Tag Archives: Leslie Rigney

Travels after Sudan….Where are RigneysKandu?

After Sudan, we were on a whirlwind tour of Egypt, Israel, and Europe. Not much has been posted on the blog site since then. The three of us – myself, Eric and Bryce – plan to rectify that, posting articles recounting more detail than revealed in our postings on Facebook about the many  extraordinary adventures of the last 5 months. BTW – if you don’t know, Kandu is down to 3 as Trent returned to California to attend high school. He is living with Uncle Nick Rigney in Calabasas.

Trent Rigney in Alsace, France

August 29, 2018

Dear Sara and family,

I have been thinking of you since we were in Spain wishing I had become more fluent in Spanish like you. Unfortunately, we didn’t spend any time in Spain outside Barcelona, darn it! Just had 90 days to visit the Schengen countries (The Schengen agreement among most of the European Union countries grants visitors a 90 day tourist visa…if not European, then you only qualify for a 90 day visitor’s visa out of 180…3 months within a 6-month period. Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, England, Gibraltar are not part of Schengen.) It’s just as well, because our bank book is quite depleted. It’s been very expensive traveling and docking the boat in Europe west of Greece. We sailed past the lower boot of Italy bee-lining it to Pompeii – one of my bucket list sights.

Cyprus Roman amphitheater dating 100 AD

Eric and I had never been to Rome or Venice. Having the boys with us, it was a must to make efforts to hit the bigger sites. Maybe another day, we’ll get a chance to explore more of Italy as I really fell in love with that country, full of ancient wealth and history.

Interior St Peter’s Basilica

Actually Paris this time for us was not as mesmerizing as it has usually been in previous visits and stays. Perhaps it’s because we were generously put up by a friend in the suburbs of Paris and it took almost 90 minutes to get into the city, making early morning and late night strolls a little more challenging. Oh well. Not to mention the hoards and hoards of summer tourists swarming the big sites, and the heat. I don’t remember previously visiting Paris in the summer.

I haven’t had a chance to write on our blog much since making Egypt. Now that we have a bit of time to breath having exited out of the Schengen territories, we can enact repairs on the boat and record more details of our explorations.

In Bruge, Belgium with Ron and Rosie Dennis and Sian, Lara and Elena Demande.
Thierry and Clara Robert, Ron and Rosie and RigneysKandu touring around Huy, Belgium.

Most recently, we had a wonderful 6 weeks with my parents. Via extended invitations from our dear Belgium and French friends, we were able to introduce the boys and my folks to European living in many forms and to visit extraordinary sights and places like the picturesque & unforgettably charming wine villages along the Rhine in the Alsatian province. Eric and I had been to Alsace a couple times before, visiting with friends, but we had never explored the region: Colmar, Strasbourg, nor the wine trail villages. It’s no wonder why this region bordering Germany has been under contention for 100’s of years between France and Germany…it’s rich in valuable resources: hard working “Protestant type work-ethic” people and rich land for agriculture. The Strasbourg Cathedral housed the most incredible astronomical working clock we’d ever seen.

Together, we also had time to visit some bordering areas/towns of Alsace including Baden Baden on the frontier of Germany – extremely wealthy boasting a lovely old fort that we hiked during the rain, and Luxembourg – which is clean clean clean, with a picturesque old town, fort, huge city walls and gorgeous Catholic churches. Of course, all through Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Belgium, France, Monaco and Barcelona, we visited churches, Basilicas, and Cathedrals ad nauseum. I loved it all….the boys were definitely done with the typical city offerings except the most spectacular ones such as St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, The Duomo in Florence, Versaille in France, and The Sagrada Familia by Gaudi in Barcelona. In Chartres Cathedral, France, the inside has recently been painted white to enhance the otherwise dire interior, but most specially the organist played for about 20 minutes, which for me, was magical.

We’ve enjoyed so many other incredible country spectaculars: art museums, Napoleon history, war memorials and museums about WWI and WWII, plus many ancient sites, valuable and palatable history lessons for us all.

Truly truly spectacular traveling which I hope to write about more fully on our blog now that we are moving at a more leisurely pace.

We and Kandu are now in Gibraltar harbored in Queensway Quay Marina. Trent, our youngest at 14 returned to California from Barcelona to live with Uncle Nick and started school August 23rd  in Calabasas. Happily, he made the volleyball team. He is thrilled to be back home and excited to get academically serious. He’s extremely motivated. Bryce (16) flew solo to London last Friday night, visiting a good friend that he met in Athens.

Bryce is staying the 6 days with a dear friend of ours who is working on the next Spiderman movie currently filming in London. Bryce is exploring the city historical sites, skateboarding along the way.

Once Bryce returns, we’ll finish the remaining maintenance and repairs and sail off to Morocco, a two day sail, leaving Sept 3 to Mohammedia to visit Casablanca, Morocco. Then we’ll sail further south to Agadir to work on the boat a bit more and hopefully find some good surf for Bryce after almost a year of circumstantial abstinence. We plan to depart Agadir on Oct 1st for a two day sail to the Canary Islands (7-day stop, Columbus’s last before setting off to our New World), the Cape Verde Islands to restock (8-day sail), find a bit more surfing for Bryce – and then when the weather is good sometime around October 31st we plan to take off to sail the 18 days across the Atlantic .

After that – things are still undecided. If all goes well we’ll head straight to French Guiana, then Surinam, Guyana and north to visit a couple of the French Caribbean Islands, then west to the A, B, C’s of Dutch Antilles and Columbia to get ready to transit the Panama Canal around my birthday in February 2019.  In the Eastern Pacific, we make our way north through Costa Rica and Mexico, skipping the less secure countries in between.  It’s reported that there are pirates along the Central American coastline from Nicaragua through to Guatemala. Our plan is to return to Ventura end of May, early June 2019. Our McCool house has re-rented under a two-year lease. We are not beholden to any specific place to live in Southern California until we both land employment.

We’re getting close to the bottom of our cruising funds. From here on out, we’ve gotta be careful. Hopefully we won’t have big expenditures with the boat. We’ve already replaced so much!!!

Sending you big virtual hugs my dear girlfriend!
Leslie

Gibraltar – THE ROCK!

Leslie’s Letters: Gibraltar Sept 2018

September 15, 2018

Hello Bill and Annie,

We are departing Gibraltar today, Saturday. Too tired from all our hard work and sight-seeing to leave on Friday, our original chosen day of departure after 3 weeks of work and exploration.

There was much to accomplish here in Gibraltar, not having spent any time on Kandu’s general maintenance since the big overhaul in Pangkor Marina, Malaysia. We had various leaks to address, turns out that our electrical grounding had an issue and Eric spent 3 days assessing the problem and another 2 leading another wire through the nooks and crannies of the interior to replace the problematic one. Then the water maker membranes that had been ordered and delivered months ago needed to be installed. During regular maintenance of the engine and tightening the alternator belt, Eric discovered a bolt had severed off the water intake pump – that took another 3 days to deal with…and it’s still not done because here in Gibraltar, one bolt could be made out of four which meant he had to use the old bolts and order new ones for future replacement.  The rule is if one bolt has broken, all the other bolts should be replaced too. And it goes on and on…finding moldy items that needed to be cleaned or tossed, deep cleaning, etc, etc.

