Since we launched Calliope seven years ago we've never used our foghorn, but we thought marking our circumnavigation with a noisy entrance to the bay off Kaś was in order, so we blared our way over our previous most easterly track before tucking into a narrow berth in the town harbour. (We wouldn't discover until three days later that we'd hooked our anchor round a huge rope on the sea bed, but that's another story). Much celebrating, particularly as it was Nicky's birthday too and we still had Tiggy, James and Calum from Miss Tiggy to join in the festivities.
So how does it feel? And what next? Has the sailing changed you? And where were your favourite places on this two and a half year round the world trip? Those are the questions people ask and the ones we wonder about ourselves.
Of course it feels great to have completed the circumnavigation. We are proud of what we've achieved and grateful to everyone who's been a part of the adventure - fellow crew members, our Oyster World Rally 'family" and our supporters back home. It's a huge undertaking but mostly it's been a case of taking one day at a time - some days much more eventful than others - and appreciating the huge variety of places and people we've been lucky enough to experience and encounter. But it also feels sad to have ticked off this goal we've been working towards for so long, and heart wrenching to leave our beautiful, strong and trustworthy Calliope behind as we fly home. There will be many more adventures but it's going to be hard to top this epic. We have made a whole new set of friends-for-life with similar interests. That is a real highlight.
What next is a thorny question and we know we're not the only ones wondering whether and how to return to our 'normal' lives. We set off thinking we would develop our thinking, but we haven't made much progress in common with many others of our friends on the OWR. The UK and the US have Brexit and Trump, both issues as intractable as the other!
Have we changed? Quite apart from all the experiences we've had and the new places we've visited, we have acquired new skills. Charles knows his way around the workings of the boat like a pro, Nicky can locate and start/stop lots of mechanical bits (but please don't ask her to take them apart). Weather planning and navigation have remained Charles's domain, while Nicky has learnt to plan meals for say, 6 people for 19 days, shop, cook and fill a freezer with minimal packaging waste. Very useful for long passages, perhaps less so when there's Waitrose just up the road! Perhaps more interestingly, we have practised the skills of tolerance, kindness and teamwork. There's just no space on a boat for grumpiness, grudges or grumbling. When everyone is under stress, you learn to act for the common good, rather than imposing your own feelings. We have become more self-sufficient and less afraid of fixing things, because, if it's just you there, you have to get on with it.
And so to favourite places (and those we'd rather not return to): it's so hard to choose. Some were geographically stunning (The Tuamotus, the South Pacific, New Zealand, Indonesia). Some were gloriously developed, with shopping and spa opportunities. Others were basic: the poorest place we visited was Suakin in Sudan; but it is always fascinating to shop in a local market and buy what is available.
Wherever possible, we visited schools and held eye clinics and those activities, which took us beyond being visitors and allowed us to meet local people, however briefly, Those stand out as favourite locations. Wonderful people: the mayor in Maupiti, gathering locals for eye testing by bicycle; the tea pickers in the highlands of Sri Lanka; the church choirs and dancers of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands; enthusiastic schoolchildren in New Caledonia, Tonga, Niue and Myanmar; entrepreneurial Indonesians, taking us on dangerous drives to remote, unvisited places; or the islanders of Fiji, surely the happiest, smiliest people in the world. The diving (to which Nicky is a recent convert) was astonishing in Fakarava South, Alor, Raja Ampat and Bonaire. Swimming with turtles and rays, snorkelling with humpback whales in Tonga. Out of the water, unbelievable animals: Komodo dragons, elephants in Sri Lanka, Galapagos boobies and tortoises, close encounters with kangaroos on Australian roads. And fabulous birds - fantails in NZ, tree-nesting peacocks, curious cockatoos, not to mention the ever-present 'alarm clock' cockerels of French Polynesia.
Even the places where our experiences weren't altogether happy had their moments. Plastic pollution is a huge issue in SE Asia. The sheer number of people living in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and their rapid economic development, and unformed concern for the environment means those coastlines are under huge pressure. Thailand's towns disappointed us, but the rocky islands were stunning; the Andaman Islands were beautiful and their history fascinating, though their officials were a nightmare; Galle "marina" was horrible and took its toll on our warps and fender covers but the walled town was exquisite. At times a Pollyanna attitude came in handy, seeing the best side to bad situations and being able to laugh at them and oneself. The Red Sea passage was a true test of sailing ability, as the wind was against and strongly against for a good portion of the voyage; it required teamwork and boat harmony with two armed guards on board for 15 days; and fortitude, faced with the disappointment of not being able to enter Egypt and being sent out again at night into a storm. (Greek) Cyprus and the Turkish coast, with their glorious spring wildflowers and herb-scented hillsides with monasteries, castles and towers, reminded us how much we love Mediterranean sailing. The Turks have implemented black water pump outs and there is a lack of plastic, compared to SE Asia. We have left Calliope tucked up in Marmaris and though others will be aboard this summer, we are planning a bit of land-based time - oh, and dinghy sailing in Aldeburgh, of course!
Thank you for reading our blog. It's been fun to know someone was out there caring where we were. If anyone fancies a circumnavigation, we are ready to help with advice. We are sorely tempted to visit the Pacific again!
Calliope -OUT.
