisher. After a short chat we discovered that the brewery was currently churning out abt 100.000 btls a day in 2 shifts, but if demand would rise the production could be increased too.

Richard in front of the brewery

Finally we were introduced to lab assistant Shilpa to show us around the brewery. We started at the big vats and tanks where the mash was fermented and the hops were added and various other ingredients leading to beer. All was connected by different filters, heat exchangers etc, all piping was stainless steel and I could see C/E Vivek eyeing the plant enviously.

Then we visited the laboratory where we sampled beer samples from the line after pasteurizing and before, very delicious. The Master brewer also gave us a short chat. We were also explained the rigorous testing methods and cleanliness requirements by Shilpa and her colleagues.

Quality pledge

After that we went to the bottling plant where we could see the fully automated process where returned empty beer bottles was inserted mechanically into the washing machine, emerging clean, being filled with beer, then sealed, labeled, pasteurized, boxed, box was glued up and finally arrived in store house for delivery vans. The line was at all critical stages monitored by people and one could hear the crash of discarded bottles when guys were throwing them into waste bins. All the hectic activity was punctuated by at time exploding beer bottles while they were happily clinking away along the line.

Exiting the brewery we also took a walk around the distillery and saw the huge ageing sheds where casks upon casks was piled up top the rafters, all with the date of filling painted on the lid. We were explained that alcohol put into used casks would require longer ageing than in new casks. Finally we were offered a small glass of un-aged rum that tasted really good as per all crew.

At the end we went back to Mr. Tiwari’s office and thanked him for this opportunity at the same time I handed over some Kalizma polo neck shirts to him and his family.

All said and done we packed ourselves in the car and drove off to Calingute beach where we started to walk towards the wreck. Unfortunately after a couple of beers and hundred meters down the beach nightfall came and we had to revert to the local outlets inside of the beach shacks. Some phonecalls later found us at the “Flambee” restaurant at Aguada and soon enough food was ordered and we enjoyed and chatted about the day.

Roundabout 11pm found us at the dessert and we got the bill, packed us into the car and got ourselves to the UB jetty to get onboard. Needless to say we added insult to injury and brought Rajaram a doggie bag. Next time is his turn for the outing…

Spice Garden visit

As we entered the garden on a footpath from the ticket booth we heard group of ladies walking in a circle, clapping their hands while singing local songs and as we passed under the entrance fragrant flowers was thrown on us and everyone got a “lei” around their neck.

Crew and Augustine at reception

After this we were seated at a table and we got some lemongrass tea and cashew nuts to snack on while our guide was assigned to us.

Once finished our snack it was time to get on the tour and we started walking after our guide, the spices were multiple, among many plants I can recall: bayleaves, lemongrass, vanilla, pepper, super hot chillies, nutmeg, banana (world’s tallest grass), cardamon, cloves, cocoa, turmeric (cheap mans , cashew, areca nut, coffee bean, curry leaves, garam masala (5 spices in one tree). While passing every herb or spice the guide was churning out ayurvedic remedies for various ailments the plant could be utilised for. E.g nutmeg is result for the large Indian population being a natural “viagra”…

Our spice guide

Cashew is a 2-part fruit that consists of the fruit and the nut, the nuts are the cashews that we eat roasted and the fruit is fermented into “ourak” and then distilled into “fenny”.

During the tour we also saw some camels and elephants that tourists could take rides on after the tour. As last number we were demonstrated how areca palms are harvested by climbing up the trunk with the aid of a sling around your ankles and then just swinging from tree to tree.

At the end of the tour we were poured ice cold herbal water down our necks to relax us or whatever, at least it was cooling. Then we were offered locally made cashew fenny and lunch. We tasted the fenny but declined the lunch as we had another engagement at the brewery. The fenny was quite a rough experience burning all the way down the throat and leaving a warm feeling in the bottom of your stomach.

We all left happy after the very educational experience.

Cruise ship soap opera

A few weeks back I was related a true story from a cruise ship of how a personal drama evolved to remarkable proportions:

This cruise ship was plying between two countries on a regular trade and she was appointed a new Captain (that I have the dubious honor to know of personally) onboard. The ship was manned by two nationalities and the Captain started telling his countrymen how he is going to replace them all with the other cheaper nationality. True to his nature he immediately won the "most likable person onboard" award as he always manages to do.

As with his simpletons mind he started to "command and conquer" and he promised the Security Officer a 3rd Officer's position as he was qualified for it. Naturally this was just lip service to get him on his "side" and also vital gossip and information of what is going on onboard. This was discovered pretty soon too and did not win any sympathies on the would be 3rd Officer's side.

Next the Captain bedded the Chief Purser (from the other nationality) and fell in love with her and they started a relationship. All looked good for the Captain, he ruled as a dictator and the antipathy grew by the day.

