Tag Archives: Nick Rigney

Rigney Family 2018 in Review

In 2018 aboard Kandu, we achieved our most extensive traveling since departing Ventura, February 2015. Starting in Malaysia, after the overhaul of our engine and other repairs/upgrades, we sailed Kandu west to India. With Cochin as our base, we enjoyed three weeks of splendid adventures and discoveries, traveling north and south by tuk-tuk, taxi, houseboat, train, and airplane.

Being late in season for a westward Arabian Sea passage, we were eager to be on our way. Heavily provisioned, water tanks filled, and diesel topped-up including additional 10 deck-tied Gerry jugs, we left feeling fully prepared for our 20-day High-Risk Area (Pirate Zone) passage.

Kandu ready to go loaded with 10X20 gallon jerry jugs

The western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea gave way to the Gulf of Aden with Yemen in civil war to the north, infamous Somalia to the south. All went well, bringing us unscathed to the port of Massawa, Eritrea. Of the 28 boats that transited the Red Sea, only 8 stopped in Eritrea. Few, if any, explored its awkward interior. We took a public bus up into the highlands to the capital Asmara. Shown the sites by a wonderful local friend, nephew of LA friends, it was quite the learning curve, a city with little operational infrastructure.

Continuing up the Red Sea, two days later we stopped in Suakin, Sudan, poked around the Suakin ruins and nearby village, picked-up Uncle Nick, and sailed North to Egypt, stopping briefly at Sanganeb Reef (UNESCO site), its crystal-clear waters perfect for snorkeling.

Onward north, we motor-sailed several days to Port Ghalib, Egypt. We spent 3 weeks total in Egypt, initially diving the nearby Red Sea reefs and then driving inland to visit the ancient sites of Luxor. From Port Suez, we ventured inland to Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza. Yes, we did the most touristic things, like riding camels below the pyramids dressed in traditional Egyptian garb.

RigneysKandu say “Farewell Egypt!”

With slower moving recreational vessels like ours, Suez Canal is transited in two days. Each day, we hosted a different requisite pilot, stopping overnight in a “lake” at a yacht club in Ismailia. Around the world, yacht clubs are mostly just private ocean-view restaurants with little to no support for transiting yachts. We dropped one pilot off in the evening, picked up the other at sunrise. Transiting the Suez Canal was a thrill, passing large ships within a stone’s throw. The second pilot was dropped off onto a moving pilot vessel so we could continue without delay into the Mediterranean Sea.

Kandu pulling into Lake Ismailia while motoring the Suez Canal

Next stop, 2 days away: Cyprus. After a year in various Islamic countries, it was a welcome relief to land in a Western-style country, especially one so steeped in history and philosophy. There, we said goodbye to Uncle Nick, welcomed friends from Washington. Together, from their rented hilltop villa, we spent 6 days exploring the historical sites of Cyprus – including the Turkish occupied north. Then flew to Israel, drove to Jerusalem (the day after our US Embassy opened), the Dead Sea and Palestine to Bethlehem, and flew back to Cyprus.

RigneysKandu floating in Dead Sea of Israel

From a small fishing port in western Cyprus, it was a quick sail to Rhodes, Greece. The Schengen Visa clock was now ticking.  90-days to see Europe, including their Atlantic Islands, not nearly enough time, but we made the best of it. From medieval Rhodes, we sailed to romantic Santorini.

Santorini Island, Greece

Then to Athens, ground zero of Western philosophy. So rich in history, legends, and lore, like Jerusalem, seemingly every corner beheld another historic treasure. There, Uncle Bill joined us, and Bryce jumped ship to spend more time in Athens with a newfound friend, Alex. Kandu sailed west through the Corinthian Canal to Delphi sans Bryce for the first time in three and half years.