Our last work day, we accomplished a lot on Thursday and then toured the Rock hiking up to the top starting at 14:00 – We tramped through the WWII tunnels and the Great Seige tunnels built in 1782/83. Fascinating history. The rock of Gibraltar has been taken over so many times…this area was the gateway of the Muslims into Europe from 711 to early 1300’s. Then they were politically kicked out of Spain under a final defeat headed by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. Later up through 1609, Philip II of Spain and the Spanish Inquisition then persecuted any remaining Muslims and Jews, forcing them either to convert, depart…or they were killed.

The Brits started considering taking over the rock already in 1654…but they officially started to hold it in 1704 under seige by Spain. 1713 – marks the date when Spain officially ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity…but the two countries continued to fight over up to the siege starting in 1779. 1783 marked the end of the last and final “Great Siege.” Then fighting Napoleon during the battle of Trafalgar, Oct 1805, the area and the straights of Gibraltar were fought over again during which Admiral Lord Nelson was killed. However, his victory at Trafalgar removed the threat of another siege by the French and Spanish.

Darned interesting history. A couple days ago, we visited the Natural History museum…Here in Gibraltar was the first Neanderthal skull found 1848 recovered from the Forbes Quarry in one of two enormous and deep caves…but the skull was not recognized as a new humanoid ’species’ until after the Germans later discovered and officials named the species “Neanderthals” following their discovery in Neanderthal Valley, Germany.

During the World Wars, Gibraltar was used extensively as intermediary safe haven by the Allies as naval ships came and went. The people of Gibraltar have since voted two times, the first in 1967, to remain part of Britain as an overseas territory. 32,000 people live in this crowded area calling it home. Numerous large apartment buildings have been constructed in the last 30 years on landfill expanding past the original city walls.

Gibraltar Natural History Museum – Oldest Neanderthal skulls

We’ve been here 3 weeks and have enjoyed our Gibraltarian visit very much. Feels nice to be in an English speaking country that is organized much like our own, albeit the locals generally speak both English and Spanish. The Brits really colonized well and established great “infrastructure.” Much different than the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies. Dutch colonizers (Indonesia) basically built what they needed to build only, but the Brits’ organizational structures were sound, hence their successful colonies: US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada.

September 10 marks their National Day where everyone wears red and white. We stayed specifically to attend their festivities including an air show, rock bands, speeches, dancing, and fireworks.

Off to Mohammedia, Morocco – close to Casa Blanca for just a couple days, and then more south to Agadir for a few days to allow Bryce to enjoy some Atlantic surf. It’s been since Bali, Indonesia that Bryce has stored his boards!

Love Leslie

Sightseeing INDIA from the Bolgatty Palace Marina, Cochin

Feb 10, 2018

We had an exceptional time in India due to the delicious & inexpensive food (that even our 14 year old son Trent loved), the vividly colored clothing, the profoundly different culture, the prolific vegetable and fruit markets, our fabulous tours to the Taj Mahal and Kerala’s backwaters, and the general hustle and bustle.

Still getting our bearings, the second night we got a chance to see the renowned Kerala Kathakali facial dance and costume show along with the pre-show application of the make-up and fitting the costume was amazingly interesting and colorful. The spectacle is offered every evening right at the Bolgatty Palace Resort Hotel for a modest price. The Kathakali entertainment was just the beginning of our great adventures in India.

Instead of flying both ways, we purposefully took a 48-hour sleeper train ride north to New Delhi to observe more closely the countryside, its peoples and to have a true local Indian experience. The Taj Mahal mausoleum, the most important site of our India travels, was as impressive and beautiful as anticipated – all white marble with specially carved and intricately cut and inlaid floral designs. (Definitely one of today’s ‘Wonders of the World.’) The photos say it all!!

We absolutely loved spending Happy Holi day in New Delhi on March 2nd, where people hit the streets with fluorescent colored chalk plastering it on each other while getting lampooned by water balloons and/or water hoses. We enjoyed the wonderfully generous people we met full of smiles and hellos. The four of us are BIG fans of Masala tea (Chai tea) and samosas: potato & veggie filled deep fried savory.

The boys and I especially appreciated witnessing the ‘holy cows’ walking in amongst the Agra car and auto tucktuck traffic. Sometimes huge cows were laying down right in the middle of traffic – vehicles simply drove around them. Bryce spanked the hindquarters of one behemoth that was walking VERY close. Holy Cow!

Driving on the streets in India is all that it is reported to be…hectic, crazy with just a few rules…mostly ‘anything goes.’ The four of us frequently squeezed into auto tucktucks, which are two or three-seater three wheeled motor cabs that can be hailed everywhere. In the city, it is far more exciting to travel around in that cheap and convenient mode as opposed to cars.

India’s TuckTuck mania!

Renting a car wasn’t really an option nor was it expensive to hire ‘tour guide’ drivers with nice cars to drive further than in-town distances like traveling south to the backwaters of Kerala or the two hours between the Taj Mahal in Agra province to New Delhi.

One such driver was so friendly, that he suggested we come visit his home in the older section of New Delhi. A driver/musician, he sang Indian songs in the car for us, and when we arrived at his home, he played all the Indian sounding licks on his keyboard while singing along. In exchange, I sang “O Mio Babbino Caro” to his family’s delight. We would never have gone into that section of New Delhi without a guide – too local and impossible to navigate!

These particular residential New Delhi streets are narrow like in medieval European towns – no cars, just scooters, bicycles and pedestrians. Built on a hill, the small streets are packed and slippery due to running water leaks. Houses are constructed side by side and scale upwards – one floor per family. Our driver is one of three grown sons with their own families all sharing the same parents’ house: the parents’ room is on the ground floor, the 2nd son, wife and 2 kids in the only room on the 1st floor shared by all as a dining room with the kitchen down the hall, our friend and his wife and son live on the 3rd floor with the only house bathroom across the hall, the 4th floor houses the 1st son, his wife and 2 children plus the laundry room down the hall. Then there is the rooftop for drying clothes and seeing the city sights below. Each room is about 600 square feet and much of the square footage of the house is made up of stairways. The ground floor, supporting five stories is only about 1000 square feet. It is tight living – but not quite as tight as living on a 13-meter sailboat!

We had read that one of the biggest tourist attractions of the Kerala state where Cochin city is located (and the region where our boat was docked), is a houseboat ride on the Backwaters. Our 24-hour trip south to hire one did not disappoint. Relaxing on a luxurious riverboat, we floated through the rice paddy levees enjoying the green scenery and fresh air. Occasionally, we witnessed women wading in the water slapping clothes against the rocks and others bathing fully clothed in the brackish waters. Many homes line the levees and many of those are actually large and brand new looking. Maybe the area supports city families’ second homes? Happily, I didn’t have to cook or clean during that relaxing trip.

