Leaving Galle

I should be out of here tomorrow or the next day. I got yelled at today for diving on the bottom. They don't permit diving in the harbor. Of course I continued to clean the bottom until they sent out a couple more boats to harass me.

The winds don't look good for a stop at Gan in the southern Maldives. I will actually be sailing back towards Indonesia for the first bit to get to the SE trades in the Southern Hemisphere. Chagos will be skipped as I'm not willing to fork over the 100 pounds for a permit. Madagascar is the destination.

This will be a long one. Maybe even a month.

Galle Sagas...

Here are a few clips of the neighborhood right outside the entrance to the harbor where Pelican is moored. I've endured this neighborhood for over a month now and can't wait to leave.

Sri Lanka has been a real low point. I've met other yachts that couldn't stand this place so much, they have taken on strong headwinds and adverse currents instead of waiting around for a change in weather. It is a combination of things that make this place such a disappointment. The theater of war which is everywhere, the "begging" side of the culture, the over the top amount of bureacracy. The list is long and right now I would love to vent but that would be giving in too much... Trying to get some cooperation in having Pelican repaired has exposed me to a lot of "culture." I've dealt with dozens of officials, metal workers, carpenters, retailers, importers, etc.. The amount of my time and energy they have used up could have fixed dozens of boats. A couple more hurdles and hopefully I am out.

Therapuththabaya versus Pelican

How does it feel to watch a 100 ton harbor tug lose control and come whipping towards you on a collision course? Not very good. Especially when you are moored fore and aft with no mobility and had about twenty seconds of advance notice before impact (Notice consisted of hearing a lot of yelling you don't understand and the sound of an engine revving way too high for the tight quarters of the harbor.)

Putting out another fender won't do much when the boat is that big and the skipper has the throttle wide open...

Luckily the damage is repairable and Pelican can continue her voyage. Therapuththabaya was almost headed in the same direction Pelican was facing so the only contact was the tug's starboard quarter on Pelican's port beam. Damage was mostly to toe rail and genoa track through bolted through the rail. The solar panel mounted on the port side had its glass shattered and three stanchions bent including their bases. Chain plates and associated rigging hardware were all well forward of the point of impact.