An Indian Legend Talks of a Circumambulation

I had a mail today from Admiral Awati  gently reminding me of an Indian legend that speaks of a circumambulation. And it did come on an opportune date. Here is what he wrote.

"Shiva ( Shankar ) and Parvati ( Gauri ) have two sons, Kartikeya, the Commander in Chief  of the Heavenly Hosts and Ganapati,  popular among the commoners as the harbinger of good things. When they were young and impressionable, there was a competition between the siblings for the affection of their father. Shiva called them together and told them, proceed on a circumambulation of the earth, the one who finishes first will claim my affection. No sooner he heard this filial injunction than the energetic Kartikeya launched himself on his exertions. He came home, panting, from his exertions only to find the languid Ganapati placidly sitting with a wry smile on his face. Kartikeya was amazed to see his brother there before him. Ganapati explained that while brother Kartikeya was rushing about like someone possessed, he, Ganapati, went round their mother, Gauri. Their mother was his world,. his earth. He had, therefore, completed the circumambulation of the earth long before Kartikeya did !

That is the story. The dictum, *AASAMUDRAPARYANTA PRITHVIH, though, is the reality.The earth can be circumambulated  ( circumnavigated ) only by sea."

* Citation needed. Will be glad if anyone can provide me with further details on this. A transliteration in Devnagri will be very much appreciated

Why We Call Her What We Call Her

Someone recently posed a question, “What does the term “Mhadei” mean?”
I knew the answer but then I thought I would leave it to someone who could explain it better.
Here is what Adm Awati had to say about it, in his own words. Read on…
 

“In late 2008 as the boat was nearing completion, I looked, searched for a suitable name for her. Many names suggested themselves to me. I rejected them all as common or garden, not suitable for  a potential circumnavigator. I was looking for something really evocative. Then in August that year, as the Monsoon raged in Goa and Ratnakar busied himself painting the finished hull in the covered hangar where the boat was under construction, I was invited to Goa by my friend, Professor Pratima Kamat, who heads the department of history at the University of Goa. She had just then completed a book on the Kadamba rule in Gomantak, a thousand years earlier. She took me to theSattari region of Goa at the base of the Ghats in adjoining Karnataka where the Mandovi has her source. The infant stream descends into the Goa plains where the locals worship the river goddess. Here there are numerous temples to the goddess built out of the local black, basalt rock. In those temples there is that icon of the river goddess, also carved out of volcanic basalt, sitting cross legged in a boat which is carved in great detail, showing mast and sails, crew and sukkani with the disha-kak, the land finding birds, caged at the top of the mast ( hence the term crow's nest ), ready to be released on the approach of land. ' Admiral `, says, Pratima to me, ' here is Mhadei, the river goddess,the patron deity of the locals. Interestingly a similar cult of the river goddess exists at the other end of the country, in Odhisha `. I knew at once that my search for a name for our circumnavigator boat was at an end. She would be named MHADEI ! I told Dilip and Ratnakar of my decision and thanked Pratima for guiding me to her, here in Sattari.
Incidentally, the infant Mandovi, too is here called Mhadei. Her festival lasts ten days, annually, during the Navaratri, ends on the tenth day, Dashahara, Dassera in the common language. That is the story behind the name of the Indian circumnavigator boat built by Ratnakar Dandekar at his small, unassuming boat yard on the island of Divadi on the Mandovi river, off Goa Velha”

Want more? View this ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTx9ilU4Y5c&feature=youtube_gdata

The Courses Offshore- Explained

“What route would you be following?” is one of the most often asked questions and ideally I should have it included in the FAQs. But there was so much of writing to be done that I thought it needed an entire post to itself.
Whenever I have provided an explanation to the route most of the responses I got went something like this:-
- you don’t seem to be touching all the oceans
- but you are not going anywhere along the northern hemisphere
- you  are just going around the Antarctic and that looks like a very quick way of circumnavigating
Let me explain.
Circumnavigation of the globe simply means to go around the globe. Since this one is under sail, I am not allowed to use engine except in case of emergency. The canals are, therefore, out. So is the northern hemisphere because it is landlocked, in a manner of speaking.
In the south though, there is a continuous linkage between the oceans, which is navigable round the year. Due to its being unprotected, the sea continuously builds up and has given rise to the famous sailor’s adage- there are no rules south of 40 S, no laws south of 50 S and no god south of 60 S.
Sailors have generally agreed set of rules for a nautical circumnavigation. To paraphrase some of the important points include:-
- Start and finish in the same port
- Cross all longitudes in the same direction
- No use of propulsion other than wind and sea
- Cover a distance equal to 21600 miles (length of the Equator)
- Take no assistance enroute (sea can be harvested though)
- Cross the equator twice
- Start from a point no further south of 40 deg S lat
- Sail south of all the Great Capes: Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope

That doesn’t leave me with much choice and automatically excludes a lot of possible (and easy) routes, chief among them being a circumnavigation along the equator and through canals.
Possibly the only choice I have is to head East or West once I am out of doldrums. That isn’t really a choice if you were familiar with the weather systems in that area.