Kerala Backwaters

Clothing – 1/3 of the women dress in the most beautiful saris and men either wear plain sarong bottoms or long pants and plain button down short or long sleeved collared shirts. It’s a little like fancy birds bedecked in colorful feathers except the opposite – the males are plain and the females draw the attention. More modern female Indian style is the ankle length legging and knee length cotton tops with slits up the sides and long sleeves. No shorts anywhere, even in the tropical heat! Fashions are cut conservatively to maintain modesty.

Buying sim cards for phones is like in the United States – you need a permanent address within the country. Thus, it was impossible to purchase our own. Our handy dandy Cochin marina go-to man, Nazar P.M., provided us two of his own for a modest fee (US$15 each) including phone and data. We returned the sims upon departure. He also drove us around in his tucktuck to shop, sightsee, to get to a local restaurant, to go to the post office (which I would never have found on my own), to find ATMs (almost everything is handled in cash), etc. One day he even loaned me local money when I couldn’t pull out enough from the ATMs to purchase my local market groceries. He helped us obtain diesel and drinking water at great prices always showing up with a huge smile. Plus, he invited us to come and dine at his home and to meet his lovely family. He truly made India GREAT for us.

Although more are spoken, there are 23 languages officially declared in India, each protecting special long-standing cultural traditions. But if an Indian wants to communicate widely, English is their go-to language along with Hindi. Ashamedly, I thought most East Indians spoke English, but only the higher educated actually speak some English.

We had a true Indian experience riding 48 hours by sleeper train from Cochin to Agra. Part of the ride was to see the countryside up close, hang with the local Indians and inexpensively make our way to Agra where the Taj Mahal is located, then to make the two-hour drive to New Delhi to tour the environs including a visit to the Parliament House, the Baha’i Prayer Center, a Kashmir rug store,  the place where Gandhi was assassinated and so much more.

Gandhi

On the train, each sleeper section housed 6 beds. The four of us slept on the top bunks to insure no fowl play, but that meant Eric was separated from Bryce, Trent and me in a different section on the same train car during the night. Of course, he did sit with us during the daytime. Along with us traveled a lovely older Indian couple, retired dentist and wife. He spoke some English. They were very sweet. During the trip, we got off when the train stopped and walked around the quay for exercise and people watching.

One time, Bryce actually climbed off the train, over a fence onto and over an adjacent quay and into the train tracks to take movies and pictures with his ‘expensive’ GoPro and iPhone flashing in his hand. From the train, I was watching him and within 5 minutes, a local man stood up from his perch and started to nonchalantly walk in his direction. I hollered to Bryce to come back quickly. Bryce turned to me and began making his way to our train quay, jumping up and then over the fence down to our train and inside. I watched as that local fellow followed faster and faster all the way up onto the quay – but stopped at the fence grimacing at me. We glared at each other…’Mama Bear protecting her cub!’ Later I discussed the situation with Bryce and explained to him that his actions opened him up to be a target. It was a lesson fortunately he didn’t have to learn the hard way. Hopefully he learned that he mustn’t flaunt his foreignness and prosperity, especially when alone.

It’s definitely true that there are many poor people in India – those we saw while on the train, begging in New Delhi, and working in the Backwater rice fields. However, the upper lower classes are solid workers and eat well…we didn’t see people starving. Even beggars in New Delhi looked good. Their housing conditions aren’t perfect or large, but they aren’t miserable either. Most people have access to water and sanitation, modern transportation: auto tucktucks, cars, buses, ferries, trains, etc. There is a prominent middle class that spends money in modern malls, on cars, on phones and computers, and on nice clothes. The clothes people wear are clean and ironed, unlike mine – which often smell of boat and are never pressed! We found that the people are happy and free to work as hard as they want or not and to move around freely, with freedom of speech!

The biggest bummer was the amount of trash piled up in the waters, along the rivers, in and around the train tracks, and aside the roads. We constantly witnessed all kinds of people tossing trash on the ground anywhere and everywhere – plastic wrappers/bags, paper cups, full trash bags, cigarette butts, boxes, bottles, etc. When asked why they toss trash on the ground instead of holding it or finding a trash bin, they shrug their shoulders and say, “Everyone does it.” Over and over, we explain that everyone makes a difference and the only way to enact change is in their own individual actions and teaching their children not to toss trash indiscriminately.

The only marina in India that can handle cruiser yachting boats is in Kochi or Cochin on Bolgatty Palace Island. It is located within the confines of the Bolgatty Island Resort Hotel that had a fine restaurant, bar and pool. The reception area was so nice and air-conditioned, that it became our office when we wanted to escape the hot humidity of early afternoon. The boys loved the workout room and ping-pong table. We were able to have our laundry washed, charged by the item not by kilos…so I hand-washed the smaller items using the inexpensive but non-potable marina water on the dock. The showers and toilets were clean and in okay condition, the docks were repaired and in working order, not perfect but fine, and the marina manager was effective.

The customs process was straightforward since we hired Nazar to act as our agent, however, it still took all day – everything is done on paper – and at least five people are involved, when only one is necessary – very few computers and modern equipment are used. Our one hiccup was declaring that we have a satellite texting device. The police and customs required that we dismantle it and have it officially sealed by an officer on our boat inside a cabinet. We were not allowed to use it while in India. India has a problem with Pakistani terrorism. Terrorists once used a satellite phone to activate a bomb housed on a catamaran that killed many people. Unfortunately, customs did not communicate with the police that our device had been sealed and so we were hassled a bit by the marine police who didn’t understand English. Eventually, it all worked out, but at the time it was challenging.

Our departure was easy. The morning before we intended to leave, Nazar tucktucked the four of us back to the customs offices and we were relatively quickly checked out. It took only about two hours. All paid up and accounted for, the next morning we departed the marina early without even making a radio call. It was a wonderfully educational and colorful visit. We thoroughly enjoyed our too short but very sweet two weeks in India.

BTW – We hired a tour agent to help us get to the Kerala Backwaters and onto a boat at short notice: Basil Mathew of Tour Green India recommended by one of Eric’s LA colleagues whose wife hails from Cochin. Basil was so great, that we asked him to help us make our way by train to the Taj Mahal in Agra, then to New Delhi where we spent 2 nights in a hotel frequented by Indian tourists, including tour guides/drivers, and then a plane ride home. All our expectations were addressed and handled extremely well. The only frustration was that we couldn’t use our credit card. Everything needed to be handled in cash or bank transfer. Frustratingly, the ATMs at the banks want to earn fees so they force you to take small amounts of money requiring many withdrawls. Fees then accumulate quickly.

Basil Mathew, Tour Green Co, India, tel: +91 90612 58758, email: info@keralatourgreen.com, www.keralatourgreen.com

Nazar P.M.  tel: +91 98951 64090 or +91 97464 62686, Facebook: Nisams, www.yachtsincochin.com, www.noonsite.com/countries/india/cochin

Bob Bechler was an enormous help encouraging us and several other yachts to make their way to Bolgatty Island through the Facebook private group: Red Sea Passage.

Nighil, Bolgatty Palace Marina Manager, tel: +91 97470 57015. He is available at the marina every day except Sunday between 10h00 – 18h00. His English is pretty good.

