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A Summary of the
second leg of the Voyage
By CLAIRE ARMITAGE
| It was with great sadness
that the crew of the Borobudur ship bid farewell to 5 of the hardy
sailors who had braved the soggy journey across from Jakarta to Mahe.
Paul, Reg, Shierlyana, Nick and Pouria all departed to make way for
Habibie, Danielle, Corinne, Richard and Claire. These lucky recruits
were joining the expedition at the start of the “cocktail leg”,
which was expected to be a relatively straightforward (quick!) and
pleasant (dry!) sail round to Madagascar. Fortunately, one of these
predictions was accurate, since the weather improved dramatically on
leaving the Seychelles (although unexpected saltwater showers were
still a feature for some unsuspecting crew members who timed their
trips to the heads at inappropriate times!). The wind speed and
direction, however, proved more problematic, and so the route taken
was less direct than anticipated. |
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Having consumed a
proportion of the water in disposable containers from Aqua, an additional
supply was needed, and so extra containers were sought. After some
searching (supplies in the Seychelles can be extremely difficult to come
by) we managed to commandeer 30 large cans, which had previously been used
in a bitter lemon making process. Despite rinsing these a number of times,
a lemon scent remained, which no one was too concerned about since this
was thought would provide some flavour for our staple fish and rice
cuisine. It was only later that we discovered that it doesn’t taste so
great in coffee…
So it was that after 17
rainy days in the seemingly not-so-aptly named Seychelles (from the French
Seche Iles), during which supplies were replenished and repairs and
improvements (waterproofing!) made to the ship, the crew were eager to set
sail. Two new watch teams were created, with our expert Pagerungan sailors
Sulhan and Dirman as watch leaders, and Mohammad in overall charge as
sailing master. On 29th September the adventure continued when we waved
goodbye to the Seychelles Yacht Club, who had been most welcoming, and
motored out of Port Victoria (not very 8th century but the authentic
alternative was rowing, which is not so very practical in a busy 21st
century fishing port!).
We started promisingly
enough, more westwards than southwest as we would have hoped, but cruising
along at a pretty constant 4 knots. A couple of days in, and we were
totally out of sight of land, which is quite a novel experience. We were
accompanied at various points by a friendly school of dolphins, showing
off by leaping out of the water, but careful never to be predictable
enough to be photographed! Considering the good beginning of the leg, we
were disappointed when the wind dropped, and our progress slowed
dramatically. In order to make the most of the variable winds a number of
sail changes had to be made. All hands were called to hoist and
change sails on numerous occasions, and this was when the problems
started…
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It was dark when one
particular operation began, and this masked the fact that the part of the
lower boom was still
tied fast to the mast. A loud crack signalled that the combined
might of the 4 sailors attempting to hoist the sail had triumphed
over the sturdiness of the bamboo, and so proceedings had to be
halted for emergency repairs to be conducted. An hour or so later we
were back on track, with the mainsail billowing and just the mizzen
to deal with. This was not to be easy either, though, as one of the
ropes looped round the sail, preventing it from moving. Sulhan’s
herculean efforts 50feet up at the top of the mast to disentangle it
finally paid off, but not before he suffered damage to his thumb,
which was trapped between the mast and boom, and required expert
medical care from Corinne who ably bandaged it up. The whole
exercise took some 3 hours (the sail change not the bandaging!),
eventually being completed at midnight. There then followed a rather
surreal moment when the crew realised that it was Philip’s
birthday, and burst into a tired but enthusiastic rendition of
“Happy Birthday”. The rest of the celebrations were postponed to
later in the day, when happy hour was declared, and our leader was
toasted with lukewarm beer and fizzy drinks. I’m sure that he was
suitably impressed with the homemade card that was presented to him,
made from the recycled chart of the Sunda Straight, although he was
quite quiet – the result of being overcome with emotion I’m
sure! |
The fishing competition
resumed on this leg, and it wasn’t long before Philip drew first blood
in the form of a small tuna. Within the space of an hour, Mohammad’s
traditional techniques also paid off, hauling a massive dorado on board. A
third fish was hooked by Philip within a very short space of time,
although this one managed to avoid its culinary fate and escaped (much to
the relief of certain crew members who had visions of turning into fish
themselves, they were eating so much of it!). Other catches during the leg
included barracuda and more tuna, one of which had already been snacked on
by a hungry shark, whose teeth marks were clearly visible on the remains!