Kandu passing through the Corinthian Canal with Uncle Bill

From Greece, we sailed five days across the Ionian Sea to Italy, arriving near Napoli and Pompeii where Bryce re-joined Kandu, having spent a week and half with his buddy. Seeing Pompeii (prominent site on my bucket list) was just the beginning of a GREAT tour of Italy which would come to include beautiful places like: Cinqueterra, Rome, Vatican City, Pisa, Florence, and Venice. Just WOW! Even with all Eric’s and my previous travels and university studies, we never fully appreciated the extent to which over the centuries Italy had accumulated (pilfered?) the world’s artistic and symbolic wealth.

Saint Peter’s Cathedral, Vatican, Rome

From Northern Italy, it was a few short days to Nice, France and La Cote d’Azur. Here, we bid farewell to Uncle Bill (87 yrs young), crew and traveling companion over 5 jammed-packed weeks, visiting three countries together. Marina Nice is centrally located, making all the fun stuff available by foot. The boys, hanging at the beach and playing beach volleyball pick-up games with locals, serendipitously connected with a school mate from the Marquesas! Small world.

Kandu Crew playing Volleyball in the Cote d’Azur!

We caught up with many dear French friends while in Nice before sailing across to the other side of Southern France to Port Corbière, Marseilles. Safely tucked away, we securely berthed Kanduand drove 9 hours up to Paris to pick up my parents at the airport. We would spend the next 5 weeks together, driving to various countries, spending valuable time with more dear friends. So, directly from Charles de Gaulle Airport, with parents’ bags firmly packed in the trunk of our rented van, we were off to dine and stay with friends in Southern Belgium.

While in Belgium, we were hosted by two families, each with two teenage daughters, together enjoying meals of moules-frites, steak frites, and frite- frites; and outings of the must-see sights, including the Grand Place, Atomium, site of the 1950 Brussels World’s Fair, Brugge, Waterloo (Napoleon Museum) and Bastogne (Battle of the Bulge Museum).

Atomium, Brussels with Lara and Elena Demande
Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium
Ron and Rosie Dennis, Odette et Pierrot Robert chez Thierry Robert

Bidding sad farewells, we set off to Eastern France, via Luxembourg. A bowl of traditional green bean soup and a long stroll around this beautiful city was all the time we could spare before continuing our second, long toll-highway trek, this time to Alsace.

Through the generosity of several family friends, all of whom are connected with Eric’s Alsatian Aunt Annie, we spent 8 fabulous days filled to the brim with Alsatian splendor: food, wine, beer, history, crafts, architecture, etc. As an added bonus, we witnessed France’s 2018 World Cup championship victory with friends in Surbourg and marched through the streets with celebrating fans, demonstrating their “bleu-blanc-rouge” pride! From Alsace, we made an afternoon sojourn into Germany, sipping the gorgeous resort town of Baden-Baden, exploring its castle ruin and a popular beer garden – Wundabar!

Brigitte, Harold and Joris Keizer at Biergarten, Baden Baden, Germany

Strasbourg, Colmar, the wine tour, ceramics, country festivals, a WWII concentration camp, and meals galore with great friends had us on our way with greater awareness and appreciation, warm hearts, and kilos added to our waistlines via tartes flambées, baeckeoffe casserole, and sauerkraut & sausages.

Colmar, Alsace, France with Brigitte Hubert, Myriam Rott and Ron & Rosie Dennis

From Alsace, we headed west to Paris again, but this time to show Bryce and Trent. Again, through the generosity of another good friend opening her home, we stayed at her place just outside Paris.  From there, we drove daily to the nearest metro station to pick up the train into town. We toured many (too many for Bryce and Trent’s taste, but this is their classroom) of the celebrated museums and sites of one of our favorite cities. It’s where Eric proposed to me 25-yrs prior! Eric even drove the boys to the exact spot, at sunrise, just as he had done for me.

Place de Paix at Trocodero, Paris

For their last Parisian evening, Eric and the boys walked from the Arc de Triomphe to a cinema on the Champs-Elysées where they watched the opening night of the latest Tom Cruise MissionImpossible installment. Watching the chase scenes through Paris was surreal as they’d been walking on those very streets less than an hour before. As exhausting as this is to read, it was even more so to live.