Immigration Entry Visas: Before visiting India – each person on board must obtain a tourist visitor’s visa. The easiest way to get a visa is online: http://indianvisaonline.gov.in. Each visa cost us US$75. Make sure to provide the right size photos and passport pdfs – don’t make any mistakes – check your work twice before submitting. When done, print out the final versions for immigration to present when you arrive.

Here are some more photos taken the last free tour day in Cochin including the celebrated old-fashioned fishing nets off the entrance of the natural Kochi bay, the incredibly huge monkey shrine, clothes hand-washing, spice galore, Indian children, our tour guide Nasam, and more.

RigneysKandu East Indian style on Happy Holi Day!

 

Eritrean Coins by Bryce Rigney

1991 was the end of Eritrea’s 30-year civil war with Ethiopia but it seems that 1997 marked the beginning of Eritrea’s printing and/or coinage of their own money. Over time, the government began to discourage private enterprise and travel, resulting in depreciation of their money, and the extinction of Eritrean coins. Today, 26 years later, the most commonly exchanged denomination are the 5 and 10 Nakfa bills. Sadly, the streets of Eritrea house large amounts of beggars. One of which was a skinny old man with a kind face, distinct jaw line, and a gruff white beard. He hobbled down the pedestrian sidewalk of Liberation Avenue in downtown Asmara, past a line of homeless, grasping tight his well-used yet sturdy cane and then he stopped. He had spotted a young Caucasian teenager and his mother, us, sitting in front of the towering Ave Maria Cathedral.

Bryce Rigney in front of Ave Maria Cathedral of Asmara, Eritrea.

Suddenly the man came alive, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, Eritrean and those from other countries in North Africa. “Hello, hello,” he said with his aged voice, trying to catch my attention. Interested and frankly board of sitting down in front of the cathedral waiting for Dad, I moved over to see what he had placed out for display. Unmasked from his chapped palms were a 1 and 5 Eritrean coins from 1997.

On one side, they displayed images of native animals that had once thrived amongst the lands. The other side depicted soldiers raising up the new national flag to mark their independence in 1991. I asked to borrow his treasures for a minute so I could interest my mom sitting a few steps above with what I had discovered. At the time I hadn’t a clue that they were of no value. In exchange for a couple of 1’s and 5’s I gave him a 10 Nakfa bill, which would most certainly be spent on his dinner that night. It was obvious from his big smile that he was delighted. Before continuing his walk, in broken English he informed me that the dates of the coins were manufactured in 1991 and tried to explain their original values. Then he proceeded down the sidewalk and blended in amongst the busy paths of other pedestrians.

For more information, I found a great short website about the printing of Eritrean money: http://africa.worldofcoins.eu/af-eri.htm

Leslie’s Letters April 7, 2018: Eritrea on the Red Sea

April 7, 2018 – e-letter sent from Port Suakin, Sudan

Hello Dear Family and Friends – Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Praise God that we made it safely through the Gulf of Aden w/o incident. Our engine worked perfectly and we are extremely pleased to report that the coalition war force (31 countries providing naval support in the High Risk Area) was monitoring the shipping lanes in full force to great effect. Many of our friends and family have been praying for us and we are grateful. We did indeed feel protected even when, on two separate occasions, what were later deemed fishing boats got a bit too close for comfort. When we became concerned, we hailed the war force coalition on VHF Channel 16 and the coalition sent over a naval aircraft to survey our surroundings. In both cases, the fishing boats moved on. It’s entirely possible they were simply curious fishermen. We’ll never know.

Kandu tied up to Port Massawa, Eritrea.

From Cochin, India, after 20 days at sea crossing the Indian Ocean, Arabian Ocean, through the Gulf of Aden and into the Red Sea, we landed at Port Massawa, Eritrea, a predominately Christian country with many active Orthodox Christian and Lutheran Congregations. We stood outside an Orthodox Christian church during service one Sunday morning near Port Massawa and the mass, with its cantering, sounded very similar to the Muslim cantering that we’ve been hearing everyday over loudspeakers since arriving in Indonesia. The women arrived completely covered from head to toe in mostly white linens…a few had colorful long dresses under the long white head/body coverings. Before entering the church grounds everyone stopped to kiss the wall or the gate several times and concluded the ritual with crossing themselves. No chairs or benches, there was a lot of kneeling (touching forehead to ground) then standing and then more kneeling during the service. The men stood on the inside perimeter wall of the church property instead of approaching or entering the church. Of course, the service was conducted in the local tongue.

Orthodox Church, Eritrea near Port Massawa.

We couldn’t understand any of it, so after 45 minutes, we wandered away to visit a nearby war memorial featuring 3 steel war tanks aggressively posed. The war-hammered tanks were impressive; the surrounding memorial looked similar not having had maintenance performed on it since erected. However, we particularly noticed there was no extraneous trash lying around. It seems the Eritrean government is keeping up with the monumental task of treating the ever-increasing problem of refuse.

Port Massawa War Memorial

The locals are friendly and Port Massawa, being an international port, albeit sleepy, some speak English along with Italian and Arabic – their official languages. During our stay, several locals spoke Italian to us hoping we would understand. With my meager 1 year of Italian study, I was at least able to respond back with “Buon giorno” and a few simple sentences. We toured the nearby village close to the port of Massawa (the once thriving city of Massawa is now a ghost town because Ethiopia shifted its international shipping industry south to Djibouti after Eritrea gained independence from them) where we anchored (several bombed out “memorials” are still standing).

Rental cars are non-existent in Eritrea. Hiring by telephone a local 5-seater taxi was the easiest way for the four of us to get to the local village from Port Massawa. It was also possible to take the local bus, but since we didn’t know where we were going and the local stores are not marked and there were no local maps to be had, it wasn’t practical.

The government limits Internet. We found that the country is pretty much managed by a one-man show. Very impoverished circumstances across the board as modern private industry is discouraged and distrusted. Just about everyone there is thin. We four were a major curiosity as everyone there is dark skinned with African/Egyptian features. They see few tourists coming up the Red Sea. We learned after talking with a handful of Italian tourists that obtaining permits to fly into the country is very difficult, but arriving by boat was similar to most clearance procedures we have encountered. As a cruiser, obtaining a visitor’s permit was not difficult and handled right near the port on the same day we arrived. Money talks, of course.

Solomon our taxi driver tour guide extraordinaire!

To get to Asmara, the capital city, was quite the challenge. We had to obtain visitor travel permits. We would never have been able to do this without our taxi driver/guide extraordinaire, Solomon. Once permits were acquired, traveling from one unmarked building to another located far from each other, we then headed to the bus station to stand in line with the locals to catch the next bus to the capital city…traveling by private taxi to Asmara was prohibitively expensive, not to mention the fact – not a particularly local experience…which tends to be our preference. Once again our taxi driver/guide Solomon saved the day and finagled four tickets for us and helped us get aboard, otherwise we would never have boarded the bus.

Old “blind” Eritrean beggar counting his money after boarding the bus and asking for handouts.

