The night was short and I woke early the 21st day of the journey. It was still dark and still almost 20 miles to the atoll, so just about 4 hours. Slowly, everyone woke and the captain started the engine a bit after sunrise to motor-sail towards our destination. We could see the islands now far in the distance, even though still hours away. We used the time to fix a second anchor shackle for the one fixed was thin and rusted thouroughly.
We found the passage into the atoll around the south island easily. With the clouds and the squall last night, wind had finally come, just when we wanted to have a calm entry into the atoll. A strong current was working against us as we entered the wide channel into the atoll, with riffs laying to either side of us and a heavy surf breaking. Once inside, going was easy, but none of the descriptions the captain had obtained prior to our departure seem to apply. We were looking for markings in red and green to guide us to a jetty, but there was none. We tried calling harbour control, but got no answer. As we went along the island looking for an anchorage we saw a barge docked at a wharf. The water around it looked shallow, but it might be good enough. We were not in for taking risks and started to look further. Another call on the radio finally brought an answer. They guided us back to the wharf.
The captain planned to just go alongside the barge at the end of the jetty so we'd still be in deep water and wouldn't have to maneuver around that ship. A strong current got hold of our boat as we approached the wharf. With the bad steering of our vessel the captain had a hard time to get the right angle to the barge, the current pushing against his steering. Too our suprise, the men on the barge seemed helplessly surprised. They didn't seem accustomed to two boats going alongside on a wharf and didn't want to support our efforts. There was not much time to react. Our bow was now close to crashing into the barge as the angle between the boats was still to steep. I used all my strength to push our 16-ton-boat off the barge and it started to align itself alongside. Now the current started pushing us heavily towards the barge, all of the crew trying to keep the boats far enough apart to prevent damage. The fenders didn't help much, our swimming stairs, still folded up of course, stuck out way too much and were now about to be pressed against the other boat. My brother pushed us away hard and besides a minor squeak from the ladder he managed to keep the boats apart. He screamed to the captain that it wasn't possible to stay alongside, the current would crash our boat into the barge. As the captain, still somewhat undecided, started slowly pulling away, all of us still busy keeping the boats apart with all our body strength, my brother cried out to go with full throttle. The captain instantly realized the immediate need and the engine roared up, pushing our boat out of danger quickly.
That had been close. We couldn't go alongside anywhere with the port side, the swimming ladder was in the way. Another round of looking for a better anchorage was as unsuccessful as the first. So we turned back to the wharf once more to go alongside the jetty itself, starboard this time. The fenders were quickly switched as we approached the wharf again. Towards the beach, the water went shallow very quickly and there was not much space to move. Our captain steered bravely and maneuvered elegantly around the stern of the barge. I was in the very front of our round and narrow bow ready to jump and secure the first line. Once the boat was close, it was already too close. The bow was already about to scrape along the jetty. I jumped and started pushing the boat around, our nose away from the jetty, before securing the first line. As the boat came around with its stern, my brother jumped securing another line in the back. Just now we realized, that same strong current was pushing the boat away from the jetty, tightening the lines that in turn would jerk the boat back violently. The boats fixings were screaming and nothing on the boat seemed to be built strong enought to counter the force of those heavy pulls. Furthermore, as the heavy boat was pulled to the jetty the fenders were squeezed almost to non-existence. We just couldn't fix the boat properly under these circumstances and went over to preventing the worst, keeping the boat off the jetty, but close to the wharf. Still, it wouldn't be long and it would bear the first scars, if we stayed like this.
By now, the wharf had filled with people. Customs and harbour officers were popping up out of nowhere. The man that had answered our had appeared as well. He was Mas-ood, our agent to be and we'd need him to be allowed to fuel up. Everyone realized our desparation in trying not to damage our boat. One man simply commented, it wasn't easy to go alongside this jetty, especially the side we'd chosen. Mas-ood recommended an anchorage between the first two islands, claiming even though the entrance was narrow, it would definately be deep enough. We had quickly convinced our captain not to stay any longer and go for the anchorage. The stern line went off first and the back of the boat pushed away from the wharf. I was to take the front line and jump onto the bow, but as the boat came around, the nose once again came too close to the jetty and I had to push it off before I was able to jump. My brother did so first though and there was no more space on the nose for a second man. The line still in my hand I watched the boat pull away. I quickly pulled the line back around the fixing and held the boat back. The captain, realizing my situation, gave a short thrust forward, just enought for the boat to come close enough again for a long jump onto the nose. My brother, ready to help, was still taking up that space. I commanded him to move away as I already made the jump to land just next to him, while the captain pulled the boat out backwards with a surgeon's precision.
Half a mile up to the north we could make out the markings to the entrance for the anchorage. I went half-way up the mizzen mast to watch the water depth as we steered towards the narrow channel. To both sides lay the shallow reef and the depth of the anchorage was uncertain. Only small motor boats were alongside an decaying wharf and some anchoring on moorings towards the dam connecting the two south islands of the atoll. With the clear water, it seemed more shallow than it was, but to either side we would be doomed to run on the reef if we left that narrow channel. From my lookout I screamed down directions and the captain steered promply and we got through the channel safe to drop anchor in the middle of the small basin formed by the reef, the dam and the two islands. On some stairs alongside the wharf the first customs and immigration officers stood already waiting.