Eric, Trent and Bryce Rigney on the Champs-Elysees, Paris, France.

Paris behind us, we headed south through gorgeous countryside to Voiron where we met up with friends with teenage boys. After days of seemingly endless museums, Bryce and Trent jumped on the opportunity to just hang with guys their age, all so handsome, smart, and adventurous. Giving in to pleas to extend their stay, and a promise from the Dad to drop the boys off at Kandu in three days, the four of us left the boys with their new-found friends and headed south sans enfants.

Kandu Crew taking out Serge, Max and Valentin for a ride at Port Corbiere, Marseille.

Not yet done with being spoiled by French friends, we left Voiron for the Southern French coastal town of Meze where we stayed with a couple we’d met in French Polynesia years ago. From their home, we attended a fishing celebration in Meze.

We spent a day at the nearby Medieval town of Arles, an important city in the life of Van Gogh. As with our friends before them, the two nights we spent together felt like a royal affair. After yet another heavy-hearted farewell, we drove east, back to Port de Corbières to meet up with the boys, to explore Marseilles before returning the van, and to prepare Kandu for the sail back to Nice, where Trent had a rendez-vous with an airplane.

In Nice once again, we boarded a commuter train to Monaco…a bucket list destination for my father! Wearing our best “boat clothes” and scrounged up bow ties, we entered the Monte Carlo Casino in style, not “Bond, . . . James Bond” style, but style nevertheless, and basked in the luxury. Castles, cathedrals, and a Formula 1 race track made this a fun, albeit Trent’s last, country visit. By the time he left us, he’d visited 27 since our California February 2015 departure.

Monte Carlo in Monaco with Rosie and Ron Dennis

A bit melancholy, the 7 of us said goodbye to an extremely cheerful (perhaps too cheerful) Trent as he boarded a Norwegian airline plane in Nice, laying-over in Oslo, arriving in Los Angeles to start high school as a freshman. His new home is with his Uncle Nick and Aunt Gita in Calabasas, California. With an abundance of electricity, hot showers, WiFi, Netflix, Mexican hot sauce, and kids his age, Trent is happy.

Nani and Papa still with us, Kanducasted off Nice and motor-sailed 2 days to Barcelona, Spain. Soon after departure, we experienced our first and only crazy Mediterranean wind, quickly rising from 15 to 50 knots of wind with short steep seas and horizontal rain – Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride for one intense hour! My parents didn’t quite know what to think because the captain, Bryce, and I acted as if nothing was unusual.

Our days in Barcelona were exquisite, filled with flamenco music and dancing, delicious Catalan foods, and Gaudi architecture, most notably the Sagrada Familia! Here, after 6 weeks of intense traveling through 6 countries, we bid a tearful farewell to my parents, who flew back to California with an abundance of electricity, hot showers, WiFi, inexpensive wine, and friends their age!

Interior Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

 In Barcelona, we stocked Kandu for a 5-day passage, checked out of Schengen, and motor-sailed across the Eastern Mediterranean to Gibraltar. The next day, Bryce flew solo to London, England for 6 days to meet with Alex, his friend from Greece. Eric and I enacted repairs on Kandu held off during our Schengen rush through Europe. We squeezed in a bit of fun too, touring the sites. Eric discovered a broken bolt supporting the alternator and engine’s freshwater pump. This kept us in Gibraltar longer than anticipated. Once appropriate bolts were acquired, we carefully timed our Mediterranean Sea exit with winds and currents and cast off the dock lines for the Strait of Gibraltar. All went well. For our first Atlantic Ocean stop, we chose Port Mohammedia, Morocco – a fishing port near Casablanca, to which we took a train, and from where we toured, inside and out, the world’s largest mosque outside of Saudi Arabia, Hassan II.