Finally the bus arrived, however, it sat ½ hour before allowing passengers to board. Once boarded, it remained another hour before leaving. The bus ride itself was 4 hours, switch-backing up the mountains with one stop off in a town where children heckled the passengers to buy food and sticks for brushing our teeth (a little girl kept holding up a group of sticks to me smiling and repeating “Brush?” “Brush?” until passengers re-boarded. No obvious toilets were to be found. Trent and I stayed on the bus the entire break hiding away from the onslaught of eyes, vendors, and the curious. Bryce, the adventurer, is always a hit because he plays with the children. There was one small little boy that giggled the entire ½ hour hovering around Bryce for fun and games: arm shaking when a hand is proffered and throwing him in the air. I forgot to mention that there are sometimes available privately owned vans that transport people, commodities, and goats on the rooftop between cities, but these independent entrepreneurs are discouraged by the government and tend not to be any faster. They are quadruple the price but are able to sustain since there are not enough government buses to serve the traveling population’s needs.

At the Asmara bus station area we were met by a most wonderful, pre-arranged host, Abel, the nephew of Eritrean friends of ours who years ago emigrated to Los Angeles. Bryce and Trent had swam on the Westchester YMCA swim team with their daughters. Without Abel’s help and guidance, we would have been completely lost….no Internet = no Google = no written travel guidance…you get the idea. Being the only white people at the bus stop, Abel had no trouble locating us in the otherwise hectic bus area. When he pulled up next to us in his white, beat up Toyota sedan, Eric asked, “How did you know it was us?” Abel laughed showing off a beautiful white grin. We discovered that speaking French together was the easiest as he had grown up in France and he felt uncomfortable speaking English. It was great to make use of our French again!

Abel and his beautiful family.

In his car, he toured us around the city showing us the sites and the lay of the land. Then he brought us to our hotel. We hadn’t realized that even the hotel didn’t accept credit cards.  The country no longer supports credit cards or ATMs.  So we couldn’t stay in the “expensive” international tourist friendly (i.e., running water) hotel because we hadn’t brought enough US cash to turn into Nafka, nor did we want to stay in that hotel because it was too expensive for us mostly because we would have had to book two rooms. The hotel manager suggested we try the next door sister hotel frequented mostly by locals. To our surprise, the Hamassien Hotel is an Eritrean historical site, featured on post cards and Asawa tourist brochures, built by the Italian colonists 100 years ago. It was a bit musty for sure and the furniture somewhat threadbare, yet clean with charming tall, narrow wooden shuttered windows which opened up widely so we could see a bit of the city.

Hamassien Hotel in Asmara, Eritrea.

Since we stayed in the cheaper ‘Hamassien Hotel,’ rather than the Intercontinental Hotel next door, we experienced the city’s normal and constant water shortages.

Sitting room as part of our hotel room in Hamassien Hotel, Asmara, Eritrea.

Our hotel staff regularly fills up the bathtub with water to use with buckets to flush the toilet and to wash with when the running water is diverted to another part of town. No water heaters, the water in the tub was frigid. Needless to say, we didn’t take showers, just spot cleaned! Water in Eritrea is expensive. Drinking water even more so.

Later that evening, Abel joined us to catch some dinner at a nearby western-style café. From our centrally located hotel, we could pretty much walk everywhere that was of interest, so we headed down to the main street “Liberation Avenue,” their “Champs Elysee” or “Rodeo Drive,” and just off the avenue found a burger place to satisfy our hunger. The ‘meat’ hamburgers were actually filled with vegetarian patties…tasted good though. Eric dove into a local dish of pit bread pieces in a tomato sauce with cheese and tiny bits of meat, a version of lasagna is how Eric described it.

Liberation Avenue, Asmara, Eritrea.

Liberation Avenue was bustling with pedestrians out to enjoy the nightlife – not out because of the ‘cooler’ weather. In fact, it was cold. Normally in the hot tropical/desert areas where we’ve been traveling the past three years, people venture out at dusk when the sun sets. As the air cools down, businesses in Polynesia, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Malaysia and India to name a few, tended to reopen from 3 or 4 pm to 9 pm. The typical nightlife type businesses were open in Asawa (restaurants, cafes, bars), but banks, government and most stores closed on the “Western” clock at 17h00. Eritrea is not very humid or tropical. It is either flat and desert or mountainous and dry – hot or cold – very little in between. Fortunately well warned by our taxi driver/guide Solomon in Massawa, we brought warmer clothes than shorts and T-shirts, yet we were still not quite prepared for the onslaught of the night’s cool breezes.

Having arrived in a faraway port town without internet access, we thought the country’s capital might offer some options. The hotels proudly advertised free Internet access, which proved nearly useless. But even in downtown Asmara there was no serviceable Internet cafes. You could pay for an hour and not be able to connect at all. The Internet café’s were useless. Bryce would stand outside their glass windows to measure signal strength, to be disappointed every time. Also credit cards are not accepted anywhere—cash only. They accept US$ but we exchanged our US$ into Nafka, Eritrea’s currency, because it’s easier; 15 Nafka to 1 USD. A “hamburger” and fries went for 45 Nafka. Our bus ride was 30 Nafka or US$2.

Aside from the official buildings and the churches, the capital city looked worn, with many closed businesses, no active cinemas (previously functioning ones were all closed) nor malls. In fact, the capital city shows very little benefit of international trade and industry – with the exception of small clothing stores, some liquor stores, small limited grocery type stores and a central market where they sell staple items like flour (they are very proud of their delicious Italian type bread called “pan”), rice, coffee, fruits and vegetables (mostly onions, tomatoes, chili peppers, watermelons and bananas) and goats.

Coffee shops on the main street are popular serving Italian coffees and tea, but few can afford to eat out at restaurants. We understand with unemployment so high, most men get together to discuss non-existent income opportunities and the much-anticipated passing of the president. Some bars exist, serving inexpensive Eritrean alcohol, but still too expensive for locals. Unlike Muslim countries, clothing for women is not heavily restrictive. Women in the capital wear tight leggings/jeans and close fitting tops. However, you rarely see a woman wearing shorts or skirts/dresses cut higher than the ankle. Although not required, 75% of the women wear head and sarong type coverings perhaps to keep off the dust. I didn’t wear tank tops off the boat, but I did wear knee-length shorts covered by knee-length Indian tops. Men wear pants, few shorts, and button-down shirts, T-shirts, and polos. All wore sweaters at night in Asmara against the cold. Clothes are well worn. There are many beggars.

People squat on their feet when they get tired of standing…they rarely sit down as there are no benches and the ground is dirty with feces and spit. Very little rain – the streets and walkways are rarely cleaned…maybe swept. Paved roads and tiled sidewalks (remnants of the Italian colonization up until 1941) are found in the capital and on main roads…the rest is hard packed dirt. Dust pervades everything, covering your clothing and sweaty skin. The very poor people near Port Massawa live in small communities of tin shacks with dirt floors – no running water.

The second day in Asmara, the four of us set off to find breakfast and the National Museum of Eritrea. Asking many people along the way where to find it, we got closer and closer, yet couldn’t seem to locate it. We asked some students who shrugged their shoulders. Turns out, I saw the sign directly across the street from where we were just inquiring. Eritrea has many archeological sites and some of the findings were displayed at their three-room museum. A replica of the rare, very early human skull of a woman found in Eritrea was centrally displayed.

