28th Jan - 28 Feb 2006

The Maldives

This was where the horror story really began for me, not because of the ideallic islands nor it's friendly and polite inhabitants, but from the poor choice of new crew and the ramming of Weatherly, causing damage and delays.

We had very favorable winds on the passage from Sri Lanka, and made landfall in Male` after 3 and a half days. There were a few dramas on the way though. The engine had difficulties starting again, so I attempted to isolate the problem after jumping up from my bed, probably too quickly. With the rolling motion and concerns for the autopilot which had failed to operate since the night before, I started feeling seasick and had to rush upstairs for fresh air. Taking the wheel to get my balance back I swerved heavily on a wave and the steering cable gave way, rendering the wheel useless.

Now I really did have to lean over the side, the combination of problems and motion affected me. After a rest, I dug out the emergency steering tiller and found it didn't fit the rudder stock, probably due to rust and the rudder being hammered last time we removed it on the slipway. So, spent several hours carefully filing the tiller slot until it fit, and we hand steered for the remaining 24hrs till our arrival in Male.

The friendly agent, Abdul, arranged for Customs, Immigration and port authorities to come aboard. Sarz baked biscuits and offered it to the officials. As a Muslim country, alcohol is taboo in the Maldives, but we were still expecting hints for gifts, after our experiences in Galle. Customs reprimanded Abdul and I for going ashore before Customs came aboard first, and even the yummy biscuits and fresh percolated coffee didn't help soften his expression of sucking lemons.

Abdul organised an electrician who promptly fixed my autopilot the next morning, then showed me a foundry where I had the cables reswaged, since the ones swaged 'professionally' in Phuket failed. I had a spare set made up too, in case they ever broke at sea again.

Male is a modern commercial town with a vibrant atmosphere. Many attractive, well dressed locals walk around, most appearing to be chatting on the latest mobile phones. I explored many interesting lanes and admired the pastel coloured buildings and doorways which looked like they were straight from Hansel and Gretel.

There was usually a cooling sea breeze and the temperature was very pleasant. Some streets have overhanging trees providing some shade, but the island is bristling with buildings, quite unexpectedly so when viewed from the sea - I had expected palm trees, beaches and low level buildings. Instead, high offices and apartments bloom from every tract of land. People were incredibly polite and helpful. One shouted us to 2 dinners of fantastic local fish, breadfruit, and assorted dishes. Another local walked 15minutes out of his way to show me personally to an internet cafe.

The girls wanted to go to a resort and see some of the reefs, so we promptly took off, to find a safe anchorage which wouldn't stress me out about the reefs (most are too deep). I was after a break and a respite from the dramas, not added responsibility and risk from unknown anchorages. However, we found an island, with very stiff currents and had a snorkel. A local came over and invited himself on for a party. Knowing it was illegal to have alcohol aboard, we said we didn't have any, so he sent his friend off on an errand, returning with 3 bottles of vodka, some packets of cigarettes for Gemma (she only wanted one smoke) and many takeaway dishes of food. When asked about him getting alcohol, he said no problem as he was like the Maldivian mafia. Oops.

We anchored off a very upmarket resort island called Soneva Gilli, and booked in for a dive so we could then make use of a very plush bar which had a cutaway floor for viewing fish below. We also had a swim in the luxurious pool and felt like millionaires for a day.

Some Italian boys from a luxury yacht took a shining to my female crew and invited us over for dinner and drinks aboard. Wow, that was some yacht! The captain had us over again the next night and agreed to take Sarah to the airport on his powerful zodiac. Driving at high speed, he ran over some reef which damaged the prop, but it was still functional. After Sarah caught the plane he offered a nightcap back aboard La Cardinala. Nico dropped Gem and I back aboard Weatherly then roared off at high speed again.

BANG! What was that? I thought he'd whacked into the anchor chain, as we looked out in the dark from the deck he was at the Weatherly's bow and the huge zodiac was practically deflated. His steering and motor also seemed disabled, but got both going after some time.

In the morning I checked for any damage to Weatherly's chain and sides. My heart froze when I saw the beautiful filler and spraypaint badly broken in about a 2 foot diameter circle. I rode over to see Nico, who was desperately trying to repair his zodiac, as he had guests expected to arrive in days, and the dinghy was critical. It was written off, with ruptures to inaccessible seams in several places and impossible to fix without proper glues and equipment.