We found the passage into the atoll around the south island easily. With the clouds and the squall last night, wind had finally come, just when we wanted to have a calm entry into the atoll. A strong current was working against us as we entered the wide channel into the atoll, with riffs laying to either side of us and a heavy surf breaking. Once inside, going was easy, but none of the descriptions the captain had obtained prior to our departure seem to apply. We were looking for markings in red and green to guide us to a jetty, but there was none. We tried calling harbour control, but got no answer. As we went along the island looking for an anchorage we saw a barge docked at a wharf. The water around it looked shallow, but it might be good enough. We were not in for taking risks and started to look further. Another call on the radio finally brought an answer. They guided us back to the wharf.
The captain planned to just go alongside the barge at the end of the jetty so we'd still be in deep water and wouldn't have to maneuver around that ship. A strong current got hold of our boat as we approached the wharf. With the bad steering of our vessel the captain had a hard time to get the right angle to the barge, the current pushing against his steering. Too our suprise, the men on the barge seemed helplessly surprised. They didn't seem accustomed to two boats going alongside on a wharf and didn't want to support our efforts. There was not much time to react. Our bow was now close to crashing into the barge as the angle between the boats was still to steep. I used all my strength to push our 16-ton-boat off the barge and it started to align itself alongside. Now the current started pushing us heavily towards the barge, all of the crew trying to keep the boats far enough apart to prevent damage. The fenders didn't help much, our swimming stairs, still folded up of course, stuck out way too much and were now about to be pressed against the other boat. My brother pushed us away hard and besides a minor squeak from the ladder he managed to keep the boats apart. He screamed to the captain that it wasn't possible to stay alongside, the current would crash our boat into the barge. As the captain, still somewhat undecided, started slowly pulling away, all of us still busy keeping the boats apart with all our body strength, my brother cried out to go with full throttle. The captain instantly realized the immediate need and the engine roared up, pushing our boat out of danger quickly.
That had been close. We couldn't go alongside anywhere with the port side, the swimming ladder was in the way. Another round of looking for a better anchorage was as unsuccessful as the first. So we turned back to the wharf once more to go alongside the jetty itself, starboard this time. The fenders were quickly switched as we approached the wharf again. Towards the beach, the water went shallow very quickly and there was not much space to move. Our captain steered bravely and maneuvered elegantly around the stern of the barge. I was in the very front of our round and narrow bow ready to jump and secure the first line. Once the boat was close, it was already too close. The bow was already about to scrape along the jetty. I jumped and started pushing the boat around, our nose away from the jetty, before securing the first line. As the boat came around with its stern, my brother jumped securing another line in the back. Just now we realized, that same strong current was pushing the boat away from the jetty, tightening the lines that in turn would jerk the boat back violently. The boats fixings were screaming and nothing on the boat seemed to be built strong enought to counter the force of those heavy pulls. Furthermore, as the heavy boat was pulled to the jetty the fenders were squeezed almost to non-existence. We just couldn't fix the boat properly under these circumstances and went over to preventing the worst, keeping the boat off the jetty, but close to the wharf. Still, it wouldn't be long and it would bear the first scars, if we stayed like this.
By now, the wharf had filled with people. Customs and harbour officers were popping up out of nowhere. The man that had answered our had appeared as well. He was Mas-ood, our agent to be and we'd need him to be allowed to fuel up. Everyone realized our desparation in trying not to damage our boat. One man simply commented, it wasn't easy to go alongside this jetty, especially the side we'd chosen. Mas-ood recommended an anchorage between the first two islands, claiming even though the entrance was narrow, it would definately be deep enough. We had quickly convinced our captain not to stay any longer and go for the anchorage. The stern line went off first and the back of the boat pushed away from the wharf. I was to take the front line and jump onto the bow, but as the boat came around, the nose once again came too close to the jetty and I had to push it off before I was able to jump. My brother did so first though and there was no more space on the nose for a second man. The line still in my hand I watched the boat pull away. I quickly pulled the line back around the fixing and held the boat back. The captain, realizing my situation, gave a short thrust forward, just enought for the boat to come close enough again for a long jump onto the nose. My brother, ready to help, was still taking up that space. I commanded him to move away as I already made the jump to land just next to him, while the captain pulled the boat out backwards with a surgeon's precision.
Half a mile up to the north we could make out the markings to the entrance for the anchorage. I went half-way up the mizzen mast to watch the water depth as we steered towards the narrow channel. To both sides lay the shallow reef and the depth of the anchorage was uncertain. Only small motor boats were alongside an decaying wharf and some anchoring on moorings towards the dam connecting the two south islands of the atoll. With the clear water, it seemed more shallow than it was, but to either side we would be doomed to run on the reef if we left that narrow channel. From my lookout I screamed down directions and the captain steered promply and we got through the channel safe to drop anchor in the middle of the small basin formed by the reef, the dam and the two islands. On some stairs alongside the wharf the first customs and immigration officers stood already waiting.