Ave Maria Cathedral, Central Asmara, Liberation Avenue, Eritrea.
Inside Ave Maria Cathedral, Asmara, Eritrea.

We then walked around back to the town’s main street to visit the impressive Ave Maria Cathedral, which unfortunately didn’t open to visitors until 3:00 pm. (We did return later and found it absolutely beautiful and impressive on the inside.) So we headed off to find a special area called Medeber, where used metals and items are recycled, turned into new things for sale. After much walking, getting a little lost, and asking people along the way, we found it and the effort was worth it. Men and women were industriously working on many projects, the women working on sorting dried chilis and the men creating new metal items for sale…donkey carts were available to rent for transporting goods. We stuck out like a sore thumb.

While friendly, most people didn’t want to talk to us long fearing that we were spies and that they would later be questioned. On the bus home, a nice looking, well dressed gentleman sat down with us. (BTW – we would never have been able to catch a bus back to Massawa without the help of our friend Abel. No one spoke English and the locals were so caught up in their own business, that they didn’t look out to help us…yet the beggars were all over us like flies.) The lightly bearded gentleman started up a conversation asking what were we doing in Eritrea. I responded, “We’re here as tourists, sailing around the world on our sailboat.” He spoke English well and wanted to see pictures. I pulled out my phone and filed through our years aboard. He then asked, “Where did you stay while in Asawa?” “At the Hamassien Hotel.” I replied. “Why did you stay there?” he asked. In all honesty I countered, “The biggest reason was the price and the fact that we didn’t bring enough cash because we thought we could pay with credit card. Also, we prefer to stay in the same room as our sons who are young to be alone in a foreign country.” “I see…” he concluded the conversation, “You’re sailing around the world and need to save money.” These questions and his response seemed a little too curious to me along with the fact that he looked rather ‘well-manicured’ and very well educated to be riding the cheap bus. Eric thinks I’m silly to have such thoughts. Perhaps. But they really didn’t like Bryce and Eric droning their Massawa memorials before traveling inland thinking we were reporters or something. After an altercation, one of the 5 men convinced the others that we are just tourists. Who knows? After that – authorities could have been more keen to watch us.

RigneysKandu touring Asmara city streets, Eritrea.

I’ll have to provision in Sudan as anything we could buy in Eritrea was extremely expensive and slim pickings, so I didn’t buy much. I bought just enough fresh provisions to get us by: a large cabbage, tomatoes, okra, dozen eggs, potatoes, onions, oranges and a large watermelon. We’ve been eating through our dried and canned provisions in a big way since leaving Malaysia in February where I had stocked up. India didn’t have much in canned foods although we did find boxed liquid milk – the boys are drinking a lot of milk these days. That’s long gone…powdered milk is it!

All in all, Eritrea felt restricted because Eritreans have become increasingly oppressed by their own government since their liberation from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30-year war. Today, Eritreans are not allowed to leave the country between the ages of 5 and 65, nor are they allowed to engage in much self-industry. Private enterprise is discouraged….wouldn’t want anyone to earn more than another….so everyone remains poor…no incentive, no hope. It was a sobering experience to visit such a depressed and altogether dry and dusty country with little active industry even though the country itself has excellent natural resources and is located on the Red Sea. We did our best to wash the 6 days of dust off our boat before picking up anchor and were ready to move on. Before we lifted anchor, Immigration came aboard to check if we had any stowaways!

Our total stay in Eritrea was 6 days. I wrote this account while sailing from Eritrea to Suakin, North Sudan, where Eric’s brother Nick had already arrived to meet up with us. Our trip up the Red Sea from Massawa to Suakin took longer than expected. It was supposed to be 2.25 days and turned out to be 3 full days. The Red Sea’s seasonal wind was already coming from the north (we’re running late in the weather window) – thankfully it was a light counter wind. But with a 1.5 knot counter-current, we weren’t progressing by motor quickly. Kandu is a slower moving boat anyway.

May 16th, 2018 – I planned to post this letter to our website while in Suakin, Sudan, but our time there was too condensed and brief before I could sit down to do so. Much has happened since our days in Sudan, like Egypt, where we had an equally interesting time. We are now in Cyprus enjoying our last days hanging with Nick.

We have been learning so much about this part of the world and are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in the US and as US citizens.

Our Very Best Wishes to you,

Leslie, Eric, Bryce and Trent

Small Eritrean village hovering above the bus on our way back to Port Massawa from Asmara, Eritrea.

 

Delorme LogNotes: Singapore Waters, Oct 2017

Singapore Police boat

Oct 24 2017 – Our arrival in Johor, Malayasia, Puteri Harbor  was “aided” by Singaporean Police. Illegally entering their sea space to avoid world’s most active shipping lanes, Police intercepted Kandu in their maritime parking lot, as we were weaving our way btwn anchored ships in a squall, lightning included. After checking our paperwork & hearing our explanation & apologies, they kindly offered to escort us all the way to our Malaysian marina destination (instead of fining us or worse), to insure our safe arrival. 2 hrs & 4 police boat hand-off’s (blue lights flashing) later, we arrived. No ships messed with us…. Thank you, Singapore!
Best stupid thing I’ve ever done.

Suakin, Sudan in April 2018 by Eric

This article is also posted on the World Cruiser’s Noonsite website under Soaking in Sudan.

April 8, 2018

Before leaving Massawa, Eritrea, I emailed Mohammed Abubaker, Port Suakin’s wonderful yacht service agent, via inReach SE satellite text of our pending arrival. He had arranged a tourist visa, hotel, and transportation for my brother Nick Rigney who flew into Port Sudan from U.S. to join us. No commercial carrier offered flights to Khartoum, where visas are more expensive/complicated and U.S. State Dept considers the city a Level 3 security risk.

Kandu motoring into Port Suakin, Sudan. The ruins of Suakin Island as a backdrop.
Mohammed Abubaker awaiting Kandu’s arrival.

Hailed Suakin Port Control on VHF Ch16 and 14 an hour before arrival. Not until 06h30 when we were almost at the entrance did we get a response, which after answering the standard questions (port of registry, size of yacht, number of crew and nationality, etc.), came immediate port entry permission and a kind welcome. Once well within the channel, we hugged the ruined city of Suakin Island to avoid the shoals of the channel’s opposite (western) side. Nearing the end of the season, we were the only sailing yacht except for an unmanned yacht anchored and covered in Red Sea dust. We anchored just south of the island, before the fishing skiffs, in about 20’: good holding on mud bottom. We were so guarded from swell that below deck, I thought we were in a well-protected marina.

Mohammed Abubakar and Eric Rigney clearing customs and immigration in Kandu’s cockpit.

Per my most recent email arrival estimate, the friendly Mr. Mohammed Abubaker (mo****************@gm***.com) was there to greet us, fresh local bread in hand. His English is excellent. He’s tall, handsome, cheerful, and has a deep bass voice, features worthy of a character-actor movie career. His white fiberglass panga/skiff served as our dinghy dock, from which he boarded our dinghy to our yacht, and efficiently collected our documents:

  • 1 passport picture per person for the shore pass
  • 1 passport photocopy per person
  • 1 crew list

Charge for clearing the four of us in, including his commission, $220 USD.

