Sonntag, 30. November 2008
Mumbai...
Allen Angehörigen, die jemanden in diesen letzten Tagen und Nächten des sinnlosen Terrors verloren haben, möchten wir hiermit unsere Anteilnahme ausdrücken. Es ist schwer Worte zu finden in so einem Moment... A couple of hours ago it was confirmed in the news : the Mauritian CEO of the State Bank, Chaitlall Gunness (57), was killed too during the terror attacks in Mumbai. He was found shot in his hotel room in Taj Hotel this Saturday morning.
Our condolences and deepest sympathy to the family of Mr. Gunness and to all relatives who have lost someone precious during these days and nights of senseless terror. It is difficult to find words in a moment like this...
Plus en francais ici
Samstag, 29. November 2008
Oh, was ist das...? - A weirdo in the Indian Ocean...
Reading Linda and Bill's journal about their circumnavigation on S/Y Valiam, I stumbled over this photo. Just to get a better look I have rotated the pic here. They caught it while being in 1000 m depth after having left Rodrigues for Mauritius.
Just for the records, the local fishing experts...)) have no clue neither what kind of fish it can be, nor if it had been edible...although there are theories and stories of similar fish caught here but in depth of either 60 or 200m...
Maybe someone can enlighten us...?
Photo credits:Linda & Bill from S/Y Valiam
Ahoy and Happy Birthday, Zac...
Mittwoch, 26. November 2008
S/Y Nereida...- Thanksgiving greetings ...
And this is what I found... and which kept me feeling so unsettled for a while, that I couldn't decide to write immediately about it...
Nereida Lost on Mexican Beach
June 30, 2008 – Playa Michigan, Mexico
Jeanne Socrates credits the 2006 Singlehanded TransPac for giving her the confidence to set off on a 15-month solo circumnavigation. We're heartsick to report that Jeanne Socrates, who, after completing the 2006 Singlehanded TransPac, decided to take on the world with a 15-month solo circumnavigation, has lost her beloved UK-based Najad 361 Nereida less than 100 miles from her starting point of Zihuatanejo.
"Nereida was grounded halfway from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo on a desolate, mainly uninhabited part of the coast, after the autopilot went down just before first light on June 19," Jeanne wrote in an update to friends this weekend. "I was taking my usual timed nap — a stopwatch set for 45 minutes — which looked fine in the situation: full moon, some swell and waves but not much, motoring in very little wind, a good distance from a long sandy shore. Because I was motoring in calm conditions, the resultant change of course was not obvious enough to wake me up in time, as it would have done had I been sailing. .....Read more
"I'm trying desperately to keep my 'head above water' with all the different items for the new boat I'm having to sort out... present thoughts are on navlights, cabin heater, trucking to UK from Sweden, curtains, Customs clearance for incoming salvaged gear, AIS equipment, autopilot,... it seems never-ending... and then lots of travelling with all the organizing needed there. Certainly a busy life! I'm hoping to relax over the New Year in Mexico... I need to wind down..! H...E...L...P....!!! Trying to find time to update my 'blog' for November on my website - soon, hopefully. But, in the meantime, to all my US friends.... I hope you have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING on Thursday 27th Nov!!!
Cheers, Jeanne
London (for the moment!)
And we wish you, Jeanne, a very lucky time with your new boat and that you get everything sorted out smoothly...
And to all American friends a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING from us in Rodrigues too !
Zac Sunderland News....Departure from Mauritius...
Latest Position: 11/25/08 0351Z 20 35.235S 56 36.257E - 60 miles out of Port Louis, Mauritius Greetings from the Indian Ocean! After a hectic afternoon dealing with customs, last minute provisioning and yacht prep I pulled out of Port Louis around 4:00pm yesterday to a calm, flat sea and light wind. It was good to have a slow day to finish putting everything away and organizing things for a few weeks at sea. There were a few ships as I pulled south of Mauritius early in the evening but nothing since then. I have been warned that more and more shipping is being diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope because of the recent increase in piracy along the Red Sea/Suez Canal route. I have also heard that these vessels may be turning off their AIS systems in an effort to hide their identity from would-be pirates. The ships will still show up on my regular radar however. The first days and nights back at sea are always rough because I have to get back into power nap mode. So for now I have an easy passage even though it is slow. I'll take some time today to work on a detailed blog of my time in Mauritius and Part II of my Indian Ocean forstay situation. In case you didn't know, I am 13 hours ahead of you all on the west coast of America so as you are going to bed, I am just getting up (or at least staying up!). Cheers, Zac
Copied from Zac's blog , last entry... So after a couple of serious repairs, a visit of his father and a friend of the family, a trip with a catamaran, a dinner last week with the American ambassador for Mauritius , Mr. Cabrera, and not to forget a persistent cold , Zac set off sails yesterday and is heading to South Africa. More, as usual, you'll find in Zac's blog which is always an interesting read.
