Jane, Suren and the two of us clambered aboard Antara on the evening of 22 Feb. The plan was to sleep on board and leave as early as we could the next morning. The sail plan was to sail out of the Male atoll, as far northeast as the wind would allow, then tack as the wind shifted eastwards to get some northing and repeat as often as required to cover the 375 odd miles to Kochi.
We had spent a few days nursing Antara and ourselves back to normalcy; us with bottles of Bundaberg Blood Orange and Americanos and Antara with fresh fuel, water and a new solar power monitor.
A chance meeting with Suren at the Captain of Ports jetty in Goa triggered his adventure gene and he decided to sail with us; even rescheduling work plans to fit our new schedule. Jane, my Clipper mate on PSP Logistics, had originally signed up for the previous year’s sail to the Maldives. She weaves her way easily through flux, certain that things will eventually turn out alright.
The weather was just right as we motored out of the Hulhumale anchorage: light winds, quiet waters and dolphins to accompany us out. We soon realised there was a strong current hugging us, so we motor sailed through the day and most of the night trying very hard to pull away from the Maldives coast.
The winds picked up the next day and we had to put 2 reefs in the main and semi furl the genoa. The night was made worse ducking a series of squalls, that we were able to avoid in the light of the full moon. So, despite the easy start, these winds blew away the crew’s chance to settle in to the sail without feeling seasick. Jane was using a patch and Suren was popping Stugeron.
Strong NE winds, straight on the nose, and a strong southwesterly current continued to head us towards the reefs of the Maldives making us zig zag our way slowly up the atolls. At this point, our attempt was to move north as quickly as we could as Windy had predicted some heavy weather off the Gulf of Mannar on Day 4 -5 of our sail.
Day 3 had us squarely in Squall Alley with us ducking 3 and getting dunked with pouring rain in 3 more squalls. Large rolling grey clouds would erase the moonlight as they steadily grouped together in unholy matrimony. Then the winds would die down, the rain would come down in a torrent and the skies would clear up immediately after. A few minutes later, the cycle would repeat itself. Jane and Dilip were soaked through by the end of their watch
Eventually, we settled into the rhythm of the sail and the crew was comfortable walking around on a home that was tilted at an angle, bobbing along on sunny waters. Appetites were back too. Suren, our surprise chef took to turning out delicious snacks pairing some typical Kannada snacks with carrots, tomatoes and lime juice. We had plenty of fruits and ready to eat meals on board, so each meal was varied and customised to individual crew cravings
On the 5th day of our sail we crossed into Indian waters. And, the engine sputtered out! Dilip toiled, literally sweating it out for the next 4 days, fixing, replacing, testing, starting and restarting the engine. But the engine would start spluttering after 10 minutes of a purring start and blank out an hour or so later.
The recently installed solar panels became our sole source of power for the service battery. We took turns helming, and switched off the auto pilot and the chart plotter, as we judiciously saved up on battery power. Two hour watches, with Jane and me doing one watch and Suren and Dilip the other, led to a sleepy, exhausted crew.
Then, we were engulfed by a gigantic wind-hole. Like a golf ball, Antara got thwacked from one windless patch to another, always scoring a hole in one! For the next 3 nights, the wind died completely and all we could do was lower the sails to stop them from thrashing about as the boat rolled. We had to resign ourselves to being tossed by the large swells that were working hand in glove with the current to pull us inexorably southwestwards. The good thing was, we all managed to catch up on our sleep.
We had periodically sent out email messages via our satellite set, but got a delivery confirmation just once. By the 9th day of our sail, we had missed our arrival deadline by 4 days. Since we were now in the 8 degree channel there was a lot of shipping traffic around us, so we switched on our VHF that morning. Serendipitously, the Coast Guard contacted us on the VHF, within minutes. Their surveillance aircraft was in our neighbourhood and checked in on us.
Dilip informed him of our engine issues and requested him to send us some wind! Next thing you know, we had a coast guard ship come charging along. In true Bollywood style, we, yes we, were approached by 5 gun toting guys in bullet proof vests and helmets riding in on a motor boat. As they approached the ship’s officer, on VHF, asked for information on the Skipper, the crew, the cargo, the issue with the engine.
Along with the cavalry they had sent across their mechanic and their chief engineer. After reviewing the situation they were of the opinion that Dilip had done everything possible to resurrect the engine and the only option now was to take Antara in to port.
Funnily though, as the coast guard ship approached us, the wind picked up and we were clipping along at 4kts in the direction of Kochi. We actually had to slow down to take the Coast Guard on board, up until they completed their inspection and departed. The winds stayed consistently high and pointed us in the right direction to Kochi through the night and the following morning. So now we had the current and the winds on our side but the engine continued to play hookey.
As we approached Kochi harbour, we saw another sail on the horizon. A lovely, if unexpected sight in Indian waters. We were delighted to find, from the AIS on the chart plotter, that it was Tarini; on her way to Mauritius with Roopa and Dilna. We sailed past each other and wished the duo a safe sail there and back.
Closing in on Kochi, we had another coastguard ship connect to ask if we needed a tow. We politely declined, even as the Skipper deployed the crew strategically to man the sails and the anchor. We coasted into the harbour channel at 5kts, with just the genoa up and managed to anchor at Dufferin Point by sunset.
An old friend and now a senior bureaucrat helped smooth the way and we completed customs and immigration in record time. We later learnt the aircraft was not a chance flyby but sent at his behest. It’s good to be home!
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