Magnificent Interior Hassan II Mosque

Sailing further south along the West African Coast, we made our way to Marina Agadir. With the engine’s freshwater pump leaking internally, Kandu ended-up docked in Agadir for almost 5 weeks (a month longer than planned), waiting for the new pump to arrive and clear customs. However, we met lovely people and traveled to various nearby cities, fully immersing in the culture and exploring the environs: Essaouira and Paradise Valley by renting a car, and later to Marrakesh by bus, plus Bryce got a chance to surf to his heart’s content at several renowned surf sites, including Taghazout. Souks, tajine, couscous, and avocado-date shakes we enjoyed a-plenty.

Departing Agadir, ‘We Kandu’ sailed deeper into the Atlantic to the exquisitely beautiful resort island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Volcanic craters and surf are among this island’s treasures. We flew to Las Palmas for boat parts and a tour of the Columbus museum.

Volcanic wine vineyards of Lanzarote, Canary Islands

From Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, we sailed southwest to Marina Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde. Porto Grande is Cape Verde’s largest and most protected natural bay.

Sailing Kandu 10 days to Mindelo, Sao Vicente Island, Cape Verde

We arrived just prior to the send-off of 3 world class cruising rallies, organized to help amateur sailors cross the Atlantic, all of which terminate in the Caribbean. It was great fun to be amongst the bevy of so many serious sailors preparing to make an ocean crossing! Thanksgiving, we received spare parts Uncle Bill mailed us, and got stuck an extra week, waiting for replacement bank cards to arrive from Cape Verde’s capital city. Ate lots of cachupa (local breakfast dish) in the meantime. On Dec. 5, we departed Mindelo for what would be our third and final ocean crossing.

Sixteen rock’n’rolling days later, we’ve made it to French Guiana.

Saint Laurent du Maroni Marina, French Guiana.

Whew! We’ll spend Xmas in the country’s second largest city, Saint Laurent du Maroni, then head to Suriname (Dutch) to tour the sites, maybe spy some freshwater pink dolphins, and spend New Year’s. We’ll pass through Guyana (English) before sailing north into the Caribbean, stopping at Tobago/Trinidad (more parts). From there: Grenada, Bonaire, and Curacao. Then entering South America one more time in Columbia, fromwhere we’ll arrange a canal agent to deal with the formalities of transiting the Panama Canal in late February or early March 2019. The only other Central American stop will be Costa Rica. We’ll skip the rest of Central America, sailing directly to Southern Mexico. There are just too many security concerns with coastal pirates and within Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Obviously, from Southern Mexico, we’ll continue our northly trek. Puerto Vallarta is where we’ll cross our circumnavigation track. Then it’s a few short weeks, early May, before we clear-in at San Diego, California.

2018 marks our trip’s most prolific year in terms of countries visited (23), oceans and seas crossed (2/6+), and continents touched (4). With about nine more countries, a canal, and a few more seas to cross, we return eager for life’s next adventures. We want to thank you, our friends and family, for following along on our journey, and to so many of you whom we met along the way. Until we meet up again, we send you our biggest virtual hugs and wish those who are sailing, fair winds and weather!

Love Leslie, Eric, Bryce and Trent

REMINDERS

To see where we are on a map in real-time, scroll down on our home page and click on the Delorme link.

We continue to post updates and photos of our travels on our Facebook sites: RigneysKandu, Eric Rigney, Leslie Dennis-Rigney and Bryce Rigney. Bryce and Trent post their favorite photos on Instagram under: Bry.Rig and Tnert_Rigney. If you mostly prefer short video clips, visit us on Youtube.com. Our channels are RigneysKandu and Kandu Crew.

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!

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.

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: Ketawai & Bangka, Oct 2017

Oct 10 2017 – Arrived at Ketawai, small island à la Gilligan’s Isle, anchored in shallow water, rather exposed to the mostly benign elements. Hope the wind doesn’t turn on us.