Until the day comes when another new Captain (from the other nationality) comes to relieve him for vacation. As it happens this Captain (lets call him Y) had also had a relationship with the Chief Purser a few years back on another ship. Then during a crew party old feelings flamed up and the Chief Purser forgot her new beau and went back for the old salt.

As it happens the Captain (lets call him X) received at 3am from an unknown number a MMS message with Captain Y and the Chief Purser on a photo in a nightclub sucking each others faces in a manner that don't leave much for interpretation. Being the cuckolded party he jumped out of bed and in his car and started a 600+km drive to where the ship was in port.

Next morning at abt 9am Captain X arrives to the ship and storms onboard and demands to see the security log. He checks the times when Captain Y and Chief Purser has come back onboard. Security Officer that had no sympathy for the Captain X knows immediately what is going on and he sees the agitated state he is in so he calls the Chief Officer to report what is going on. Chief Officer tells him to call the Coast Guard, which he does.

Meanwhile Captain X dashes into the Captains cabin only to find Captain Y and Chief Purser snoozing in each others arms. Captain X is speechless, can't get a coherent word out of his mouth. Soon enough Coast Guard arrives and collects him off the ship.

After Captain X gather his wits he comes up with the million dollar idea to ask the Company to sack Captain Y. The letter from the Captain is taken seriously and the DPA calls the Coast Guard, the Officer who made the arrest gives a slightly exaggerated vision of the incident as he happens to be a friend of the wronged Security Officer.

The Company decides it is safer to kick Captain X off board instead. Was not the first nor the last time it happened to him.

What do we learn from this?
Women onboard are always inviting trouble,
Leadership skills are asked for when big crews are in question,
If you treat people badly - don't expect anything less in return,
Never ever bring your private life onboard and especially not to the management.

Some food for thought...

Captain's Blog - January 2009

So, the year of 2009 has been ushered in and a month of it has already been used up, whew, time goes by so fast when you grow older. We arrived Mumbai 22nd Dec and started some quick repairs again to get Kalizma spick'n'span for our Boss and guests.

M/y Kalizma alongside Victoria Docks

We went alongside Victoria Dock #15 an old colonial time dock with ancient lock doors that did not hold water. I had only the centre engine to use as wing engines exhaust valves had been dismantled because they had jammed during the voyage. I had ample space and a good pilot onboard so coming alongside was not a problem. Unfortunately I could not accommodate him with a bottle as requested, all the other bureaucrats had taken it all and I was waiting for replenishment. Pilot said he would be back 2nd Jan, he never came though, which was my luck as well because I had not received any stores onboard by that time.

As the days went by I also came to know about Indian bureaucracy, I thought Greek and Chinese bureaucracy was complicated and stiff but it seems Indians has been able to surpass these countries in paperwork. I wonder if this is the legacy of the Englishmen. Basically nothing happens in India without a paper. Invoices will not be issued without an official request for the job, in the port nothing moves in or out without a paper. Even if you buy groceries ashore and pay VAT, you are not able to bring them into the port area without clearing it with the Customs and these guys needs greasing as well. Needless to say we tried to bring in/ out as little as possible or whatever we were transporting was hidden under the car seat. Even gate passes are issued only for 1 week at a time and has to be renewed with a crewlist and an Official Letter from the Master. The list goes on and on but I think you get the picture.

We discovered our other AE exhaust silencer was also totally corroded and was taken out to the workshop for repairs, they actually built a new silencer around the old one. We also did some carpentry and varnish work and brass polishing, lots of it. Our galley equipment got a go-over and was serviced. We're looking into making our freezer colder, by the time of writing this item is still pending. The carpet was changed in the saloon, Owner's suite and dining area by Ashish Gupta, an upcoming designer that has done a lot of work onboard Indian Empress. An Electrician was working for 2 weeks sorting out small troubles that was on our to-do list.

As what comes for the crew matters: Vivek went to New Delhi to migrate his family to Mumbai and sort out some personal stuff. Jyothi had her ring ceremony and is now officially reserved. Saini signed off and left for UK to further his studies to obtain his MCA certification upgrade into OOW. Jessica signed off after completion of her contract, she wanted to try something new, I wish her all the best in finding it. Sunil left for 1 week to Dehradun to visit his family and he will at some stage go to UK and do his MEOL MCA certification. Our new deckhand, Sandeep Dubey, that joined in Port Blair is doing fine and taking up duties during Saini's absence.

