Well the decision is to stop over for a few days at Galle, Sri Lanka because we need some tea and Ceylon Tea is the best. No seriously we have had a really good run these last 5 days averaging 177 miles per day at an average speed of 7.40 knots which is like driving up state highway one from Wellington to Auckland averaging 150kph all the way with no traffic on the road and without being pulled over by the law.
The primary reason for stopping in Sri Lanka is this is the last opportunity to take on fresh fruit and vege before the 1500 mile sail via the Maldives to Oman. Reading up on the border officaldom hassles entering Cochin even when have gone to the trouble and expense of getting the Indian visa in Bangkok was enough to
sway it and B has read of the colonial tea houses and the prospect of elephant riding, so deal done.
sway it and B has read of the colonial tea houses and the prospect of elephant riding, so deal done.
We are currently peering through the binos for our first glimpse of Sri Lanka around Cape Dondra but being late afternoon Monday there is a bit of haze about. We were a bit concerned about the Tamil Tiger business but that is hopefully more in the NorthEast. In saying that the port of Galle is a naval port and to deter Tamil frogmen from scuttling naval vessels the Sir Lankan Navy used to drop depth charges (gelignite) around the harbour most nights to put them off. We shall see if they still do.
Given we were not planning to stop here B is hurriedly making a Sri Lankan flag carving bits of fabric the base of which is an old Steinlager flag from the halcyon days aboard Lion. The problem is it needs a tiger in the centre which P is going to sketch then paint with fabric paint. We started out with 30 country
flags and have purchased a few en route but getting some obscure countries in advance is impossible or expensive hence the production challenge. B has already made the Maldives, India (which we now won't go) and Oman.
flags and have purchased a few en route but getting some obscure countries in advance is impossible or expensive hence the production challenge. B has already made the Maldives, India (which we now won't go) and Oman.
Just did a visual scan and a ship the size of Soames Is is approaching at 25knots and a few others around too. There is a traffic separation system (like Mallacca Straits) across the bottom of Sri Lanka and at this stage we are going traverse it in the dark to get into Galle. B will be below monitoring the radar screen which gives us the vectors for up to 6 vessels at a time and P will be at the helm changing direction to avoid collision, which should be a breeze after driving in Thailand.
Later tonight when we close to within 5 miles of coast to then enter Galle Harbour B will be on the radar with the C Map Electronic charts overlayed on the one screen, (a big colour screen) so we can see exactly where we are in relation to the land. P will be up top at the helm with the same data on the smaller all weather (mono) helm screen. In this way we can guarantee accuracy because theradar does not lie but there could be an error in the chart side, so we will both see it. Like most cruisers we use C Map Electronic Charts which are produced by a Boeing subsidiary and also used in aeronautical systems. C Maps are essentially electronic copies of British Admiralty or US Navy charts.
Whilst we have upwards of 400 paper charts aboard Musketelle, to cover the world you would need to caryy thousands of which are impossible to carry and at say NZ$25 per chart also untenable. So we purchase sectors of the world we are transitting on little SD discs similar to digital cameras discs. We carry about 10 discs at any one time and every so often we order 2 new discs as required and send 2 no longer required back and pay what we consider to be a very reasonable cost to ensure we have the latest updated C Maps for the region we are navigating. For example in Malaysia C-Map sent from the USA 2 new discs to take us across the Indian Ocean up the Red Sea and into the Eastern Med and Turkey.
Surprisingly most cruisers rely on pirated copies of C Map on a CD rom and play it on their onboard laptop connected to a GPS. They do this to to save money, but most of these charts may be up to 10 years old and we cannot believe it is worth the risk if some unknown copier has got a chart or two out of sync you may be on the rocks. So in situations like tonight entering Galle we feel a little more comfortable in the knowledge our latest CMap should be pretty accurate.
Out here the only entertainment is listening to deck officers talking to each other over the VHF radio. All these big ships have AIS (Automatic Identification System) which brings up their ship data on a screen on each other's system. The procedure is about 20 miles apart they see each other approaching and if on a likely collision course one calls the other and they conflab about which side to pass, either port to port or starboard to starboard at say 1 mile distance. Easy, yeah right. English is the formal language in commercial shipping and you have the world of nations is on the bridges of these ships.
In broken English making each other understood is the first challenge as variously Russian, Korean,Phillipino, Indo and others try to communicate. If all goes well sometimes right little chit chat sessions develop. The classic last night was a Korean who had obviously just been told his position was being terminated at the end of his current voyage (due to global economics) and he was asking about a position with the Singaporean ship he was talking to. That then led to the Singaporean confirming the state of international shipping and how recruitment with his company was now only open for tankers but not container ships or bulk carriers. But when the Singaporean asked what nationality the guy on the other ship and the answer was Korean the conversation mororless terminated. Clearly Singaporeans are selective when it comes to who they want on their ships ? So there you have it...the state of global shipping in the current economic crevass and an insight into inter Asian relations.
In broken English making each other understood is the first challenge as variously Russian, Korean,Phillipino, Indo and others try to communicate. If all goes well sometimes right little chit chat sessions develop. The classic last night was a Korean who had obviously just been told his position was being terminated at the end of his current voyage (due to global economics) and he was asking about a position with the Singaporean ship he was talking to. That then led to the Singaporean confirming the state of international shipping and how recruitment with his company was now only open for tankers but not container ships or bulk carriers. But when the Singaporean asked what nationality the guy on the other ship and the answer was Korean the conversation mororless terminated. Clearly Singaporeans are selective when it comes to who they want on their ships ? So there you have it...the state of global shipping in the current economic crevass and an insight into inter Asian relations.
On the natural side of life, a big pod of dolphins crossed our bow at great speed this afternoon, all clearly on an important mission somewhere, because none stopped to bow ride play as they are usually apt to do.
Thats it for now.
All at sea B&P