Interesting too is also the blog of Jen Edney who by the way is that friend who accompanied Zac's father to Mauritius and who took a couple of nice shots of Zac there as the one I have 'borrowed' here. She is a fantastic photographer and it is fun to discover her gorgeous (and copyrighted!) photos, if you go back you will find a couple of nice crocodile photos of the time Zac was in Darwin....Enjoy!
Rolf Scheibli - Ein alter Bekannter....
Wie wahr, denn leider muss man sagen, kennen in deutschen Reisebüros ansonsten nach wie vor nur die wenigsten unsere Insel. Fragt jemand nach Rodrigues wird die bekannteste Reaktion wohl die Gegenfrage sein, "Rodrigues??? Wo ist das denn??? Irgendwo in der Karibik????"
Diese Angestellten haben ganz sicher keine EDUC-Tour über Rolf mitgemacht....
Wir sind gespannt, wann wir das nächste Mal Rolf einfach mal wieder so auf der Straße begegnen... -
Last Saturday I met Rolf Scheibli in town, just like that...This can happen several times a year as he is very fond of Mauritius and Rodrigues and comes here so often that it will be difficult to top.
Rolf is well-known in the world of tourism as a specialist on Indian Ocean travels, already for a long time he has been including Rodrigues as destination in the catalogues of his travel agency too. In addition he offers EDUC-Tours for people working in German travel agencies, just in order to let them discover the destinations which they might sell later. Rolf's motto: "You can't sell what you don't know".
This prooves to be true. Asking them about Rodrigues, until now the majority of employees in German travel agencies will certainly react with a counter question, "Rodrigues, never heard of...Where the heck is it? Must be somewhere in the Carribean..." Sure they won't have participated in an EDUC-Tour offered by Rolf...
And we..., we are looking forward to meeting Rolf again as soon as possible on the strets of Port Mathurin..
Foto: Rodrigues Tourism Office
Montag, 24. November 2008
Quay of Port Mathurin....July to November 2008
Freitag, 21. November 2008
Jan Eric Johnsen war hier...2004...Jan Eric was here...
*Seit 2007 ist Trou D'Argent mit auf der Liste der 10 schönsten Strände der Welt...
A German blogger friend (Josefine) found this photo in the beginning of this year, when she googled Trou D'Argent* in Rodrigues, that helped me to find not only his e- mail address but his other photos too taken during his stay here in 2004. Jan Eric Johnsen comes from Norway and has a soft spot for islands which must have helped him to find beside a lot of others Rodrigues too. I want to thank him very much to allow us to share his beautiful photos. By the way, I like especially the spiders and the prison...)) but more to that topic another time...Please enjoy!
And here is the permanent link to all of his photos which can be found in the hotlinks' column too.
*Since 2007 Trou D'Argent is listed as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world...
Samstag, 15. November 2008
Farewell Mama Afrika...
Letzten Sonntag am 9. November starb Miriam Makeba im Alter von 76 Jahren nach einem Konzert gegen die Mafia in Italien. Doch ihre Stimme gegen Ungerechtigkeit und Apartheid wird hoffentlich immer weiterleben durch ihre wunderbaren Lieder, mit denen sie weltweit berühmt wurde, allen voran natürlich Pata Pata.... -
Last Sunday Miriam Makeba, the Voice of Africa, died at age 76 after a concert afainst the Italian mafia. Here her most popular song which will hopefully never die as all her other songs against injustice and Apartheid. Enjoy Pata Pata the last song she sang on stage, a song which is now more than 40 years old!
Donnerstag, 13. November 2008
Meet Parker Fritsch....the new buddy of Zac....
Dear Zac,
My name is Parker and I'm 9 years old. I have been battling leukemia since I was 3 and had a bone marrow transplant when I was 5. I think it is so great how you are living life to its fullest. I never wait for tomorrow when I can try something today. I for one don't know if tomorrow will ever come. I'm going to follow your journey and I thought you might like to follow mine. My web site is; caringbridge.org/ca/parkerfritsch Sign my guest book so I know you checked on me, ok?