What Could be Worse than a Storm and Why SBI Might Never Sponsor Me

Curious? Read on…

Men’s Health

Men’s Health finally ran a four page article that came out of the voyage that Bobby John Varkey did with us on our way to participate in the President’s Fleet Review last December. Along with him was his photographer Vivek Singh.

 

 

 

Some FAQs Seriously Answered

I have been asked many questions about the voyage and I have been hearing the same ones ever since Cdr Donde began his. I can make out a lack of awareness of the oceans but it is more than compensated by the inquisitiveness of our people. Here goes…

 

Q- Are you doing this solo alone?

A- Yes. (I am not sure if it is so that people do not get the “solo” part or if they cannot bring themselves to believe that it is going to be a solo)

 

Q- How many people are going with you in the boat?

A- That depends on the skipper. Cdr Donde liked to believe that there were three people in the boat (I, me, myself). I will be going alone though.

 

Q- How much money are you carrying with you for the voyage?

A- We have an ATM onboard. Seriously? When am I going to need money in the middle of the sea?

 

Q- How will you carry food for the voyage?

A- Food preservation technology has progressed considerably since the first circumnavigation by Joshua Slocum. I will be carrying a mix of fresh food (which will last for about a month), tinned food and ready to eat food (which will last about six months) and freeze dry food (which can last upto 5 years). There is no refrigeration onboard due to electricity issues. And then is rice and dal and dry fish and pickles and all that which can almost last indefinitely.

The planning is for half a kilo of food a day which makes it 100 kilos for 200 days and we have more than enough space in the boat for that.

 

Q- How do you cook?

A- We have cooking gas onboard. Two gas cylinders are more than enough for a circumnavigation. In case that doesn't work, I will use the engine to heat water.

 

Q- What is the easiest dish to cook?

A- Boiled potatoes in sea water. Its simple. Try it. Remember not to add salt.

 

Q- What is comfort food?

A- Popcorn

 

Q- What about water?

A- Water will be carried in tanks (600 litres) and about 200 bottles of fresh water (my consumption on an average is 1 litre per day). In addition we have an RO plan that converts sea water into fresh water. Other than cooking and drinking, all water requirements will be met with sea water. That includes bathing, brushing, doing the dishes, washing clothes etc.

 

Q- How do  you wash clothes?

A- Soak in sea water and detergent for a day. Tie the clothes to the end of a line and stream it behind the boat. Sail fast. Its a natural washing machine

 

Q- Are you scared?

A- For whatever reason, the answer is a “No”. And I don’t know why. I am looking forward to the voyage. What bothers me is what will I do when I get back.

 

Q- How do you mentally prepare yourself?

A- I meditate everyday. That helps. Besides, I have faith in the boat. So that is a lot of strain taken off your mind.

 

Q- Why do you need electricity? How do you generate electricity?

A- We need electricity for running the navigation and communications equipment onboard. Electricity is generated through the main engine (very rarely because it is least efficient for generating electricity), a 3.5KVA generator, solar panels and wind generator. These sources charge the service battery bank which comprises 4 Northstar batteries.

 

Q- How fuel efficient is the boat?

A- It is as green as it can get. We did a voyage from Thailand to Kochi and the fuel consumption was only 30litres. Ironically, when I reached Kochi there was a statewide shut down protesting hike in fuel prices. The boat is currently set up so that it can be at sea for 600 days or more without touching port. Of course it is a theoretical figure and we consider that all equipment keeps working as good as new.

 

Q- How do you arrive at the date of departure?

A- We aim to follow the sun, spending all the southern hemisphere legs in southern summers. Therefore, a November departure appears to be the best, to make good Horn by Jan and Indian Ocean by April.

 

Q- How much is the project going to cost?

A- I am not in a position to comment on the exact figures but we are trying to keep it as low as possible. From the time she has been conceived, all projects pertaining to the boat has been completed well within budget.

 

Q- How insane is it?

A- To quote Yossarian’s doctor, its more insane on land.

 

Q- What is the point you are trying to prove by doing this?

A- “To be secure on land, we must be supreme at sea,”- Jawaharlal Nehru.

The project aims to draw the attention of our people to the oceans and encourage our youth to look oceanward for inspiration.

70 days to go

When I mentioned to a friend that I would be departing on a solo circumnavigation of the globe in 70 days, her question was, “Is it business or pleasure?”