Oct 12 2017 – Organizers of the Ketawai rally stop boated over a make-shift stage, pavilion, kitchen, & store to this uninhabited island. Fed us all day yesterday, guided us on snorkeling tour, and had a young dance troop perform trad’l Indonesian/Sumatran dances for us accompanied by trad’l orchestra. Plus another band of excellent contemporary musicians & singers performed hits from Beatles, Bob Marley, country, & today. L & B took turns performing on stage. Earlier in the day, the boys & Uncle Nick had fun getting up to speed flying the drone, capturing cool images. Boys & friend Rainer r camping ashore tonight.

Today, organizers plan to shuttle boat us to main island, Bangka, for a town & mangrove tour. Marine police r on hand to guard our boats while gone. Mostly in case of weather, but maybe to keep the fishermen honest. The gov’t really takes care of us, insuring we’ve nothing but good experiences. It’s been off-the-charts great, especially the friends we make on each island. Astounded how quickly solid friendships can be formed over such brief periods. With sailors, I get it, but with locals, 2-3 days & you have a possible lifelong friendship. I think often the community’s brightest people are paired with us and those that speak English, of course, since we only know a couple words in Bahasa. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy.

Oct 13, 2017 – A police boat brought us cross the channel to main island Bangka. Police escorted our 2 busses to mrkt place. More police in mrkt including undercovers to insure nothing goes wrong. We are considered tourism emissaries, thus must have nothing but good to report. Indonesia even has its own special tourism police branch to help tourists, often young & attractive, English speaking.

Nick Rigney featured on left in photo.

Many photos taken of us by press & locals wanting selfies w/us. We made the paper twice. Gov’t wants to show they are developing tourism in their remote regions. Vocational High School went crazy for boys again, especially when Rainer quickly kissed a girl’s hand. CRAZY!!!

Once again Kandu Crew is surrounded by the ladies!

This region is more conservatively Muslim, but no feeling of tension, perhaps because we dress & act appropriately. Indonesian smiles are infectious.

Organizers had us take a panga boat thru narrow, windy mangrove waterway to an eco center for lunch. Elevated wooden walkways thru thickly forested mangroves, made for a magical adventure as we made our way to a treehouse restaurant.

Red Cross volunteers were completing training in the water while we were there, all dressed in red Tshirts, black pants. The First Lady of the provincial governor was there to meet us & support the Red Cross volunteers’ graduating ceremony, placing red baseball caps on their heads as they exited the waist-high marsh.

The speedboat ride back was quick. The dinner ashore was bittersweet as we bid farewell to many. Some boats leaving that we won’t likely see again. Rainer, the boys’ buddy from Santa Cruz CA flies out today & Nick flies out tomorrow. So last night’s dinner was a farewell celebration, with promises of meeting up again some day and keeping in touch.

I must make reservations for the next 5 marinas in Malaysia that are part of the Rally, plus Thailand. 75 boats are signed up. Not enough room for us all in each marina. We expect to meet & make more friends & find the group to transit the Red Sea. Although so many boats have registered for the Malaysia Rally, experience shows us that less than 25% stick with it. In our Sail Indonesia Rally, USA boats were a minority, but almost all stuck with it, making US boats the majority.

Slow, easy day today at Ketawai. Three of the 7 yachts have left. Breakfast was eaten Indonesian style, on the beach under palm trees, served over banana leaves. We had a great time releasing baby turtles into the ocean. An entire crowd gathered around to pray for them and see them off. Evidently, the surviving turtles will return to Ketawai after 10 years to mate. Evening entertainment: a great 5 piece contemporary band, a traditional band & young dancers, speeches, and gifts of handmade batik scarves.

We’ll miss Ketawai. After brkfst on the beach tomorrow, Nick will depart aboard a speedboat loaded with a suitcase full of our junk to store in our storage space. He will be taking a plane to Central Java to visit the incredible Buddhist and Hindu temples. Kandu will also depart and sail two days to North Bintan, our last Indonesian Rally stop. Lots planned for us. Few boats remain.