Good luck and God speed! Your new buddy,
Parker
(copied from Zac's blog on November 11)
It's two days ago that we came across Parker's entry for Zac in his blog and we were and are still so impressed that we decided to mention him here too as we would like not only Zac to contact this courageous little guy but everybody else who is open to learn more about kids fighting leukemia, I am pretty sure most of us don't know much about it and caring bridges work only as long as people are willing to know...at least we think so...
And here for Parker and everybody else who cares for Zac, you can catch up on his blog about his arrival in Mauritius where his father was already waiting for him, actually he has left Port Louis for Grand Baie where he will continue repairing the boat which might take about a week...
Here you find the latest articles from Rodrigues and Mauritius in 'L'Express'.To the original article in French from Wednesday about Rodrigues here, and here to the one in yesterday's edition after his arrival in Mauritius.English automatical google translation of the last one here, note: these automatical generated translations are kind of very funny...
Photo credits: 1/web site of Parker Fritsch, 2/ L'Express
Mittwoch, 12. November 2008
S/Y Ouma ....Heimkehr nach fast 30 Jahren...Rétour après presque 30 ans à l'Ile de la Réunion
Vom 09. bis zum 23. Oktober waren die beiden hier in Rodrigues, ihrem letzten längeren entspannten Aufenthalt bevor es ernst wird....Ihr Bezug zu Rodrigues ist ein besonders starker, ist doch ihr Boot nach der Fischerin aus Leclézios Roman Der Goldsucher benannt: OUMA.
Wir wünschen den Beiden alles erdenklich Gute für den Neuanfang und hoffen auf ein baldiges Wiedersehen in Rodrigues!
Ce matin la nouvelle est venue par e-mail chez nous: Maryse et Jean Charrin sont finalement arrivés à Port de la Galette en Réunion, où ils vont s'établir après une vie de presque 30 ans en mer....interrompue bien sûre de temps en temps par quelques escales de durée plus longue, comme c'est souvent le cas avec des gens sous des voiles, pour travailler, car une vie sur un bateau n'est pas si facile comme les gens sur terre l'imaginent souvent romantiquement, et beaucoup moins beau-marchée, comme ceux le savent par experience douloureuse qui possèdent un bateau à eux. Dans leur cas, le kiné thérapeute et l'infirmière ont passé pas mal de temps à St. Martin dans la Caraïbe, mais maintenant ce chapitre se termine, leur bateau OUMA les a mené sans des problèmes à travers leur dernière (...?) étape à l'eau jusqu'à la nouvelle destination, où on va le vendre ...sans doute avec des larmes dans les yeux, mais une nouvelle existence attend.Du 9 à 23 Octobre le couple a fait escale à Rodrigues, leur dernier séjour de détente avant les choses deviennent sérieuses...Pour Rodrigues ils partagent un sentiment fort, le nom du bâteau était choisi du roman de LeClézio Le Chercheur d'Or, Ouma est le nom de la pecheuse.
Il reste à souhaiter les deux tout le mieux pour cette nouvelle aventure, cette fois si sur terre...et on espère de les revoir un jour ici à Rodrigues!
Photos: 1/Journal à bord , 2/Pendant la Fête de l'Autonomie à Rodrigues, 3/Départ de Rodrigues
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Et ici vous allez trouver un article très intéressant en francais...
publié le 16 novembre à La Réunion - un bon récit de l'histoire que Maryse et Jean ont vecue...
Dienstag, 11. November 2008
9.November - Erinnerungstag ....Remembrance Day...
Stehen sonst die alten Kombattanten während der Parade hinter den staatlichen Kräften aufgereiht mit stramm, fand man sie heute nur geschützt unter dem Dach des Jettys, wie auch die anderen Offiziellen bis hin zum Chefkommissar, auf die Kranzniederlegung wartend.In Rodrigues hat es zur Zeit der englischen Kolonialherrschaft 2 Typen von rekrutierten Soldaten gegeben, die War Time Soldiers (WTS), ein erstes Kontingent von 350 Freiwilligen verließ 1941 die Insel, um in Italien und Ägypten mit an der Front zu stehen, sowie die Peace Time Soldiers (PTS). Diese waren zwischen 1946 und 1954 im Einsatz, als die britische Armee im Nahen Osten versuchte, "Ordnung" herzustellen. Rund 1000 Rodriguer verpflichteten sich hierzu ebenfalls freiwillig, verpflichtet im Rahmen von verlängerbaren 3 Jahresverträgen, inbegriffen ein Selbstverteidigungstraining von 5 Monaten. Sie arbeiteten in den verschiedensten Bereichen, häufig Küche und Mechanik. Die zahlenmäßig große freiwillige Teilnahme mag auf den ersten Blick überraschen, vor allem wenn man weiß, dass auch 12 Unteroffiziere des rodriguischen Kontingents zuvor Opfer des Kriegs wurden, doch wie auch in Lélio Roussety Autobiographie L'Ile Rodrigues - Mémoires et Témoignages eindrucksvoll aus seiner Sicht als Kind beschrieben, bedeutete die Teilnahme für die Familien ein regelmäßiges Einkommen und für die Männer, die nie gereist waren, eine willkommene Möglichkeit aus der Begrenztheit der Insel herauszukommen. Es gab im übrigen unter den PTS mehr Opfer als während des 2.Weltkriegs.
