There's a heart-stopping moment when the anguished look on Alan Priddy's face says it all. An ancient crane has attempted to lift Spirit of Cardiff out of the water for her all-important 5,000 mile gearbox oil change, and one of the four rather insubstantial nylon ropes attached to her has snapped. "For a split second," he says, "I thought it was all over."
Fortunately the boat is only a couple of feet above the water when it happens, but the splash as she hits it once more is considerable. Words aren't even necessary. Had that happened above the quay, it really would have been all over.
From modern nylon we progress to ancient hemp rope, around one and a half inches thick. It holds, but not before the boat has come out of the water at a rather crazy angle, with crowds of inquisitive onlookers gathered around this unusual spectacle. Welcome to Mangalore, India.
We'd arrived in the early hours of Friday morning, after having seen virtually no ships for the last three days, and now suddenly the lights of Mangalore are spread out along the coast in front of us. Spirit of Cardiff has been throttled back for the entire passage to ensure our fuel would actually last the distance.
Having discovered we were 100 litres down on what we thought we had, we could have been in a sticky situation if we'd run out before reaching land. Fortunately our Soltron fuel additive has saved the day. We proved its worth last year crossing the Atlantic, gaining an extra 8% mileage out of our diesel. Without it this time, we would definitely still be adrift in the Indian Ocean.
Having timed in to the channel marker for Mangalore harbour, we then head out to sea for a couple of hours to wait for daybreak. The sun is just rising as we enter the harbour, numerous fishing boats heading out for sea. Mangalore is an important fishing centre.
The greeting on the quayside in old Mangalore is heart-warming, each crew member receiving a garland of flowers, a welcoming dab of vermilion on the forehead, and the wafted fumes of a burning lamp to ward off evil spirits. We're also presented with a traditional carved sandalwood box, characteristic of the area. Rather more impressive I feel than the wooden plaque and tacky mousemat with which we have been supplied to present on behalf of the people of Cardiff.
On the minus side, we find that while our engineering spares in the crate despatched from the UK have survived the journey to India all right, all of the toiletries, dried milk and food items to see us over the next few legs of the trip have been half-inched. Not much point in a customs declaration, really - but this is Asia, where this kind of petty theft is to be expected.
And so it's down to the business of maintenance and refuelling. Our hosts have got everything sorted to a "T". While Alan Priddy and Steve Lloyd attend to the essential maintenance, Alan Carter and I are whisked to the local posh hotel, where we have the use of a room to get showered, and enjoy a decent cup of tea and breakfast. All of this has come through Alan Priddy's Rotary connections, a marvellous testament to the ties of friendship in a worldwide organisation.
Another record?
Some while ago, it was reported in the marine trade press that a group of three Portuguese RIBs had had their claim for the longest unsupported ocean crossing by rigid inflatable boat accepted by the Guinness Book of Records, based on a passage undertaken last summer from Lisbon to Horta in the Azores. They were claiming 1,000 miles, although the distance point to point is actually quite a bit less.
I wrote to the Guinness Book of Records pointing out that Spirit of Cardiff's transatlantic crossing last year involved three legs, all of which were over 1,000 miles. How could they possibly accept the Portuguese claim? Strangely, they saw fit not to reply.
Well, now we've gone further than even the Transatlantic legs. Salalah to Mangalore is 1,251 nautical miles. Which means Spirit of Cardiff has made the longest ever unsupported ocean crossing for a rigid inflatable boat - unless of course someone else knows better!
Clive Tully
FACTBOX
Salalah - Mangalore
Time of leg: 3 days 13 hours 04 minutes
Distance covered: 1,251 nautical miles
Average speed: 14.7 knots
Fuel consumed: 2,418 litres
Average fuel consumption: 1.93 litres / nautical mile
Next stop: Galle, Sri Lanka
ETA: Sunday
Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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