We decided back in March that we would remain in Thailand for the SW monsoon season to rest, work on boat projects, and travel, which we did. Still it was a longer stay than we would have liked and we couldn't have done it without the A/C. But we needed to time our next passage with the NE Monsoon so we stayed put on the north side of Phuket Island for 10 months. Roger spent much of this time working on a plan that would get us up to the Med with a convoy and security on board at a reasonable cost. Shipping the boat by sea was way too expensive, shipping by land was wrought with problems with Saudi Arabian customs, and neither of us really wanted to sail around South Africa... notoriously and accurately called the "Cape of Storms". Our "Plan B" if we couldn't sail up through the Red Sea, was to head back around Singapore and up through the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and then Japan. We'd spend a season there and then sail to Alaska, down the west coast of the US, Mexico and then cross the South Pacific bound for New Zealand. Plan B eliminated the possibility of our completing a circumnavigation, which we'd both like to do. It also eliminated our dreams of sailing the Turkish coast for Roger, and in Greece, Malta and Italy for Sher. When it looked as if our "Head to the Med through the Red 2015" convoy wasn't coming together cost-effectively, we were faced with making a choice... South Africa, Japan, or possibly head to Singapore to find work for a year or two and fill up the cruising kitty.
We discussed the pros and cons of each option... weighing costs, timelines, highlights and lowlights of each. We just could not come to a decision. I was leaning towards heading west to complete our circumnavigation and was trying to work up a hearty enthusiasm for the lemurs of Madagascar and the elies and wildlife parks of South Africa, but Roger wasn't leaning at all... or would lean one way and then another. We missed two deadlines we set for our decision making and just when it really, REALLY came down to the wire, we had a breakthrough...
Roger found a website for an association of maritime security companies. They listed contact info and summaries for all their members (about 150 in all) and he painstakingly went through almost all (at least up to the P's or S's) and sent dozens of emails off in hopes of finding a workable solution. It paid off! We had 6 or 7 companies that were very interested in working with us, at more reasonable prices below our pain threshold. One of these turned out to be just the right solution. The company owners made a trip to Phuket to visit with us for a few days and to discuss the plans. The energy was great, the price was reasonable and the contract and details just needed to be sorted out. All of that still took another two months, but the Universe was telling us to hang in there and not give up. :) We'll be documenting our trip and post details for others who might be interested once we complete the journey and are up in the Med.
The NE monsoon this year was very late in coming. Roger was diligently watching the weather forecasts for a good window to leave Phuket and start our passage over to Sri Lanka. We had hoped to leave the Yacht Haven Marina by mid-December, but cyclones pounded through the Philippines one after another and kept the weather unsettled. WOW, are we glad we decided not to head up that way to Japan. We would have been smack in the middle of those cyclones and would have gotten hammered!
Phuket was bound and determined to hold us in its vortex, but we finally pulled ourselves out of the marina and sailed around to Ao Chalong to check out and then Nai Harn for a few last-minute tasks and provisions (Nai Harn grilled chicken... yeah baby!) We sold our A/C to a yacht spending another year in SE Asia and delivered it to them in the bay by dinghy. Then off we went, finally, destined for points west.... new cultures, new cuisine, new landscape, and who knows what else!
With Equanimity and Joy
We discussed the pros and cons of each option... weighing costs, timelines, highlights and lowlights of each. We just could not come to a decision. I was leaning towards heading west to complete our circumnavigation and was trying to work up a hearty enthusiasm for the lemurs of Madagascar and the elies and wildlife parks of South Africa, but Roger wasn't leaning at all... or would lean one way and then another. We missed two deadlines we set for our decision making and just when it really, REALLY came down to the wire, we had a breakthrough...
Roger found a website for an association of maritime security companies. They listed contact info and summaries for all their members (about 150 in all) and he painstakingly went through almost all (at least up to the P's or S's) and sent dozens of emails off in hopes of finding a workable solution. It paid off! We had 6 or 7 companies that were very interested in working with us, at more reasonable prices below our pain threshold. One of these turned out to be just the right solution. The company owners made a trip to Phuket to visit with us for a few days and to discuss the plans. The energy was great, the price was reasonable and the contract and details just needed to be sorted out. All of that still took another two months, but the Universe was telling us to hang in there and not give up. :) We'll be documenting our trip and post details for others who might be interested once we complete the journey and are up in the Med.
The NE monsoon this year was very late in coming. Roger was diligently watching the weather forecasts for a good window to leave Phuket and start our passage over to Sri Lanka. We had hoped to leave the Yacht Haven Marina by mid-December, but cyclones pounded through the Philippines one after another and kept the weather unsettled. WOW, are we glad we decided not to head up that way to Japan. We would have been smack in the middle of those cyclones and would have gotten hammered!
Phuket was bound and determined to hold us in its vortex, but we finally pulled ourselves out of the marina and sailed around to Ao Chalong to check out and then Nai Harn for a few last-minute tasks and provisions (Nai Harn grilled chicken... yeah baby!) We sold our A/C to a yacht spending another year in SE Asia and delivered it to them in the bay by dinghy. Then off we went, finally, destined for points west.... new cultures, new cuisine, new landscape, and who knows what else!
With Equanimity and Joy