Wer Jahr für Jahr dieser Zeremonie zur Ehrung der Gefallenen und heimgekehrten Soldaten beiwohnt, wird feststellen, dass dieser Tag für die Männer, die dabei waren, wirklich ein ganz besonderer ist. Manche kommen schon um 7 Uhr morgens, selbstverständlich mit frisch auf Vordermann gewienerten Medaillen, sie bringen ihre Geschichten mit und freuen sich, wenn jemand sie auch hören möchte. Fast ist es so, als ob sie es immer noch nicht fassen können, dabei gewesen sein zu dürfen. Dies macht sie aber keineswegs zu Kriegsbefürwortern. Hier zeigt ein Teilnehmer, der selbt in Ägypten gedient hat, das Foto seines Vaters, der schon im 1.Weltkrieg für die Engländer in "Mesopotamien" gedient hat.Ja, und wohin die Männer nach der Zeremonie schnellen Schrittes eilen kann man demnächst im Album sehen....
The story about the Remembrance Day will be made available in Englih with some pics in a seperate album, please be patient for a while as the uploading into Picasa takes a lot of time, sorry! Link will come later here.
Montag, 10. November 2008
Half way around the world already - Zac Sunderland
Islander 36
Youngest around the world alone. 5 months of sailing from California and half way around at Port Louis !!
Pulled in to Rodrigues for repairs. My forestay snapped 4 days out and my genny got shredded with 35 knot winds and 15 feet seas.
Zac Sunderland
Youngest around the world 2008
And here a second closer shot from his stay in Rodrigues, both photos taken by the Tourism Office of Rodrigues, they are really good, although in fact I thought he was a bit paler around his nose when I saw him...These photos are especially for his mom Marianne who asked me for closer ups...but also for the rest of the family and the zac pac, means for everyone caring and supporting that young guy...
Just found a long article about Zac in French of Ile Maurice Tourisme Infos with 2 other photos...Ici l'article original en francais and here the English google translation done by Tomi of Zac's blog, now I have to find out how it will work to do the same thing in German...which is a mess but I still haven't figured out during the last 2 hours to let them take my suggestions and as I haven't saved my work...
Sonntag, 9. November 2008
Zac Sunderland ...Off to Mauritius
" Zac had a long night of massive squalls with lightning and thunder for much of the night. It is like the Indian Ocean is trying to give him as much grief as he can before Zac finally passes through! To add insult to injury, the forecast for the next 2 days is a dead calm!"
By the way, on the satellite photo of today Rodrigues is the tiny red spot in the white clouds... As Marianne Sunderland, his mother, asked me for more photos, here what I still have so far, unfortunately no close ups, I am sorry, I often take photos of crews but usually closer ups only after a contact has really been established by meetings etc. I suppose I was a bit too shy when learning he was already to leave... This photo was taken on Friday morning when I came to say hello and to bring him the visitor's book of James Waterstone. And this one was taken yesterday morning.
For all who want to get more and regular news on Zac's trip around the world as youngest circumnavigator, don't miss his blog, in which you can read today about his visit of the local market and how he came to some unexpected money ...Don't miss the latest issue of the Los Angeles Times where you will find an article about Zac too.
Samstag, 8. November 2008
Zac Sunderland's stopover in Rodrigues
"My name is Zac Sunderland and I am 16 years old. I departed
June 14th from Marina del Rey, California in an attempt to
become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world
alone by yacht."
His itinery comprises in total 23883 NM (nautical miles) with stops in Oahu/Hawaii, Majuro/Marshall Islands, Port Moresby, Darwin/Australia,
Cocos-Keeling, Mauritius, Durban/ S.A., Cape Town/S.A., St. Helena, Port of Spain/ Trinidad, Colon/Panama, Panama City, and then from there back to California...