4th January I went out with Richard, Jyothi and Jessica, we met up with Anil, the Chef at Indian Empress on leave, and he took us to the "Indigo" behind the Taj hotel. Indigo is a very hi-so fancy restaurant and has an equally fascinating menu. Anil ordered some chicken in tamarind sauce for starters that was delicious but my meal proved different. At this time I can't anymore recall what I was eating as the only thing I remember is that it was bland and tasteless, call me a hypocrite but I've spent last 10yrs in SE Asia and I like food with some attitude in it. I met restaurant manager Vijay Prakash who is an old cruise ship hand and in ten places at the same time, his suit flaps were horizontal all he time, I swear. Once we finished dinner we left the girls to go their own places and we went to Bombay Fancy.

Bombay Fancy is a restaurant where you sit and watch girls in sari's. Some guys got excited and started throwing 10 rupee notes all around. I thought this was all play money and following the action with a small smile at my face. Soon I saw (Richard assured me) that the dough was not false money, the demimondaines and band was in on it. I had my beer and went back to the ship but can't keep myself smiling at the thought of the corrupt government officials throwing money out at girls. Easy come, Easy go.....

5th January we had a small fire in the lower crew cabin which was successfully put out and did not cause any bigger damages. All similar light fixtures has today been changed into safer ones.

After having done Kalizma all polished up after the voyage we moved to anchorage in front of Gateway of India where we still sit. It is very quiet, you can't hear the hectic traffic from Mumbai and also the birds leave us alone. At VD we got droppings enough to start a guano fertilizer factory. On the other hand we are restricted in our movements as the local constabulary has prohibited all small boat traffic to the Gateway and all other piers during hours of darkness. It is either you stay onboard or stay ashore - for me it is onboard - and off duty crew that has family here will be overnight at home unless the Boss is in town.

We were ready for use on the 9th and we shifted to anchorage in front of the Gateway of India. Brasspolishing and detailing was in full swing. Same day we had the unfortunate event with the waterbarge, luckily nothing was broken.

10th we had a scheduled visit from the boss and a photo shoot. Boss never came but the photo shoot took place. We had the Editor Sandhya Chipalkatti accompanied by photographer Arjun Chipalkatti and Editorial assistant Priyanka Tilve onboard. Sandhya and Priyanka grilled me and Avnish of the history of the boat from every angle while Arjun was shooting away. The party was shown the entire boat and we were drained of all information we could give. Finally Arjun needed a few shots of me and I hope he got some nice portraits. Afterwards we had some snacks and soft drinks.

Sun 11th I was invited for a brunch in Alibaug, it was at a beautiful beach villa with live music and full buffet with a well equipped bar. Not so well-equipped though as one might have expected as they ran out of Kingfisher during the first 2 hrs. Buffet was delicious and the music was very good. Unfortunately I can't recall the name of the band but they were a local talent singing both covers and their own stuff. Anyway, I had to leave before sunset otherwise the boy's in brown would not let me onboard.

12th Jan I got Custom officials onboard accompanied by some spare parts they had been sitting on for a month. I signed the papers and asked "if that was all?", the Officer said yes, so I got up and walked away. His long face was priceless as I did not offer him any whisky. If he would have drunk less whisky and passed our spareparts quicker I could have considered rewarding him but in this case - no way.

Next weeks went in servicing our fire extinguisher as well as preparing for our commercial certification. Drawings has to be prepared and reports filed with classification society and flag state. More deck service was done, some varnishing, carpentry - routine stuff - she is a very high maintenance yacht. In addition the air pollution don't give much respite either, washdown has to be done every other day.

24th Jan I went out shopping with Richard and bought him a new food processor to replace his old one that died en route Mumbai. I also got him a pressure cooker, our dhaal improved considerably after that. Aftre that we went to Crawford Market and saw all sections, fruit, vegetables, chicken, mutton, general stores, beverages, fish and live animals. There were animals of all sorts - dogs, cats, racing pigeons, fighting roosters and whatnot. The fishmarket requires a strong nose, not for the people that easily get queasy by strong odors.

Same evening there was staged a concert at Gateway of India (police had stopped all boat traffic at 5pm already) and we heard it live from outer decks as well as 5minutes later than it appeared "live" on TV. The concert was named "Challenge to terrorism" and was a part of a music reality TV show and also featured some of the Bollywood's reigning jetset e.g. Deepika Padukone was there and looked like a million dollars in her white sari. The concert was finished by the Indian national anthem.

31st Jan I went to Chor Bazaar (Thieves Market) with Richard and shopped for some items required on bridge, I got an old UK Navy sextant and a clinometer for very good price. For myself I splurged out on a Plath sextant a UK Navy telescope and a handheld compass. Otherwise the whole Bazaar was a nice experience, one could find any item you could need, you name it - they go it, streets were lined with small shops and they were all specializing in their own stuff, some had old cameras, another old gramophones, Hindu God idols, shipwrecking items, old watches and clocks, old furniture and anything you can imagine. Just the place where you could expect to find an Aladdin lamp or a flying carpet sold in a shadowy backroom surrounded by odds and ends and funny smells.