Mokisha

As I said in the India blog, we are now back in Big Sur. We arrived in the U.S. in Dec., leaving Mokisha in her ‘’hole’’ in Fiji. Since we’ve been home I feel like we are in a time machine. It was just Dec. & I blinked.....now it’s almost the end of Feb.! Our ticket for returning to Fiji was March 8th. Neither of us was feeling like our time home was long enough. After much discussion, we’ve decided to stay in the U.S. this year and skip the sailing season. We will however, return to Fiji sometime in July to do some boat projects and check on the boat. Fiji is one of the few countries where we can leave the boat there for 18 months. Since we just sailed to Wallis & re-set our clock, we would be allowed to keep Mokisha in Fiji until next April. Perfect as we’ll return in March to get the boat ready to head west. Which brings me to another subject.....piracy.
The recent events of the Somali pirates killing four Americans onboard their yacht, Quest has stunned and devastated us. Even days later, tears bubble near the top of my emotions each time I think about them. I wonder about their last moments and try to put myself in their positions. We met Jean & Scott in Fiji. They were very nice people. While the media focused on them handing out bibles while they sailed around the world, the big picture was much larger than that. They had left India, headed for Oman, typically a safe route for yachts. They had been with the Blue Water Rally & some 30+ other boats. We don’t know why they split off from the rally & took off on their own. When the pirates hijacked the yacht, they were 3-4 days away from Somalia. I read the comments people made on the internet. Many of them were vile, vicious, inhuman and downright nasty. I also realized many people don’t know that when you sail, it is west with the current, wind and waves. Going east is typically not an option unless you are into torture or insane! In any event, once you reach a certain point, you have to continue westward & eventually pass thru the waters where pirates now lurk. There’s two ways to pass into the Med, is up the Sea of Aden to the Suez Canal or around Cape Horn. Both of these routes are now frequented by pirates and are dangerous. For those of us who have a dream to sail around the world & experience other cultures, this is a serious blow to our plans. Make no mistake that cruisers take piracy very seriously. It is a frequent topic of discussion at happy hour & dinners. I want everyone to know that we are & will be very careful in our plans. We will be in a rally with other boats. We hope by the time we’ve reached that area, the U.S. & U.N. will have taken steps to neutralize & deal with the pirates. The last time Tom evaluated a route through those waters was a few years ago in contemplation of doing a boat delivery to Europe. The plan was to go from the Maldives to the Red Sea in a convoy with military contacts en-route. This has been done successfully for thousands of cruising boats. Recent events cast great doubts about the validity of this approach at this time. We are trying to get more info on Quest. One important issue was why they left the convoy of the rally they were in. Safety in numbers, we believe. That would be something we would not do but maybe there was a necessity of some sort.
Meanwhile we will keep working West after this years break at home, all else being favorable, Our turn through the Red Sea would be, I suppose, 2012-2013. Bottom line, we are not going if current conditions persist. I imagine many other skippers are having the same thoughts. Putting crew and potential rescuers at risk would be unconscionable.
It is likely at some point the civilized world will put a stop to what is going on in the region. The natural evolution of successful piracy activity become self-supporting. Let go long enough and I suppose we'll see pension funds, health insurance and piracy studies at the University of Somalia established. At some point the matter will get handled. Maybe Quest's tragedy will set it off. The US has developed and built craft especially designed to address piracy. It takes time to put it all together. Anyway, know that we may be crazy but not stupid (no arguments , please).

That being said, I do want everybody to know that this is a dream. We live differently than most people and rarely do we allow fear to paralyze what we set out to do. Just as Scott & Jean were living their dream, they died doing what they loved doing and lived each day to it’s fullest. We have the same attitude but will carefully monitor our safety. Tom is a great captain and I am lucky to share his life. Our years cruising have been incredible. We’ve seen so many sights, met wonderful people that become life- long friends, immersed in cultures and bonded with nature. I wouldn’t for a second trade any of those experiences. Each one is special and I look forward to more in the coming years. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Quest. They will forever be seared into our memories and may they rest in peace.

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Vessel Name:	Mokisha
Vessel Make/Model:	Catalina 38
Hailing Port:	Big Sur, Ca
Crew:	Tom & Colleen
About:	Mokisha & her crew left California in January 2001. Since that time we've explored Mexico, the entire coast of Central America to Panama, often wandering inland to experience the rich cultures and intriguing ancient ruins left from past civilizations. [...] More
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Mokisha Re-fit Samal Island, 2016

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Created 22 June 2016

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