I am not sure if she really got the point.

Preparations for the project are coming along well though. The contract was offloaded to the firm that built her, Aquarius Fiberglas, putting her in a very safe pair of hands. That has also taken my mind off a lot of matter that might have nagged me forever.

When the core team began drawing plans for boat preparation, the idea was to have as many backs ups as possible without affecting the sailing ability of the boat. Consequently, we have a whole lot of new equipment and spares coming into the boat- new set of solar panels, a wind generator, a new diesel generator, new pumps, inverter, battery charger, steering gear, wind vane autopilot sensors etc. With data from the last voyage from Phuket to Kochi I can safely assume that she can  stay out at sea for about 600 days before touching any port- that is the kind of endurance that has been built into her provided nothing breaks.

While the boat’s preparation goes on at her usual mooring, we had a progress meeting at Delhi and it is heartening to note that things are going well and as per schedule. Plans for installing a system of some very expensive cameras went through a rough patch of weather and had to be scuttled. Nevertheless, like a true Naval officer, there is a plan B and I am in no mood to disappoint people back home by returning empty handed in that department.

Delhi was an opportune time for the defence PRO to catch hold of the “master and his prodigy” (as one news channel put it) and expose us to the media. His plan seems to have worked out well and in that department the project is in safe hands. Consequently, we established this blog as the official blog for the project (this was a private blog earlier) and www.facebook.com/www.mhadei.co.in as the Facebook page.

I got back to living in the boat now. The hammock is well pretty well set between the galley and skipper’s bunk. Work goes on by day but it is very pleasant in the evenings- a time that I keep to gather my thoughts and spend time in the company of books.

Rounding Cabo Raj Nivas

The long awaited halt in kochi was well worth it. I finally managed to call on the C in C and meet Cmde G P. The press too gave us enough coverage.

There was still time to get used to land before we cast off again. Sleep pattern was almost non existent as were a whole lot of other body cycles. Yet five days were long enough to count for a halt and I was in a hurry to get back to Goa- not for fear of monsoons but the surf and rollers at the mouth of Aguada Bay that worsens from Jun onwards. I have twice entered the channel in two successive monsoons, first out of ignorance and then a second time out of lack of choices. Believe me when I say that it turned out to be a whole lot more exiting than rounding the Cape of Good Hope twice under sail - a perfect reason to break even an unbreakable boat.

That said, I decided to cast off by the 30th of May. Under the influence of the prevailing high in the Arabian Sea, weather predictions began with twenty knots of head winds for the first day trailing off to a ten knot breeze before becoming almost non existent on the third day. So it was to be a lot of slam bang followed by a lot of motoring..and no down wind sailing at all.

The cast off was at 10 in the morning. We were seen off by the officer in charge of the Seamanship School, my father who had come to drop me off and four sailors who had been assigned for unmooring us. Our driver too stayed back out of curiosity.

As soon as we left the channel we got the main up on two reefs (I could not repair the torn sail) and set on a west south westerly course to gain distance from shore in a squall that discharged gale force winds. It showed that the crew had not had enough rest for they soon showed signs of sea sickness. With one man less and despite their condition, they still decided to keep watches on their own keeping me out of the roster.

Things had calmed by the night of the second day when we crossed Mt Dilli after two attempts. One of the crew was still on shaky legs. The rest of the voyage was sailed on motor and sail and then on motor alone. It was my intention to enter Goa on the same day as I had entered last year after a solo passage non stop  from Cape Town.

We were alongside by 1630 hrs yesterday on the jetty by the river and were received by the Commanding Officer of INS Mandovi, Capt Bapna and his staff and a horde of journalists.

Unplugged and Recharging

Unplugged and Recharging
------------------------------

Ever since our arrival at Kochi on the 24th after the 18 day voyage from Phuket, that is what we have been doing- unplugged and recharging.

We cast off from Phuket on the 7th of May after a fruitful short stop. The engine's fuel leak was fixed well, and so were some other minor defects. The crew too rested thanks to the comfortable arrangements made by the Indian Mission. One of the days I called on the local naval head, pictures of which promptly appeared in Thai Blogs.

By the time we cast off, it was time for monsoon wind pattern to set in in south Bay of Bengal and wind predictions confirmed head winds right up to Dondra Head. My plan was to sail as far south as possible, perhaps to 3-4deg North Latitude looking for wind shift and then track a straight course to Dondra Head. But as luck would have it, predictions showed an increasingly disappearing wind shift and I abandoned the idea soon after crossing the 6 degree channel. Instead we decided to stick to a direct course taking each wind shift as it came. To sail conservative was priority.


