21 February 2011
We handed in the ships papers to Ramon, the WARC agent, with a view to leaving Salvador for the final time tomorrow. This saved David a morning's effort traipsing around the city to the various departments. We took a taxi to en enormous cash and carry warehouse with the intention of provisioning all the way to Grenada. For once we seemed to get more for our money but the fact that the exchange rate has improved would also have something to do with it. We enjoyed a last evening meal at an Italian restaurant in the Pelourinho district. Strolling back to the main square to hail a taxi we heard music and followed its course. It led us to a live open air concert packed with local people of all ages dancing to the music. We stayed to the end returning to the marina by taxi. It is unsafe to take the Lacerda Elevator at night. We had always heard reports of pickpockets and worse still, muggings, but were never the recipients of any such incidents. However we were very careful not to wear jewellery, carry a handbag or walk alone. Poor Leila however was not so lucky. On an early morning run her skip cap was wrested from her very head. How desperate is that?
The recent hijacking of the American yacht is at the forefront of our minds and the subject of much discussion around the boats. I have never had any doubt that it is now much too dangerous to sail in the North Indian Ocean. We recalled our own scary experience of four years ago and still feel grateful that we got away with it. The one aspect of this act of piracy that we do not understand is why the yacht chose to leave the convoy. David and I are often asked why we choose to join a rally and not sail independently. There is such safety in numbers. I feel sorry for the organisers of the Blue Water Rally for we had the most amazing two year circumnavigation with them. But I wonder what the future now holds for them.
The problem we see is now that the armed forces have officially said that they can no longer guarantee your safety even in a convoy where does that leave you with insurance cover? The coalition forces actually do not want yachts to go there. It is too bad that this situation has been allowed to fester for so long but until it is addressed we have to be very mindful of the waters in which we sail. Piracy at sea is not just solely restricted to the waters around the Gulf of Aden. You only have to look at the Noonsite website to see that there are reported incidences all around the world. With our last leg curving around the top of South America we intend to keep well off shore from the coast of Brazil.
Susan Mackay