had been due in by the end of April, after just one or two delays. As I left for the wedding of the century in Dubrovnik on May 5th, the ship, had been rescheduled for the 8th or 9th of May.This photo was taken on the day of that other, "slightly less important" wedding at the Oasis Club, the watering hole for all drinking seafarers in Salalah. (Thanks must go to Pete of Fai Tira for all of these pictures by the way.) I think just about everyone who was left in Oman was at this do. Many of the women and all of the children had already left and I'm not going to name everyone in this picture either but it was a very nice day off for us and most of us were also dressed up to add to the fun though the staff at the club frowned on anyone wearing local dress. No one dared wear a burkha of course but one or two men wore the dish dasha which looks very nice especially with a casually arranged shamaya (headscarf). They were told politely that it wouldn't be right for them to be seen like this and drinking! No contest there then!!
This was the home of the yachts for the three months in Salalah. Moonshiner is in the middle with the blue awning. We had long stern ropes leading out to the rocky slope on the shore and anchors from the bow so that all the yachts moved around together (mostly). The distance from the shore was about 25 metres I reckon and meant a dinghy pull along the ropes to the rocks to get ashore. Not always easy and it is somewhere on these horrible rocks that my purse has its grave. The ropes quickly turned green and slimy in the nutrient rich water and negotiating them in the dinghy often meant ducking under the cats cradle of jumbled lines while trying not to get covered in green stuff.
After I had left, the waiting continued and the day and night time temperatures rose to such heights that it became unbearable for most of the remaining crews to live or work on the boats so they moved en masse to the aircon luxury of the Hilton. I think they were given favourable rates too. We had all been very good customers for months!
Finally, at the very end of May, the Palmerton arrived and so the loading began. There were a few hiccups such as the ship's captain having been told that we were twenty motor boats. He hadn't therefore reckoned on masts being involved. One or two unfortunate yachts were therefore required to lower their masts so they could fit under the huge derricks. The harder working of the yacht's crews then spent the next three or four days helping to load the boats as seen here. This is Angel by the way, the yacht that had sailed in company with us for most of the time since Australia with Canadians David and Val aboard.
This is how it all happened. That's quite a height and I'm sure all the skippers were just ever so slightly apprehensive as they watched their yachts being lifted higher than they had ever been before....probably! This Fai Tira, a Bruce Russell boat (for those who may like to know). She's steel and therefore very strong!
Eventually, all the yachts were loaded on the deck of the Palmerton. It looks like a tight squeeze. Moonshiner is in the foreground, the middle yacht.The trip to Marmaris through the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and Suez took about 8 days. The unloading in Turkey went smoothly and the crews rejoined their yachts. Many wives and partners flew out to rejoin their boats and there were one or two parties before most people went their separate ways. Some yachts are sailing through the Greek Islands and on across the Med to get back to the UK this year and some are aiming to get across the Atlantic by Christmas. Others are out of the water so that the owners can spend the rest of the year ashore. Although it was disappointing for many that the circumnavigation wasn't completed proper, the yachts at least did get around and the total distance covered by most has been more than the Earth's circumference. My personal log recorded since I joined in Gran Canaria in Dec 2008 covered over 24,000 miles anyway!
And Moonshiner? Guess what?
She's having her engine sorted out once and for all...............again!!!
