Translated to English by :Lajos Károlyi
I’m writing this part of my ship log in the harbor of Oman. It is night and dirty fishing boats, trashcans and a bunch of mosquitoes surrounds me.
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I’m still at Sri Lanka and getting ready to continue sailing.
02.09.2009 (day 870)
The biggest problem around here is heroin. The reason is that it is very cheap (2 USD). A pack of cigarettes is sold for 3 USD, which is very expensive. In Indonesia the price was 50 cents. The reason is that the government puts a large tax on it. It is expensive! (I don’t smoke.) I went to the city in the morning and looked up the coming weather and I even talked it over with my dad. I won’t have too much wind. Later I purchased food for the road. I pack everything together and waiting for the motor service but nobody comes!! Near where Carina is anchors a big Russian ship and a few ”engineers” come over to look over my engine instead. The problem is that seawater got into the motor block. There is possibly a crack somewhere. The repair would cost a lot. So I won’t have it done. I leave things as they are and go! In the evening the captain and the cook of the Codene (NZ registered motor driven super yacht) came over and brought some good stuff for the road. Thank You!
Later Heru from the harbor police gave me a gift of papaya for the road. Thank You! In the evening I was chewing tobacco with David but somehow this did not click, then later watched navy movies in the office of the police station.
Sri Lanka – Maldives, Uligamu
(450 nautical miles, 7 days)
The south westerly current (sometimes southerly) pushes me with 0.5-0.6 knots
Wind: in a month for about 8-9 days there is no wind. 15 knots N, 43%; 10 knots NE 35%, 10 knots E 10%. A normal yacht will cover this distance in 3-4 days using the engine. CARINA needs a whole week using the engine.
Ihavandhippolhu Atoll or by an other name Haa Alifu Atoll, is one of the most northerly Atoll among the Maldives Islands. Uligamu is situated on the northern part. Upon arrival the Custom Service must be called on VHF radio, (channel 16). Anchorage fee is 5 USD and it does not matter how long you stay. But if a yacht stays more than 3 days the owner has to hire an agent and that cost an extra 20 USD.
Uligamu inbound: WP1(07-04,32N; 072-56,27E); WP2(07-04,75N; 072-55,02E)
Uligamu outbound: WP1(07-05,1N; 072-52,6E); WP2(07-05,8N; 072-51,9E)
02-10-2009 (871. nap)
Hero invited me for breakfast in his cabin. He gave me rolls, bananas and soap as gifts. Thanks you! Ari who is an Indonesian cleaning person on a super yacht, also gave me gifts like sweets, creams and religious things.. Thank you!
A Dutch couple from S/Y Cloud Two also gave me gifts for the road (food and beer). Thank You.
Then I went to buy a few things in the market:
5 loaves of bread, sweet bread and biscuit (300 rupees).
Pineapples and oranges (400 rupees). These are the cheapest fruits around here.
Vegetables and interesting local sweets. (200 rupees).
In the bank I changed the remaining rupees for US dollars. Only about 35 left.
I had lunch in the harbor cafe. The menu was rice and curry. I checked out at the harbor office. That took 1 hour. Then one more hour to wait for the Navy to give permission to go. Finally it was early afternoon by the time I was moving. I dropped anchor in the bay in order to clean the bottom of the boat. They did not give me permission to do that in the harbor. It took me 2 hours hard work. While I was doing that the German sail boat Atair arrived. I knew them. We met a number of times since I left Fiji and Jan helped me a lot. We said a short hi to each other. The Atair’s sailing time from Phuket to here was 8 days. For an average boat it is 8 days for me it is 12 days.
16:00: Start engine. On channel 16 I said goodbye to ‘Port Control’ – I know him. We met a number of times and talked about radio communication (HF) and he even helped me pass a VHF radio test.
First the wind is weak and blows from the west so I have to run the engine. I have to put some distance from Sri Lanka to be able to pick up some normal wind.
1005mbar; 35 deg.;
Later the wind becomes Northerly with Bf. 3 knots. This is my sailing speed until the morning comes.
Supper: rice and curry (take out for 40 rupees). At night the ship traffic is heavy. Every 30 minutes I’m up and checking the traffic. I’m 15 miles away from the shipping rout and getting farther and farther away from it.
02-11-2009 (day 872)
1008 mbar; 32 deg.; Bf. 3 NE; I’m sailing in 3/4 wind. Speed 3 knots. I still see big ships nearby and also far away.
Breakfast: sweet bread and while I’m eating dolphins keep me company.
During the morning hours I kept steering. The wind calmed to bf. 2. This could be due to India’s shoreline.
Lunch: scrambled egg and bread.
Big ships are coming and going so have to be careful. I can’t understand it. The shipping route is north of me.
13:30 UTC: radio time on 14.293 MHz. POS (06-06N; 078-36E). I am 343 nautical miles from Uligamu.
