segunda-feira, 2 de novembro de 2009

Mensagem de Yuri


Date:1st November 2009


Location:15 04.8 N, 57 35.0E

Message:Blog from Yuri Sanada (Film maker & core crew)


We are sailing for a week now, still trying to get as far east as possible, before we turn and head south. The reason is obvious if you are following our voyage around Africa, to avoid the dangerous waters around Somalia, presumably infested with pirates. Unfortunately, we are not making as much progress as we planned in the beginning. So we are taking our time, and enjoying the simple but meaningful pleasures this water world can offer to us.

First of all, we have freedom. Not the same kind of freedom you have back home of course. Our world now is limited by the area of the ship, but even with a crew of 11, everybody seems to find his own private corner when comes the need to be alone. Our freedom here is more like no appointments, no need to go to the grocery store, no phone calls, no salesman at the door (however we did encounter a medium size shark the other night), and no schedules outside our environment.

We do have obligations, but they come naturally, like keeping the boat afloat and moving towards our destination. For that, we are divided in two groups, 5 people each, and the captain, Philip, showing up every time he is needed. Our watches are 4 hours during the day, and 6 hours at night, so everybody can get a longer sleep time.

While this Phoenicia Expedition is voyage of discovery, trying to prove that the Phoenicians had technology and skills to sail around Africa, it is also a voyage of self discovery, as we are exposed to different cultures aboard.
Our group in this leg is composed of five sailors from the Royal Omani Navy, three Indonesians, and three westerners, from England, Sweden and Brazil.

The food varies each time there is a different nationality cooking, and you can, sometimes, really taste how "hot" the difference may be. Water is a major issue for us now. We are carrying three thousand litres, but we didn't calculate the need of eight Muslim crew members to wash with fresh water five times a day, before they put their rugs towards Mecca to pray. They could use up to 1/3 of our total supply just to fulfil their religious obligation. So, as good comrades, we all are adapting to this new situation, and agreed to save more water, maybe by using more seawater for cooking and washing.

The differences fall apart when we have to work together to achieve a common goal, like raising the main sail, that weights over a ton, and when we change watches, and everybody has a meal together. So we go, sailing along, being creative in the kitchen, pumping water from our bilge, adjusting the sails, and looking out trying to decide if that dot on the horizon is a star, a friendly cargo ship, or maybe a pirate vessel waiting for us.

Talking about that, it's funny the way the cargo ships seem to accelerate when they see us. I don't blame them, for a replica of a 2500 Phoenician Ship must look like a pirate ship to them.

We continue on this long leg towards Tanzania, playing pirates, and praying not to meet the real ones. Yo ho ho, a pirates life for me.






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