Leaving Langkawi

We leave Langkawi mid-day January 17 heading for Cochin, India. Once beyond the lee of the island we have a boisterous sail and several hours of getting ourselves accustomed to the boat motion. We pass south of the Nicobar Islands and see just a few ships as we are staying north of the shipping lanes. We have sunny days and no squalls and except for one day of very light wind we have 15-20 kts on the beam. We have one-plus kt of current with us and we make amazing speed. We cover a record 185 nautical miles in one 24 hr period, 1192 miles in 7 days and average 7.1 kts for the passage. Richard keeps close track of all this stuff.

On our 7th morning out we reach the south coast of Sri Lanka, which is on our route to Cochin. We follow the coastline looking at the beaches, palm trees and the hills off in the distance. Finally I can resist Sri Lanka's apparent charms no longer and suggest we stop at Galle for a couple of days instead of continuing on. So we turn into the bay and call port control on the VHF radio. A small navy boat comes out and shows us where to anchor just outside the breakwater. After awhile another navy boat approaches and a man comes aboard to direct us into Galle Harbor. He has us raft to a sailboat from Italy, three boats out from the wharf. This means to go ashore we climb across two other boats and then up a ladder onto the wharf. There are probably 20 cruising boats in the harbor.

Because of attacks by the Tamil Liberation Tigers farther north there is tight security here. Military guards with automatic weapons are posted all around the harbor. Nets are stretched across the harbor entrance and the river at night to keep out Tamil frogmen. Depth charges explode periodically during the night, sounding like the loud crack of a rifle shot. There is a bombing in Columbo Harbor on the west coast the day after we arrive and Galle Harbor is closed for the day. I am thinking we might be at risk here and wonder about the sanity of cruisers who stop in Sri Lanka. But then we are people who sail the oceans in small boats. Not exactly overly cautious types.

We stayed only three days in Galle. We visited a government sponsored handicraft center where people are trained in jewelry making, amazing lace work and batik. On our way there we walked past a wedding party coming out of a photography studio. The bride and groom allowed Richard to take their picture. We went to a hundred year old government tea factory and tea research center in the hills outside of town. Much of the tea processing is done by hand. The very last step of sorting through the tea leaves before packaging is done by about 10 women sitting on the floor around a huge mound of tea. They sift through the tea, picking out any errant stems and anything else that doesn't belong.

Thousand of people died here in southern Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit two years ago. Many who lost their homes are now living with extended family. Some, who wanted to get away from the sea, moved into villages in the hills where homes are constructed for tsunami victims. Andrew, a 50 yr old local man, drives us around sight seeing one morning, first taking us to his 2 storey house across the highway from the harbor. He shows us how high the water rose--very close to the ceiling of the first floor. Andre is extremely proud of his two sons, one a 3rd year medical student and the other a 1st year engineering student. He shows us a recent term exam report for his younger son--mostly A's.

The next day we do a walking tour of Fort Galle, built by the Portugese in the mid 1500's, taken over by the Dutch one hundred years later and then the British, until Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. The walls of the fort and many buildings are remarkably preserved. We see some beautiful old churches and hotels that are still in use.

The Sri Lanka countryside is green and lush and mountainous. There is much to see if only we could take a few more days and travel inland. Alas we have neither the time nor money to tour each country we sail to, so ... we set off for Cochin, India.