He gave me some money for my repairs, but I was concerned about time now. It took another 4 days of repairs and another to organise paperwork for the necessary permits in and out of Tilafushi island. It was a very inefficient yard and they gave an expensive quotation after an hour of discussion between their staff before even understanding Weatherly's hull was steel. They then gave up on the job as they weren't confident they could work with steel.

I had them make a special tool and banged away at the 2 inch deep dent after grinding off the broken paintwork and filler. The dent didn't budge. Worse, I barked the skin off my fingers and damaged something inside my palm, possibly a ligament or dislocated bone, but continued as the injuries weren't felt too badly till later in the Indian Ocean. I couldn't get any workmen to help with the job, except the kind welder who helped with a sledgehammer after hours. He suggested using an oxy torch to soften the steel, which worked. It took a lot of time for the office to locate the equipment and licenced worker.

In the meantime the Canadian crew, Chris, turned up early and I had to waste more time fetching him from the ferry and settling him into my messy boat. Tilafushi is the island where all the rubbish is sent, so suggested he stay in Male` instead, but he insisted on coming out after the first night in a hotel cost him $80. Next morning while making coffee in my expensive Italian coffee percolator, the handle broke pouring boiling coffee down my hip and right leg scalding it badly. I immediately doused it with cold water and applied a cold gel pack but it was painful. Attached a large, non-stick dressing and sticker and went to Male to look for more dressings.

Finally got the dent belted out, primed the surface and applied some filler which I bought from the workyard. Unfortunately, it set like concrete and was all but impossible to fair down nicely. So slapped on some paint with a brush, which was an ugly finish, but at least waterproof and finished. Finally got out of the yard, and smelly island and we sailed over to Hulhumale island and anchored there to pick up the other crew from the neighbouring airport island. Gavin arrived late in the evening, and we caught the 2 ferries (dhoni) over to wait for him. He seemed affable and good humoured, and I was happy to at least have my crew together now.

I now had to resume the jobs I had put off while the girls were here, and damage to hull was repaired - get the new spare cables finished and tested, have the crew replace broken lugs on the sail and rowlock grips made up on the new oars. Also go through and reorganise cupboards, check the engine, make food lists and fixing the HF radio.

This would have taken a few more days, but it was too much for the crew, who abandoned me unexpectedly, saying they were going to spend a night ashore to enjoy the island before the long trip ahead. I though it was inapproriate as we had much to do, and they didn't know the boat yet, but let them go, as I understood it was their last opportunity for a while. When I returned I realised that they'd taken all their stuff, not just a night pack. I was feeling sick with the thought they might not return and how that would seriously jeopardise my voyage I'd been planning for so long. I dealt with my anxiety by getting stuck into my boat jobs - changing the oil, removing an annoying bubble from the compass (using massage oil!) and taking some engine parts to town to get spares. Next morning my agent phoned saying my crew were at the airport, and should he send a letter to release them from the crew list. I agreed but was furious at the way they slinked off without discussing anything with me, nor even paying for their stay aboard. They had been living out of my pockets and now severely jeopardised my plan to sail to Europe. I watched their plane fly overheard and felt like I had been cheated and badly let down.

After 4 days they contacted me from Sri Lanka and asked if they could they return, if I still needed crew!
I was stuck, so agreed, and wrote a long email, questioning their motives and asking for the food/fuel funds up front. Only Chris turned up, as Gav had some kind of nervous breakdown after several days without sleep and anxiety attacks from his dilemnas over pirates and continuing on Weatherly. I met Chris back at the airport but he only had less than half the cash, promising the rest later (which he still managed to avoid prior to sailing). Gav flew home without even an email to explain, but heard his story through Chris.

We spent more than a week looking on the internet for crew and writing emails to no avail.

I fixed the radio antennae, tested the HF radio, got 2 mechanics to check the engine starting problem. The more competant one advised changing the oil to SAE 20W50, which has worked so far.

Finally just Chris and I set off across the North Indian Ocean bound for Aden.

We cleared out and I had to pay enormous government fees for all the crew changes, checking in and out of various islands and docking in the harbour for repairs. The Maldives were less than a utopic holiday for me. Still, I could be in worse places, doing worse things like - work !

However the glorious sailing on the Indian Ocean beckoned, and I was relieved for a change in scenery and situation, if still doubtful about the commitment and integrity of my crew.