I don't think we could have sailed better in those conditions which varied from moderate to rough. There were gale force winds for almost 30 percent of the time which the boat took in its characteristic stride. Despite the fact that it was their first offshore sailing experience, the crew took it well without displaying any outward signs of sickness.


But it was not just the weather that kept us on our toes. I have heard of pilots calculating fuel in liters and filling in pounds. We had a similar situation with bottled water on board. With two contaminated tanks and an RO plant that refused to start, we were pushed to rationing. But then by the third day the crew was already  meeting most of their requirements with water drawn from sea and the inconvenience was much less that what it could have been. Fortunately, after a lot of coaxing, the water maker worked and things looked much better. The RO plants manual, which seems to be a literal translation from Italian, was cause of enough humour which more than mitigated the frustration that accompanied.


South of the Nicobar Islands, an old friend came calling in his brand new command and it was catch up time. He wished us well before sailing away.


Our westward progress finally got us on the east coast of Sri Lanka and we were shaping a southward course when the toilet pump decided to act up. It was a shitty affair but within a couple of hours it was repaired and functioning better than before.

We rounded Dondra Head after two attempts sighting it at a distance of 5 miles and were hoping to clear Cape Comorin on the same tack. But then they say, boats have minds of their own. Like our return passage from Colombo in 2009 with Cdr Donde at the helm, she decided to have a dekko at the Cape and we had no choice but to conform to her plans. Rounding the Cape took another couple of attempts and in the strong norther westerly breeze we tore our main sail between the first and second reef. Now, I do sail conservatively and there was nothing wrong with the sail configuration, but then this particular main is more than 27000 miles old and it has has its fair share of the southern oceans. We took another reef and continued our passage at reduced speeds.

By the 23rd, winds had eased and by evening I had to take a call on  motoring the remaining hundred odd miles to Kochi. This was the first time in this voyage that I motored. If the last bit was excluded, we had consumed only 30 litres of diesel for a voyage of more than 2000 miles- a fact that I forgot to recount to the reporters that had gathered on our arrival (price hike of petrol had become a raging issue and various political organisations had called for a strike on the day of our arrival). Like the previous halt, Cdr Francis seemed to have worked overtime in ensuring we had a more than fare share of coverage.


We were progressing well with our rest and repairs when one of my crew received news that required his immediate presence at home. Though it was sad to see him go, we quickly made arrangements for him to depart. I  heard things have been improving for him and I wish him well. He could not have performed better for a first timer and I do hope the 20 odd days he has spent on the boat will hold in good stead for the rest of his naval career and life afterwards.

Tomorrow we will head out, as usual, into head winds. I hope to make it to Goa in time and secure the boat for another round of refits. We have achieved what we wanted from this halt- to unplug and recharge!

Thank you all for keeping company.

Langkawi and Phuket

It is the time to sail again. Tomorrow we will begin our next passage and there will be nothing in the ocean to tell us which era we are sailing in.
After the brief stay in Langkawi and a change of crew we sailed out on the 29th of Apr heading out to a destination where we should have stopped first. But bureaucracy being what it is the ports and timings assembled in a manner that would make sense to bureaucratic logic but would not appeal to the reason of a sailor.
We headed into the night and squally weather which dispersed 20 knot winds. The boat heeled, first on starboard tack and then on port,  and as the wind died the following day she sauntered a slow passage to Phuket. We passed magnificent phallic rock crops enroute and never left sight of shore to the east.
By 0100 on 01 May we were knocking on the gates of Phuket. I had planned to arrive early so that i could kick start work on the same day and make best use of the short stop. But there was a minor glitch- I had not accounted for the fact that it was May Day. We delayed arrival to later in the day and were greeted by the DA, the agent and a beaming shore support who had already spent a couple of days preparing Phuket for out arrival.
Ottavio threw in a surprise with his wife and k1ds  visit the day we arrived. He is here for his Yatchmasters certification. To quote his wife, it was an "emotional experience ".
Work began in earnest soon enough though. The leak in the engine fuel pump and spurious alarms were looked into by the local Volvo Engineers. Muzza of Canvas Creations redid our rope bags and the stack pack while Rolly Tasker mended the A4.
The support crew did well to absent themselves from the boat for all but one day, which too was a glancing visit. I am glad the Mhadei has a high freeboard and all but the most determined make their way into her.
It has been more than a year since I took over as the skipper and did the treacherous South Atlantic crossing where we faced headwinds for the first 15 days. I had sworn then never to plan a sail into head winds but as luck would have it I am staring at another passage of 1500 miles bang into the South Westerlies that have already set it. As per the proposed plan we should have completed the voyage two months ago when the north easterlies were still blowing. Remind me not to accede to such plans ever.