HA5CAR, Karesz, Budapest, (5;0)
HA5HS, Rudi, Hungary (5,6)
HA3MQ, Feri, (5,7)
Expected wind: 10 knots from E – NE.
Supper: noodles and dried fish.
At night the wind calmed and changed direction to NW. Ships are nearby so I often get up to check on the night traffic. These ships go across the 8th or 9th north latitude, which is north of Maldives.
02-12-2009 (day 873)
1010 mbar; 32 deg.; Bf.1 NW; motor on, (I’m low on fuel and would like to lift the motor out); Map: 708.
Breakfast: left over from supper.
During the morning hours I was reading. The Sun is hot and a flying fish flew above me. There are no big ships around; I wash the boat with seawater and a brush.
Lunch: bread with jam and mango drink.
Battery voltage: 12.94 V. The solar panel works well! The only electrical current consumed here is the autopilot and the LED light at night up on the top of the mast.
I read in the afternoon and my speed is 2 knots. Direction 240.
13:30 UTC: I turn on the radio. Frequency is 14.293 MHz, and 14295 MHz.
POS (06-02N; 77-37E), distance: 287 NM.; I’m doing 56 nautical miles/day;HA5CAR; HA5HS; Weather:10-11-13-knots from 340-350 in the next few days.
I am below Cape Cohorin, which is India’s southern most distant point.
The night was quiet; did not sight any big ships. The wind direction is variable.
02-13-2009 (day 874.)
There is only one caste - The Caste of Humanity
There is only one language - The Language of Heart
There is only one religion - The Religion of Love (Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
1010mbar; 32 deg.; Bf.1-2 NW; I’m doing 2 knots to 270.
Breakfast: vitamin C, bread with jam, chocolate and banana.
In the morning I read a book about Sri Sathya Sai Baba and later I adjust the sails. It is important when the wind is weak and variable.
I try to fish, but I’m too slow and so I’m not catching anything.
Lunch: kerupuk crackers (Indonesian food) and chocolate.
Afternoon: Repairing my sleeping bag. It is full of tears inside and out. Constantly have to sew it just like the sail. This one is used constantly for about 2.5 years now. It is 10 years old but I like it so I sew it.
I still have tomatoes from Thailand. They are 1 month old and still edible! The onions and potatoes are still good to eat. I keep them in cool and shady places and I keep checking them in 3 to 4 day intervals.
I’m reading again. A big ship passed by about 2 nautical miles from me, then one more. Looks like I got near to their rout again.
I turn on the radio at 13:30UTC. Frequency: 14,293MHz; POS (05-40N; 076-42E). In the last 24 hours I sailed 46 NM and in good direction. The reason is a weak head wind. I’m 241 NM away from my destination. Right now I’m doing 3 knots and the course is 270.
Radio communication with HA5CAR (5,5); HA5HA(5,7); HA3MQ(5,5). ’ There is snow on the banks of Tisza (a river in Hungary).
Weather information: N-NW 10-11-12 knots wind in the next 4 days and after that an other 4 days of N-NW wind. RTL would like to interview me about the Maldives. I have to look for a telephone if I get there. (My cell phone does not work there.)
Supper: bread with jam.
The night was calm.
02-14-2009 (day 875.)
1012mbar, 32-35 deg., Bf.2 NW; I’m sailing westward with 2-3 knots. The Sun is burning me.
Breakfast: Promite paste on kenyérrel and vitamin C.
I’m fishing all the time but no fish. Last night I had a bite but I lost it.
Morning hours:
- Put things in order. Sleeping bag repair.
- Cleaned the spark plugs.
- Battery voltage: 12,74V
After all these I started reading.
Lunch: rice, moong, dried fish, ’maldives fish baduma’ (small and hot fish pieces a la Sri Lanka), onion and garlic.
In the afternoon I started to read the Red Sea Pilot. Basically I sail with a set rudder. I can do that because CARINA can keep her course well in quarter wind (long keel). The autopilot uses electricity, which is in short supply on a ship.
I sometimes do relaxation exercises instead of meditation.
I’m sailing with 3 knots on a course of 270.
13:30 UTC: radio on. Frequency: 14.293 MHz. POS (05-53N; 075-18E),
I’m 158 NM away from my destination and I sailed 83 nautical miles in the last 24 hours.
HA5CAR; HA5HS; weather information: 13-10 knots; wind direction N-NW-NE.
Dinner: leftover from lunch, banana, mango drink.
The night was calm.
02-15-2009 (day 876.)
1010mbar, 32-34 deg., Bf.1-2 N-NW; 2-3 knots. Course:280. I should sail more to the north, but because of the NW wind I cannot,
Map: 709; Lakshadweep Sea (at the moment I’m here).