Not to waste the leftovers, the Indonesians set about preparing and
cooking them, proving that the shark must have enjoyed his feast!
The night-time watches
proved the most wearing for the crew, who had to find ways of amusing
themselves and staying awake, but also for the birds that appeared
seemingly from nowhere after sunset, obviously after a free ride! They
were not welcomed by the crew, as their favourite perch was on the top
boom of the mizzen, directly above whoever happened to be helming at the
time. Needless to say a number of people’s clothes had changed colour by
the end of their shifts, not to mention the decks! On a couple of
occasions the offenders flew a little too close to irate crew members, and
were subjected to the punishment of having to pose for photographs. The
Indonesian contingent certainly proved the most creative at finding ways
to pass the time - in addition to perfecting the art of seagull catching,
they formed a band with instruments made from ordinary, everyday objects
found on board. Discarded metal bottle tops were nailed to a wooden stick
as a tambourine, and an empty water container proved a very effective
drum!
After 15 days at sea,
(and an additional 400 odd miles of travelling thanks to being blown in
the wrong direction), land was eventually spied in the distance – our
first sight of Majunga in Madagascar. Already the influence of Indonesia
was evident, as all around the ship little fishing boats could be seen,
with characteristic outriggers for stability. It took another few hours
before we reached the port, but all were glad to arrive, especially as the
last of the beers were cracked open to celebrate! Despite arriving at
around 2pm, we didn’t actually make it ashore until the following day,
due to having to wait for the authorities to board the ship and clear us
for customs and immigration purposes. At 8.30 the following morning a
boatload of important-looking people descended upon us, including the
mayor of Majunga, who was extremely hospitable, later hosting a welcome
dinner for the crew. Some time and discussion later, we were given
clearance, with the added bonus that our visa
fees were waived.
In addition to cultural
events in Majunga, there were also engagements planned in the capital,
Antanananananarivo (as we affectionately came to call it – the locals
opt for the simpler Tana!). So it was that half of the crew loaded up a
minibus and set off on what was to become quite an adventure in itself.
Roads in Madagascar wind through spectacular mountain and forest scenery,
and are mainly pretty reasonable, bar the odd few hundred bumpy yards
every so often where the tar was missing!
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3 hours into the
journey, though, we encountered a long tailback due to an accident.
A truck had overturned, completely blocking a bridge on our route.
This caused some concern as the length of the tailback suggested the
accident had occurred some time previously, and investigation of the
crash site showed no sign that the wreckage would be cleared any
time soon. In normal circumstances we would have backtracked to the
last turnoff, and detoured around the affected bridge. However, this
is! Madagascar, and there is only
one road between Majunga and Antananarivo - unless you have the
luxury of a 4x4 vehicle, which we didn’t. Not to be defeated by
this setback, our fearless expedition leader rallied the troops and
mounted a daring exercise to transfer people and luggage by foot to
a minibus on the other side of the bridge, via the treacherous
valley below! Mission accomplished we continued on our way, stopping
briefly at a small village to film some footage for the documentary.
Few people must stop there since the villagers seemed bewildered and
apprehensive of the camera - that is until Joko approached with
gifts of biscuits for the local children, which were obviously much
appreciated! |
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Safely in the capital,
there followed a series of events, the most notable of which was the
meeting of Philip and other expedition members with the president of
Madagascar. The seminar on the cultural relationships between Indonesia
and Madagascar proved popular, and provoked some lively debate, and the
crew were entertained at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before a
farewell dinner that had been expertly organised by the Indonesian
embassy. The crew then faced the lengthy journey back to Majunga and final
preparations for the third, and possibly most challenging, leg of the
journey.
CLAIRE ARMITAGE
23 October 2003. |