He returned with our shore passes within a couple hours. Additionally we requested 600 liters of diesel (US$0.70 per liter delivered to shore in our gerry jugs), 2 10GB data SIM cards (US$15 ea), and to exchange US$140 (25 Sudanese pounds to the USD, an excellent exchange rate with the understanding that he’d buy back what we didn’t use). Our diesel jugs returned full within 3-4 hrs. Mohammad lent us his portable WiFi hotspot device gratis, so we could spread decent Internet joy among the crew installing one of the 2 SIM cards into the hotspot. (We hadn’t had Internet since leaving India, as Eritrea doesn’t really have anything useable).

Suakin Island ruins. After 100 years of no maintenance, the coral block buildings fell apart.

Visiting the Ruins of Suakin costs 10 Sudanese pounds per person (US$0.40) for an all day pass. Each time we walked around, we bumped into a friendly local authority ready to describe the ruins in his best English; very kind. After visiting the local museum a few days later, a short taxi or motorized rickshaw drive away, we had greater appreciation for what we were seeing, how old the site was and how quickly it fell apart.

That evening, Mohammed drove us in his worn four-door Mercedes to an excellent local herb-grilled chicken restaurant. Reading how traditional Muslim Sudan is, whenever ashore, Leslie opted to wear her full body Muslim dress and head scarf so as not to draw too much added glares against herself and the family in general. We saw many more men than women out at night (women made up only about 5% of those out after dark). Our tab for the delicious dinner of 4 chicken halves, 3 bean plates, fresh bread, 5 small water bottles and 2 Cokes was $14 total. No flatware or napkins, yet all food establishments have set up a water can with working spiget and a bar of soap to wash before and after. Air dry always.

Eric Rigney, Mohammed Abubakar, Nick Rigney at Port Suakin in front of Mohammed’s car.
BBQ Chicken Restaurant in the adjacent village.

Mr. Mohammed answered all our questions and solved all our visiting requests. He was our dream official and guide. He drove us to the open market for fruits and vegetable provisioning, as well as shops that sold UHT boxed milk, pasta, and canned goods. He then drove our provisions and us back to the “dinghy dock.”

Leslie wheeling and dealing the local Sudanese merchants for quality produce.

He found a replacement 30l gerry jug for one of ours which its lid no longer held tight. And he arranged a taxi fellow in Port Sudan to act as a city tour guide (Mr. Gafar’s English not so good, so he called Mohammed to clarify whenever necessary. It worked fine). We took a 1hr public bus from Suakin to Port Sudan (US$1/pp). Mr Gafar met up with us and drove us around the port, took us to a fish market, to a wonderfully rustic restaurant for grilled lamb, and an open market for more fruits and vegetables, (we didn’t know how to ask to see the handicrafts bazaar), and drove us back to Suakin Island. There, he took us to the museum and to an awesome local bazaar to buy smaller aluminum jebbanas for serving Sudanese coffee. Total cost for driving us all around: $20.

Leslie and the boys decided to relax on the boat, while my brother, Nick and I went ashore to find some local dinner adventure. We stumbled across a small popular shack serving among other items a traditional bean dish, sprinkled with cheese, topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, and greens, as well as a medium spicy oil sauce. They called it the “special.” Served with the local leavened pita-like bread, we dug into it with relish tearing pieces of bread to dip like tortilla chips at home and drinking small glasses of hot, sweet mint tea. Total cost for two, including 2 teas each: US$2. Note: I’ve been traveling awhile in ancient-culture nations, so I’m perfectly ok to eat with my hands, no flatware, communal plates, bread tossed on a rickety table, flies everywhere, goats, donkeys, etc. Tourists love it, tolerate it, or hate it. I happen to love it . . . a lot. The locals watch us with curiosity and esteem when we partake in their ways.

Early the next morning, Nick and I went to a flimsy blue coffee shack Mohammed recommended, and enjoyed strong ginger-flavored Turkish-style coffee served from a small aluminum jebbana, complete with a filter of dried grass stuffed in the jebbana’s spout. The ceramic shot glasses were half filled with granulated sugar. We spoke in informal international hand language. Flies, goats, donkeys, cats, hawks, local stares, dirt floors, rickety old timber construction, table about to fall down? . . . Loved it!!!

Clearing out with Mohammed was equally as simple. The cost was low, don’t remember because the 30l jug filled with diesel was included in the over all price. Another boat arrived, a French charter captain who’s sailed this part of the world for 14 years. Mohammed highly recommended we speak with Captain Jack. Jack gave us advice that we are exercising:

  • On the way to Egypt, stop at Sanganeb Reef & lighthouse to snorkel, buy a T-Shirt (US$15 ea. supports the workers), and tour the lighthouse. Per the Red Sea Pilot Guide, we just tied up to the lighthouse pier’s bollard for a couple hours as the current and wind gently kept the boat off the pier. We did all that Captain Jack suggested, enjoyed the pristine beauty and then easily untied and took off. Wonderful experience, super friendly people.
  • Check into Port Ghalib, cheaper, faster, and friendlier. Make arrangements with one of the two Egyptian Suez Canal agents before proceeding. Visit Luxor.
  • Skip Hurghada where a new bureaucrat charges boats a lot to check in again and all other costs are high.
  • Check/clear out of Port Suez after visiting the pyramids.
  • Stop in Ismailia, required anyway, and visit the wonderful yacht club but don’t leave it to go further ashore as we would have already cleared out of Egypt from Port Suez. Stay until the weather is good, but hopefully spend a couple days at the club: laundry, showers, etc. Hire a pilot.
  • Drop the pilot off in Port Said, but for the sake of your boat, sanity, and wallet (damage due to ship’s wake, clearing out is harder, more expensive, etc.), keep on going, preferably to Cyprus. From there, cheap flights can take you to the rest of the eastern Med for a lot less money and hassle than arriving by boat.

Well that’s our experience and learning. We were one of 28 boats this season to stop in Suakin. We heard only 18 stopped in Eritrea. With Mohammed’s help, nothing could be simpler, easier, and more enjoyable than stopping in Suakin, Sudan. He really made it a great experience. If you have more time, I hear you might wish to see Sudan’s pyramids, precursor to the larger, newer Egyptian “copies.” If you want to scuba dive, you need to make arrangements ahead of time through the dive companies in Port Sudan. Most scuba operating boats are liveaboards and in high season, depart for a week at a time. We didn’t dive because all the boats were booked and there were no day trips available. We don’t carry our own dive equipment on Kandu. Just no space.

Bintan, Sumatra, Indonesia, Oct 2017

The Bintan Sail Indonesia Rally 2017 Committee treated us to a couple special days sightseeing the area starting with a speed boat tour of the local Bintan mangroves. Entering deep into the forested areas, not only did we get to glimpse several coiled vipers sometimes directly overhead, Blue Kingfishers, and endemic Grey Herons, we saw up close the twisted mangrove tree roots that seem to morph into different shapes in front of your eyes.

Our guides then brought us to a previous tin mine, now tourist attraction, that boasted lovely visuals of aqua blue waters and an archery range where ‘the boys’ amused themselves. This tourist area also had our favorite local drink which seemed always to be available: fresh chilled coconut water cut open directly in front of you – a welcome healthy treat to quench our thirst countering the hot humidity.