Breakfast: vitamin C, bread with jam, banana, orange. The fruits are beginning to rot and the bread becomes moldy, but this does not bother me.
I check my remaining fuel. I have about 70 liters, which is enough for about 700 nautical miles – maybe more.
Later in the morning:
- Rearranged my shelf.
- Checked my food stock.
- Took pictures and videos.
Sunday lunch: ’shrimp crackers’ done in oil (Indonesian style); soup (from Hungarian soup stock), fish stew from dried fish, moldy bread (dried out in the sun. This way it is not dangerous, just have a little color.
In the afternoon I sew my sleeping bag, then read and just took it easy.
13:30UTC: turn on the radio to 14,293MHz. POS(06-05N; 074-13E). I sailed 61 nautical miles in the last 24 hours. I have 97 NM to go. On the radio I talked to: HA5CAR; HA5HS; HA7RW Laci’s transmission was weak, but it was Q5. Alternate time for communication is 14:30UTC. Upcoming weather for the next few days: 5-7-10 knots N-NE.
Supper: left over from lunch and chocolate.
The night was calm and I caught a barracuda!
Due to the constant NW wind and the W-SW current I wound up quite a bit to south, so during the night I motor sailed towards N for a few hours.
02-16-2009 (day 877.)
1009 mbar; 35 deg.; Bf.1 N; course is 290-300 and the speed 1-2knots.
Breakfast: vitamin C, soup a la Indonesia (two types of noodles, dry fish and special spices) and moldy bread.
I checked the water leakage in the bottom and got rid of about 10 l. of seawater.
For a short time a few dolphins followed me, then they overtook me fast and left me behind.
Lunch: roasted barracuda, shrimp crackers roasted in oil, moldy bread, and chocolate.
In the afternoon when the wind stopped I turned on the motor. I would like to arrive to my destination by tomorrow.
Battery voltage: 13,04V
I repacked things in order to find places for everything in a small boat that is important!
Later I read. The lower edge of the radar reflector broke. It will not fall off but it is quite loose. When I get to Maldives I have to fix it.
Later I caught again a small barracuda. This became my supper with the left over moldy bread.
13:30UTC radio time on 14,293MHz. POS (06-48N; 073-43E). I talked to: HA5CAR; HA5HS(5,9).
I traveled 48 nautical miles in 24 hours and only 24 nautical miles left to go.
Weather forecast: wind 10 knots and N-NE.
The night was calm and I was sailing. At dawn I started the motor; I would like to arrive sometimes in the morning.
02-17-2009 (day 878.)
1010mbar; 34-36 deg.; Bf.1 NE.
Early in the morning I started to see the first group of the Maldives Atolls. It took me eight days, Hurrah!
Breakfast: leftover from supper.
13 LT: I have arrived. I tied up at the buoy. POS (07-04,707N; 072-55,276E)
I talk for a short time to Boo a Danish acquaintance of mine. They already have spent a week here and they are very reluctant to leave. Then there is this Australian couple whom I have met in Thailand and Sri Lanka.
I call the Coast Guard on VHF (channel 16) and give them the ship’s data. They promised to come out with their motor launch. I’m waiting and it is hot so I jump in the water! While I admire the fish and the corals they arrive with their motorboat. Being in the water is against the rule, but they just smile. I’m not supposed to leave the boat. So I get back to CARINA, put some clothes on and give them the papers (they need 5 copies of the ’crew list’! Go figure!). This is what those bureaucrats like. We go on shore to the office. They did not want to board my boat, yet they board all the other boats. That’s the rule. They have heard about me and ask questions about my adventurous life, my style of sailing and so on, but after 5 minutes their attention turn to the Thailand girls:-)
The anchorage fee is 5 USD, which I have to pay at the Island Office. Here I pleasantly chatted with the village chief and the office workers. This island is very small. It took me 1 or 2 hours to see it all. On the wall of the city hall there is a big map but it is really not necessary. Around the main road are the houses with 467 people. There is a small shopping place, a small hospital, and a school, a Muslim prayer house, soccer field, a generator house with wind generators, a harbor under construction, an emerging resort (no comment) and a small forest of palm trees. Basically the whole island is like a big beach.
Hassan of Sailor’s Choice, AMSCO agency.
This is an excellent place. I talked to the locals on the beach. Everybody speaks English. No stress!
In the afternoon I went over to Boo’s ship, the Njord where they were putting together a small party for the local village friends. Only talk and such.
I saw a Russian rubber catamaran. She is sailing on the Indian Ocean with 2 Russians.
13:30 UTC. Radio frequency:14,293MHz -> 14.290 MHz. Talked to: HA5CAR, HA5HS.
Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the probable wind will be 5-10 knots NE-E. Tomorrow I’m leaving again. Do not have time to linger because the NE monsoon will not stay forever!
