The Liberty: Ernakulam, Kochi, India....

Assembly of the Crew

The Liberty

 

 

There are a few weeks of work to do on the Liberty to get her seaworthy. We will be putting a chicken coop on board, and growing some easy vegetables and herbs as well. I am now the First Mate, that has a nice ring to it, First Mate Pelletier.  I should have some time to visit the city of Ernakulam, and perhaps Kochi (Cochi) as well.  

 

 

Information about the Liberty from Captain Gerd Fehlbaum:

 

The Liberty is a 16 meter (52 feet) sloop with one main mast and constructed of ferro-cement, so she rides heavy in the water which makes her very stable to sail. She was built in 1972/73 in Auckland, New Zealand as a world cruiser.  She weighs in at around 30 metric tons, definitely not a racer! With a good wind, we do our 100 to 120 nautical miles (1 mile = 1,85 km) a day. Under engine about 80. The upside of this weight is more "seakindlyness", gentler movements, than lightweight boats have. Plus, it can carry through really bad weather without big problems.

The "Liberty" from the top

 

She has a 100hp Commer TS-3 engine (2 stroke), which has rarely caused trouble. It has a massive prop with variable pitch, like gears in a car. We have 4 little boats on board, also for emergency: 1 sailing dinghy, up to 4 people, one rowing/outboard dinghy (up to 3 people) and a foldable banana boat (3 people) and an inflatable boat (2 people). 

 

For navigation we have the main compass, several bearing compass, five GPS, paper and electronic maps (C-map worldwide), plus AIS as a means to see and get warned of other ships.

Accommodations: 8 berth, one double in forward cabin starboard, one single in forward cabin port, one on each side of saloon (used as benches during the day, about 2,6 meter long each), one big double berth and one single in aft cabin. There is 2 to 2.6 m headroom in all of boat. Full size shower / toilet (As we sail often in the rain, we can collect enough water, to get daily showers each) 3 main water tanks approx. 1000 liters in total plus 300 liters in jerry cans.

 Big kitchen with kerosene stove and oven, gas stove, big sink. NO FRIDGE! (Hassle factor number one on many ships...) Lots of stowage for food!



Off to India!

Passport.  Check
Visa. Check
Ticket. Check.
Trade goods. Check
Sail. Check

Off to India!

30 hours.  Exhausting!

Kochi/Cochi/Cochin, India

Bolgatty Palace & Island Resort, Ernakulam, India

It was a rather exhausting 30 hour flight, but the last leg I got a free upgrade to first class so I was able to catch a few hours of sleep and not be completely wasted when I got to Cochin. My flight was from Providence, Rhode Island-->Chicago, Illinois-->New Delhi, India-->Cochin, India.  Air India provided complimentary food and drinks, woo hoo!

 Interesting that my final destination city is variously referred to as Cochin, Cochi, and Kochi, but where the plane actually landed was in Ernakulam.

Tuk-tuk (taxi)

 

With unusual foresight, I had printed out a map of where the boat harbor was, because I don't speak a word of Hindu and my driver didn't speak any English either.  Sure made it easy to just show the map and kick back with my packs while the driver negotiated the terrible traffic and delivered my to my final destination...the International Boat Harbor near Bolgatty Palace & Island Resort!

 

 

This is for real...finally off on an EPIC adventure......

 

 



Getting a visa to India...good grief!

Most places you travel to, it is pretty easy to get a tourist visa. Australia had a quick online application and you were good to go. Other places you get off the airplane and stand in line, pay a fee, and you are good to go. 

India...not so easy. I guess they are not very interested in tourism, because if I had known how difficult (and expensive!) it was I would have come up with a plan B for meeting my boat somewhere else...

So, first I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and send my passport off to the India Embassy in San Francisco, since I am from the west coast.  Silly me, I put my grandparents address in Connecticut on so the passport would come back to where I was actually visiting while waiting for my visa...so they sent it back to me and said I had to apply to the East Coast Embassy in New York, and change all the information to a Connecticut residence...not going to happen.