So the stop in Rodrigues where he arrived on late Thursday, Nov 06, was not really planned, in fact if he hadn't been in trouble at sea the days before which cost him a sail and his family and friends certainly not only a good nights' sleep, he would have gone straight to Mauritius. I met Zac briefly on Friday morning when he was busy to remove the genoa, so we hadn't too much time for a chat. By the way, I am the lady referred to as the librarian in his blog.
In fact, I am not a librarian, the library was just supposed to serve as a meeting point as I spend a lot of time there, just in case of further infos needed. Most of the sailors meet there during their stay, local newspapers can be read there apart from the possibility to catch ADSL connectivity to the Internet which makes it an attractive place. (I won't tell anything now about the speed...)
Unfortuantely I missed Zac several times, we could just exchange our web site details today maybe 2 hours before he left Rodrigues in the afternoon. It was this evening that I learned more about him by reading in his blog which I will certainly follow now from time to time.
Zac is an extraordinary young man trying something out of the ordinary. We hope he will succeed, we wish him luck and fair winds and hopefully better weather conditions especially on his way to South Africa where boats are often facing difficult situations.
It's a pity that he hadn't the time for a rest and to discover our island, next time with more time, please and without any troubled water before...!
Please note: In the blogroll's linklist you will find a permanent link to his site as to all circumnavigators who have visited Rodrigues in the past, who will be added during the next days.
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Photo1 taken Nov 07 at 0744 from the jetty of Port Mathurin - I had seen the boat already the night before, not at all knowing about the story behind....
Photo2 taken Nov 07 at 0749 from the quay of Port Mathurin where people from the harbour and the tug boats were already working on taking off the dammaged sail
Photo3 taken Nov 07 at 1503 from our big game fishing boat Sealine at the jetty, Zac preparing the boat to leave soon, unfortuantely no more pics as I had to go before...
Mittwoch, 5. November 2008
Geschafft...It seems he did it...
....and so far not bad at all....The gap between him and McCain seems comfortable in comparison to what we have seen otherwise in the past...Unfortunately his Grandma couldn't see him win, she died one day after her 86th birthday in Hawaii...
Maybe it's time now for all of us to get a glimpse of the dream, Obama has for America...
Photos: Officially released, children's and family photos of Obama
Und hier zu seinem ersten Buch Der amerikanische Traum (1995)...aber das kennt ihr in Deutschland sowieso schon alle länger und besser als wir hier auffe Insel...
S/Y LENA LY - Unvorhergesehene Grüße aus Deutschland....Unexpected greetings from Germany
Dieter/Lena LyHi Birgit,
Dieter/Lena LyDieter aus Lörrach war der erste deutsche Segler, der am 20.07. in dieser Saison nach 5 anderen Booten in Port Mathurin einlief (Foto oben) und am 29.07. zu neuen Ufern aufbrach (Foto 2). Wenn ich richtig gezählt habe, war Rodrigues die 39. Station während seiner Weltumsegelung, die in Frankreich 2006 losging und bislang von schlimmen Unwettern verschont war. Der Name Lena LY ist eine Abkürzung der Vornamen seiner Enkeltöchter. Das war heute vielleicht eine Überraschung, diese Nachricht zu erhalten, denn wir wähnten ihn noch im südlichen Afrika oder erst jetzt seine Unterbrechung planend um zu Hause einen Besuch abzustatten, wie viele Segler das machen. Wie gut, dass nichts schlimmeres passiert ist.
Natürlich hoffen wir, bald wieder von dir zu hören, Dieter!
Dieter was the first German sailor who called at Port Mathurin (photo 1) during this season after 5 other boats, that was on July 20. Nine days later he took off to continue his voyage (photo 2). If I have counted correctly, Rodrigues must have been his 39th station during his circumnavigation which he started in 2006 in France, and which had fortunately never been dramatic before due to heavy weather conditions. The boats' name is an abbreviation of the names of his grand-daughters. We can tell you, that was a really a surprise getting these news today as we still thought him to be in the southern part of Africa, or as a lot of sailors do, just planning his stopover in Germany to be with his family for Christmas. We are happy to hear that he seems sound and safe, that nothing more serious did happen.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon again, Dieter!
Montag, 3. November 2008
Sonntag, 2. November 2008
S/Y ANTARES ROYALE auf Inselrundfahrt....Island excursion...
Lunch was just excellent which you can't see here too well, as there was now the question - the food or the crew ...I decided for the latter, so here you see (l.t.r.) Christian, Queen of the kitchen Mary-Lynn, Ulrich and Barbara plus starter Chicken soup Indian style in the green cups....while Fernand must have been somehow busy....(sorry, next time there will be a photo of you too...)
Thanks to all of you for a very nice day!