We lowered the dinghy into the water, fixed the small petrol engine and I was to taxi them to the boat, two at a time. The dinghy was incredibly small, much unlike the larger fixed to the back of our boat, but merely used as decoration. I was probaly taller than the dinghy was long and I could reach into the water at both sides of the little boat at the same time. I stepped in and had to find my balance first. Already I had almost tipped it over and some water came over the side. I tried sitting in the back by the engine, but with no weight in front water came pouring over the back, so I quickly retreated to sit on the middle bench. I got the engine set up and started and steered towards the men on the stairs, still trying to find a proper balance in the tiny boat. The men must have seen that and none of them wanted to be first. As I placed them on the middle bench I now had enough weight in the boat to go to the back. By the time I was back at the La Metisse I had my balance and could do the trick.
We spent the morning with customs and immigration while I was doing the dinghy taxi. I got used to the little boat quickly and started enjoying my new task. Mas-ood had arrived at the stairs as well and I checked diesel prices and the location of shopping places and restaurants with him. After customs and immigration we had a short rest before dressing for landfall. It had been a week since I had worn a shirt and it felt strange to have cotton rubbing against my skin. We walked along the road towards where the shopping was supposed to be. The few buildings along the side looked all the same, simple and boring, but their walls clustered with pre-election propaganda. Just recently a new president had been elected and almost thirty years of quasi-dictatorship had ended.
There wasn't any taxi stopping for us, so we soon went into a shop to have one called. While our captain and cook were just stocking up, I wasn't looking at the penny. It had to be chocolate, yoghurt, and cheese, whatever the costs. After we'd taken the supplies back aboard we found the "Equator Village" in the opposite walking direction. It was a typical middle-class all inclusive resort to go with the common Maldive tourist package. The waiters weren't even used to anyone paying cash. The place was filled with a couple of tourists not on one of the day trips, mostly German and British. We felt out of place a bit coming from a three weeks voyage at sea, deeply enjoying the abundance of everything ashore and ordering drinks as we pleased. My brother and I planned to come back later to try to trick someone into giving us a freshwater shower and maybe even a bed with a real mattress.
When we returned in the evening, the place was packed. The tourists were just in the process of migrating from the restaurant to the bar and the waiters were whirling around the place like flies. It was somewhat amazing. None of these people seemed interesting enough and that night we didn't talk to anyone. We just enjoyed ourselves sitting at the bar sipping a coffee and a coke and identifiying the nationalities of the tourists from a distance as they poured into the room. We were not wrong once. It is extremely strange how one can differenciate the nationalities of random people with no apparent signs to base the decision on. Still, it works, and we concluded it must be the combination of things, hair, style, facial expressions, movements, and more. Every people seems to have a set of their own, even though freely combine to form all the different individuals.
We didn't get far before the rain hit. Out on the open island road with thunder striking and hard rain pouring down we started looking for some shelter. The entrance of some house did the job until the rain stopped. We moved farther down the road, but the weather had only paused and it soon continued to rain hard and having us looking for shelter once again. Another entrance served as such, but the wind drove the rain far into it and we wondered if we'd be able to find a better place further on. While still in thoughts, a girl with an umbrella passed, smiling at us and turning back towards us three or four times. That felt unusual in a stricly muslim country, but it tipped the balance, we moved on, following the girl at a distance.
She knew we were following. She must have turned and looked a couple of times, then disappeared to the side of the road and was gone. Just when we passed about the place where she'd disappeared we saw a little shelter by the road. It was still raining and we were still looking for a place to wait for better conditions. A second look into the dark shelter revealed the girl standing at its entrance, smiling at us. She said something, I couldn't understand and waved us into the shelter. She pointed us to the seats to wait with her until the rain stopped. After an initial small talk in worse English than I have experienced with the Thai, my brother fell asleep, and I was left to make the best small talk the limited language allowed for. The girl didn't hesitate coming to the point: "You have telephone? I want you number!" I did hesitate a bit before punching my number into her phone. You never know, what it might be good for, but you never know what trouble it might bring considering the girl's religion. She was more cautious in respect to our environment. While noone could see into the shelter in the dark, she raised her umbrella with every vehicle's beam of light to shield off against unwanted watchers. While not asking or talking much, she pointed her phone at me talking pictures and little video clips. After she was satisfied with the results it came to my family situation and religious beliefs. I was in for marriage, I guess. So I stayed polite and shy and prayed for my brother to wake and for the rain to end. It felt too weird being assessed as a potential husband. My brother must have heard my prayers first. He woke and I could turn some of my attention back to him. Soon after, the rain stopped. The girl, cautiously peeking out the shelter, made sure noone could see us leaving there. All was clear and we stepped back on the road and quickly made our way back to the boat to get some sleep.
captains log:
0500 start E, NNW 7-8kn, choppy sea
fix anchor-shackle, too thin!
lost one cleat in the squall
0900 go alongside the wharf, too rolly
go to a tricky anchorage, very shallow entry
1030 anchor down, seems o.k.
Clearing
Have drinks at "Equator Village", very expensive, by V-belts and funnels for diesel filling.
Water ashore not for drinking!
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