05:52.31N 73:01.44E
I gave one of our first blog entries the same title, when a few challenges
in final boat preparation and a couple of gear failure set our Dubai
departure date back a few days. I had a sense of déjà-vu in that sheer
incompetency on the part of our shipping agent's local representative also
set our final Maldives departure back a couple of days. This normally
wouldn't be an issue; after all, this whole venture is spanning six months;
but my mate Joff and friend of Helen Nik flew in from Dubai and UK
respectively to crew on the return journey, so I feel an obligation to
returning them to work within the time frame expected.
The first time I met Joff was at a sixties themed party where he was wearing
a huge afro wig. I had to meet him a few more times before I made a
connection between the smiley, down to earth version, and the tipsy
afro-haired version. After a few desert and mountain camping expeditions,
we 'met again' at a posh function at the Dubai British Embassy (I'm not too
sure why they let a colonial in...). Needless to say, we both looked a bit
different in suits compared to our usual weekend gear, and Joff was slightly
embarrassed when he didn't recognise me (I scrub up quite well, I'm told...)
and introduced himself afresh.
Nik is a mate of Helen's brother in law Neil from Bristol and so far is
proving to be an all round nice guy, who has sailed many more miles than I
have. I am only slightly suspicious of him as he doesn't have a funny
accent like Neil.
After suggesting that our agent's Male representative might consider taking
responsibility for doing what he's paid to do, I had the (dis-)pleasure of
spending a morning tracking around the five required government offices with
a by now sulking and grumpy individual, collecting the necessary stamps to
allow us to leave.
Considering Aroha has officially entered the Maldives three times (from
Dubai, Sri Lanka, then Chagos), and each time requires the filling out of
nine forms (I counted them), we are quite familiar with the amount of
paperwork, not to mention fees. Cruising in the Maldives is not a cheap
hobby- I estimate that we've paid around US$1,800 in cruising permit fees,
visa extensions, port charges, clearance fees... it's no surprise that 90%
of government revenue comes from tourist taxation. Helen beats Aroha,
entering the Maldives four times this year. We reckon if she tries it
another time, they'll start to look at her passport a little strangely.
We persevered with the paperwork, paid a few more hundred dollars, and left
Male at around noon yesterday. We have had beautiful sailing conditions so
far with a steady 12-16 knots on the beam. We are deviating only slightly
from the rhum line to Ras al Hadd (the corner of Oman) and sailing up the
middles of the northern Maldives atolls. This gives us some shelter from
the steady westerly, and also some scenery for the first couple of hundred
miles.
All going well, we should bear left a little and leave the Maldives sometime
this afternoon. It should then take about ten days of blue water sailing
before we see the Oman coast, and then about two further days of coastal
sailing to get to Fujairah, UAE.
|