So then I filled out all the paperwork again, with my Alaska information, and sent it in to a visa processing service (paid more $$), and it got kicked back again because I didn't have a physical address.  Don't people know that 75% of Alaska residents don't have an official physical address?  So without going back to Alaska to change my drivers license to add in my 'physical address,' which is basically a mile post marker, they said I had to have some kind of paper with a physical address on it, and it could only be a utility bill or a rental agreement.

This is a very expensive piece of paper.

Changing a utility bill to put my name on it took time, and then it still has a mailing address without a physical address...

Needless to say, it was a headache, a hassle, and if I wasn't pretty committed to meeting up with the Liberty in Cochi, India, to help get the boat ready to sail, I think I would have just gone to Thailand or somewhere to meet them along the way. 
 
It was a month long delay.  Think twice before trying to travel to India. There are a lot of places in the world that are easier to get into.  It ended up costing me over $300 just to get the visa approved, money that I now will NOT be spending in India, if anyone in the tourism industry is listening...oh, not to mention the vaccinations I had to get before traveling to that part of the world.

On the up side I spent some quality time with the family, and my sister came back from her travels to get her work visa to China (good luck with that sis!) and I got to visit with her for a few days before taking off on my adventure.
See her travel blog at:  Alaska Rambling Rose

Finally, my bags are packed, I wrapped up the sail I purchased in Florida, and I have my ticket to India and will be on my way!

Bright Lights, Big City

Headed to Connecticut to visit the Grandparents, who are in their mid 90's.  I am working on trying to get my travel visa to India together.  What a lot of hassle!  No wonder India isn't a big tourist destination!

My Dad's Cousin Dave took me to New York City, which was an interesting trip...evidently, I am going to have some time to kill.

A red brick tavern...typical New York

World Trade Center

Streets of New York

 

 

Night Lights, New York City



 

Ok, so one day in NYC won't get you to see all the sights, but it was interesting.  I thought Anchorage, Alaska was a big city, I bet I walked by more people in one afternoon than live in Anchorage...hell, probably more than live in all of Alaska!

 

 

Take a walk on the wild side

Daytona Beach, Florida. 

I am visiting my Uncle Chris, Aunt Michelle, and little cousin Rosalin. They have a really nice Victorian style pink house in Daytona. It is actually in a book..

Flamingo House--Daytona Beach, Florida

Chris has a friend from Switzerland that has a sailboat, and he is looking for a crew to sail the boat from India to New Zealand.  I made an inquiry, sent some information, and in just a few days, I am offered a berth on a sailboat!  ETD is the end of October, so I have a little time to get in some Florida fishing, visit the relatives, and rethink my packing strategy...less textbooks, more fishing gear!


One night of fishing, 5 kinds of fish!

 

The sailboat I will be crewing in is called the "Liberty." She is currently berthed in Kochi (Cochin), India. A very odd assortment of people will be meeting up both there and other places along the way to travel on the boat. Gerd der Seefahrer is the Captain and boat owner. He looks like a rough old pirate.

The Liberty

 

Tentative sailing route on the Liberty

 

 

Heading to Northern Arizona University, Fall 2013

I come from God's country.  Why would I ever want to leave?  I have never been anywhere else that I love as much as my own backyard...Alaska.

Hatcher Pass, Alaska--my big backyard

So why, you ask, do I want to travel?  Well, why not? There is a whole big world out there that I want to see, experience, live in, travel to, work, play....someday I will come home again, but right now it is time to see it all, and do it all!

Fall 2013, I headed off to  Flagstaff, Arizona, for another year of college.  Flagstaff is a beautiful town, it was interesting and fun, there is plenty to do.  The university is nice, and the weather was great, not too hot, but comfortable. What's not to like about spending a school year in Flagstaff?



Wall Mural: Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff was great...spending a year in boring classes like Calculus and English Comp? Not feeling the love...I made it to the first two days of classes and had a thought..."There must be more interesting things to do with my life right now..." It occurred to me that I have an uncle who has a friend....

 

Two days later, I was in beautiful Daytona Beach, Florida.