Later that day included competitions celebrating a local festival: boat racing and kite flying. I enjoyed tremendously experiencing the locals being sportive and having fun.

Then wonderful local food was provided for us along the river front, which involved entertainment that I was prodded to participate in, all in good humor.

During our last day in Bintan, Indonesia, we got a chance to visit 500 Lohan Temple aka Vihara Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a Buddhist temple with 500 statues (arhats) representing the different transformations in male form of the Goddess Guan Yin, each one human-like, unique and different from the next. “Guan Yin or Avalokiteśvara is one of the most popular and well known female goddess in Asia and probably in the world. Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoists.” They actually refer to this temple as the temple of 1000 men as the original order from China was for 1000 statues, but they changed the order upon realizing they didn’t have enough land space to accomodate so many.

Our farewell dinner to Indonesia and the rally was over-the-top fun. During an outstanding local food buffet, we were once again entertained with beautifully costumed dancers. Eric was crowned with a special Malay hat for having spoken on behalf of the cruisers. After dinner, we were ushered to the beach-front where loud DJ music blasted out beats. We all danced to our hearts content, especially Trent who thought it was one of the best nights EVER. To top off the night, the entire beachfront was lined with tiki torches lit afire. Passed out to the crowd were paper lanterns to send off into the sky. Lighting the lanterns and letting them rise up into the dark night was truly magical. None of us had ever experienced such a unique wonder watching them float away over the ocean. It was a spectacular end to the Sail Indonesia Rally 2017. We left Indonesia having been wonderfully guided through the bountiful and colorful cultures of the country while being spoiled rotten by their generous hospitality. We couldn’t have had a more enriching experience if we had tried to visit Indonesia without the guidance of the rally.

Tangled or Knot? To Bintan Island, Indonesia by Eric

Nick Rigney, Leslie Rigney, Rainer, Bryce Rigney, Trent Rigney

October 16, 2017

We left Ketawai Island this morning after saying good-bye to my brother, Nick. He’d just spent a beloved week traveling with us, having brought a lot of gear and gifts, and taking back with him a lot of our souvenirs. We were all emotional saying goodbye. Our ‘live’ link with home has left and we were back to being the 4 muskateers. Bintan is the last scheduled stop for the Sail Indonesia Rally 2017. Our rally’s member boats have dwindled to a mere remaining 5-6. Some participants never really followed any of the rally and some headed off to other parts of the world after following most of it. The US Thanksgiving holiday season is approaching. So some needed to leave their boats elsewhere to fly “home” for a visit with family and friends. Most of the rally boats preferred not to sail overnight. Being predominantly couples, they found themselves exhausted upon arrival, losing a day to recover. We are not such a boat. Overnighters are simple for us, being that we are four and can spread like a fan the burden of night watches. Our night watch routine has now become habit.

Indonesian fishing platform.

Winds on the northern side of the Indonesian island chain are light and typically from behind as we sailed westerly. The mainsail was mostly used to steady our vessel as we motored along in a light following swell. We chose such weather purposely, wanting to avoid adversarial conditions whenever possible.

This night was like our other Indonesian crossings in that regard. What I didn’t expect was the challenge the fishing nets would throw at us. We’ve grown accustomed to weaving our way around the fishing boats and their obstacles, including their fish attracting devices (FAD’s), free floating or anchored constructs of various size and materials, usually equipped with a small double D-cell battery operated LED flashing light, activated by the darkness. The fishing boats are also of various sizes, some no larger than a Mexican panga, others equivalent to small tuna boat. Typically, fishing boats with nets deployed fall down wind or down current, whichever is stronger, of their nets, their bows thus pointing up toward the other end of their net. We pass behind these boats. The larger boats with racks of large bright lights blaring on both sides, carry their nets close to their sides and behind them to attract and snag squid. These boats we pass on their ‘away’ side, the side opposite their direction of travel. Where the shallows meet the deep must be the region of great schools of fish because it was at this point we passed through what seems a 15-mile line of lighted boats a mile thick. It felt like we were a starship, breaking through an imaginary line of alien starships. Just before the first night watch, we spied a larger than normal lighted fishing buoy. We had to quickly make a choice: sail to port or starboard of the buoy.

Indonesian fishing boats.


We chose to sail starboard of the buoy and that choice forced us to carry forward for 50 minutes taking us further away out to sea away from our island destination. Every 100 yards there was a small white buoy attached to the net to indicate a net was there – no electronic bobbers or beacons in site. It wasn’t at all clear where the net ended. Bryce and Leslie headed to the foredeck armed with flashlights to watch for each new buoy hoping there would be an end. Eventually, the net culminated at a medium sized wooden Indonesian fishing boat. Motoring around the fishing boat, we then headed back to our original line – this adventure adding an extra 2 hours or so to our intended plan all the while motoring on placid night seas. So far, we have avoided getting tangled in fishing nets. We’ll remain vigilant.

 

Delorme LogNotes: To Bintan, Indonesia Oct 2017

Oct 15, 2017 3 am – We will dock Kandu at the suggested Bintan Island Marina & visit Singapore by ferry. Taking a breather from all the recent touring. Indonesia has been a jewel. Imagine we’ll return by plane some day. I’d like to help them develop & showcase their tourism capabilities. Think a job may be forming for my future: economic development via tourism & media (film & TV programs). That would be fun for me. Maybe get certified as Project Management Professional (Nick’s suggestion) & media (film & TV programs). I would use media by making movies/TV programs (dramas/romance) to entice viewers to want to visit, & create local programs to educate locals on available solutions for existing social issues.

Oct 15 2017 9:17 am – A subdued motorsail. Need to average 4.5 kts or greater to arrive before dark tomorrow. Will cross the equator before dinner today. Don’t think we’ll be crossing the equator again between here & CA as we go N into the Med from here, then across to Caribbean. Columbus hoped to find East Indies (Indonesia) for spices, but stumbled on the West Indies (Caribbean). It’s fun to explore both.

In FP, sailing friends suggested we see more of the S. Pac, 1-3 more yrs. In Indonesia, sailing friends say the same for SE Asia. I’m already hearing the same about the Mediterranean and will likely hear the same for Caribbean, and S & Central America. I say we’re doing it “buffet” style, not “sit-down dinner” style. When they push I say they’re right…Since we’re not dedicating adequate time, we should just go home!

And that’s actually what we’re doing…but the long way back. All of us dream of flying back to CA for 2wks, but at our current pace, that would mean missing one extraordinary experience or another, something none of us are willing to risk. Sure we’d like to skip the long passages, but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the crew. Each of us makes it easier on the others.

Oct 15 2017 21:27 pm – Took pictures of us crossing the equator. Turned around & did it again so B&T could swim across it. 2hrs later, avoided a 2 mile fishnet, driving us temporarily off course. Recycled bottles floated the net. Difficult to see. B saw ’em, saving us from tangling the net in our prop. Sea snakes swimming made me even more grateful we didn’t have to jump into the sea to cut off a tangled net caught in our prop.