Oct 15 2017

This is Leslie @ 3:40 am on watch. Stars showing in full force. Motoring as no wind. Experienced most fab time at latest stop Ketawai. Ketawai is similar to a motu. Very small fishing and tourist island for locals from bigger neighbor island Banka to get away for the day.

Nick’s visit was way too short. He left this am to Java to visit the Buddhist n Hindu temples near Yogyakarta. He brought us stuff and is returning w/ stuff as usual. The boys loved their bday cards as did I and the very nice letters you sent. I spent at least an hour pouring over your letters/notes. Very sad to say goodbye to Rainer. Boys really enjoyed his N. California Santa Cruz flavor.

Goodbye Ketawai!

Delorme LogNotes: Belitung Indonesia, Oct 2017

Oct 2 2017 – Sailing to Belitung. AIS transponders are required by Indonesia of all cruising sailboats, but by int’l maritime law, they cannot require it of us. Some cruisers only have receivers. No penalties are imposed. Ironically most Indonesian commercial fishing, freighter, ferries, cargo, tugs & barges do not transmit their location over AIS, something that is required by int’l maritime law. They are invisible to our receivers, a fact that keeps our watches more vigilant. Fortunately they carry the proper lights and are visible to radar.
Oct 9 2017 – Had another spectacular & generous visit, this time on Belitung island. 2 day tours: first day driving West, the other East. Busses, guides, catered meals, shows, cultural expositions, dance, Chinese lions show, museums, religious centers and temples, unique geological features, local specialty coffee cafes w/ amazing singer & interesting introductions to unusual animal life. Best of all: the local people.

‘We Kandu’ participates in the events when possible.

We are treated like superstars: press coverage & interviews, honored guests, front row seats, personal guides & interpreters, and always the screaming school girls seeking B&T’s photos & contact info on Instagram.

Bryce and Trent at the center of Indonesia’s best!

The anchorage is extraordinarily beautiful, with gorgeous rock formations that the boys enjoyed jumping off and filming.

Leslie kept receiving compliments on her Polynesian palm frond hat that she made in the Marquesas, so gave two classes on how to make them to the locals. The tour bureau even published an article on their site about it.

We leave Belitung today w/Nick who arrived here yesterday. Ketawai is our next stop: 3 days on an isolated island with all meals provided as well as a shuttle boat over to tour the neighboring large island, bordering Sumatra. After that will be Bintan, then Malaysia.

A Tale of Two Skateboards – Bryce Kandu

Late one afternoon in Ventura, Bryce called to me, upset.  I was below deck.  He was on the dock.  He had dropped Trent’s Penny Board, an old-school skateboard into the water adjacent to our neighbor’s boat.  Trent recently bought it from a friend and really liked it.  Bryce knew the cost to replace the board would be about $100, money he didn’t want to spend.  Head in hands, fighting back tears, Bryce was lamenting his circumstance.  I suggested he dive for it.  I made up a weighted line to  sound the depth; fifteen feet we determined and Bryce rushed to get his wetsuit.  Together we deployed Kandu’s stern anchor and chain over the spot he remembered splashing the board.  The sun was low on the horizon.  It was warm above surface and below wasn’t terribly cold.  We knew he wouldn’t see much and would have to rely on touch.  Passer-bys encouraged Bryce to give it try, warning how difficult the task would be.  It took a couple of dives before Bryce got his rhythm and technique down.  Soon after, Bryce pulled up his brother’s skateboard.  Many of the other live-aboards were amazed at Bryce’s success.  He was very pleased with himself.  I told him to wash the board off in fresh water and spray it with WD-40, which did immediately.  The board survived with little damage until a couple of weeks when one of the wheel’s bearings froze.  Trent’s Uncle Nick bought and replaced all of Trent’s bearings.  Trent was satisfied with the repair.

A week after the salvaged skateboard episode, Uncle Nick bought for Bryce’s birthday a new Penny Board with a stars and stipes motif, just as Bryce had dreamed.