Island regulation:
1. Between 1800-0600 the anchor-light must be on.
2. The locals have to have permission from the custom office to step on the deck of a ship and cannot conduct business with them.
3. Cannot stay on shore between 2200-0600.
4. One cannot make extensive repairs.
5. Must have a custom permit in order to give gifts to locals.
6. Alcohol cannot be taken to shore or given to local people (this place is an Islamic country)
7. Normal attire is required.
8. A day before departure I have to inform the Coast Guard
If a yacht wants to visit an other island then an Inter Atoll Traveling Permit is necessary and the representative obtains it.
After three day stay one must hire a representative it costs 20 USD.
Maldives)
The Maldives, Maldives Islands, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago, and about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, of which two hundred and fifty islands are inhabited. The inhabitants were Buddhist, probably since Ashoka's period in the 3rd century BC and possibly Hindu before that. Islam was introduced in 1153. The Maldív then came under the influence of the Portuguese (1558) and the Dutch (1654) sea borne empires. In 1887 it became a British protectorate. In 1965, the Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldives Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of both population and area; it is the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. With two meters from sea level, it is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world.
Geography
Area: 298 sq. km. (115 sq. mi.), over 1,200 isl
and twice the size of Washington, DC.
Cities: Capital--Male (pop. 62,000).
Terrain: Flat islands.
Climate: Hot and humid.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Maldivian(s).
Population: 245,000.
Population growth rate: 3.3%.
Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, and Arabs.
Religion: Sunni Islam.
Languages: Dhivehi (official); many government officials speak English.
Health: Infant mortality rate--55/1000. Life expectancy--62 yrs.
Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 26, 1965 (formerly a British protectorate).
Constitution: November 11,
1968.
Branches: Executive--president, cabinet. Legislative--unicameral Majlis
(parliament). Judicial--High Court, eight lower courts, 19 atoll courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 atolls and capital city.
Political parties: None.
Suffrage: Universal at age 21.
Historical and Cultural Highlights
Maldives comprises some 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean. The earliest settlers were probably from southern India, and Indo-European speakers followed them from Sri Lanka in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. In the 12th century AD, sailors from East Africa and Arab countries came to the islands. Today, the Moldavian ethnic identity is a blend of these cultures, reinforced by religion and language.
Originally Buddhists, Maldavians were converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-12th century. Islam is the official religion of nearly the entire population. Strict adherence to Islamic precepts and close community relationships has helped keep crime under control.
The official and common language is Dhivehi, an Indo-European language related to Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka. The writing system, like Arabic, is from right to left, although alphabets are different. English is used widely in commerce and increasingly as the medium of instruction in government schools.
Some social stratification exits on the islands. It is not rigid, since rank is based on varied factors, including occupation, wealth, Islamic virtue, and family ties. Members of the social elite are concentrated in Male.
The early history of the Maldives is obscure. According to Maldivian legend, a Sinhalese prince named Koimale was stranded with his bride--daughter of the king of Sri Lanka--in a Maldivian lagoon and stayed on to rule as the first sultan.
Over the centuries, the islands have been visited and their development influenced by sailors from countries on the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean littorals. Mopla pirates from the Malabar Coast--present-day Kerala state in India--harassed the islands. In the 16th century, the Portuguese subjugated and ruled the islands for 15 years (1558-73) before being driven away by the warrior-patriot Muhammad Thakurufar Al-Azam.
Although governed as an independent Islamic sultanate for most of its history from 1153 to 1968, Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887 until July 25, 1965. In 1953, there was a brief, abortive attempt at a republican form of government, after which the sultanate was reimposed.
Following independence from Britain in
1965, the sultanate continued to operate for another three years. On November 11, 1968, it was abolished and replaced by a
republic, and the country assumed its present name.
ECONOMY
The Maldivian economy is predominantly based on tourism and fishing. Of Maldives' 1,200 islands, only 198 are inhabited. The population is scattered throughout the country, and the greatest concentration is on the capital island, Male. Limitations on potable water and arable land constrain expansion.
Development has been centered upon the tourism industry and its complementary service sectors, transport, distribution, real estate, construction, and government. Taxes on the tourist industry have been plowed into infrastructure and also used to improve technology in the agricultural sector.
Environmental Concerns
There is growing concern about coral reef and marine life damage because of coral mining (used for building and jewelry making), sand dredging, and solid waste pollution. Mining of sand and coral have removed the natural coral reef that protected several important islands, making them highly susceptible to the erosive effects of the sea.
In April 1987, high tides swept over the Maldives, inundating much of Male and nearby islands. That event prompted high-level Maldivian interest in global climatic changes, including the "greenhouse effect."
Links:
http://www.maldivesinfo.gov.mv
http://www.maldives-ethnography.com/
http://www.maldivesculture.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3930765.stm
http://wikitravel.org/en/Maldives
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Maldives