To Introduce Myself

[nhb]

Hello!

So like everyone else new, I just thought I would drop by and introduce myself.

Originally from Canada, did university in Australia...now I travel the world

Like many many other people I want to go by boat across the seas. I have been traveling non-stop since 2007, hitch-hiking over 90,000km. Now I feel it is time to go by sea.

I am in India and want to go east.

From what I have read, boats start to go east in November...all the way to April? People have told me to check out Mumbai, Kochin (Kerala) and Galle (Sri Lanka) - this true or no?

If anyone can give me any pointers, they would be greatly appreciated

-Taylor

www.couchsurfing.org/people/xnothingxheldxbackx

[Lighthouse]

Welcome aboard and good luck with your travel plans.

Also see the page on the Cruisers Wiki - Movement of the Cruiser's fleet - worldwide.

[JeanneP]

Hi, Taylor

Most cruising yachts travel from East to West - that's the direction that the trade winds blow, that's the easiest way to sail the world.

Galle, Sri Lanka usually sees yachts that have left SE Asia, particularly Thailand, on their way across the Indian Ocean to either the Red Sea or the Cape of Good Hope. Very, very few cruising yachts sail to India, so I wouldn't count on finding a ride there. Sorry.

Your first ride is going to be the hardest. You need references from other yachts you've crewed on to get a decent chance at a long passage. Few of us want to be stuck for weeks on end with someone who is not a good fit. We call that "buying a pig in a poke." So you need to find a place where you can befriend cruisers and give them a chance to get to know you. Maybe be able to try you out on a short trip to see how you do. Sri Lanka means whowever they get is with them for weeks. I, for one, wouldn't take on unknown crew there for such a long passage.

[nhb]

Thanks for the responses. I know all this already. But then it was like what people said when I was hitching out of Rome. "asia!? CHINA?! INDIA?!?!" - 'nah you're crazy you'll never make it'.

well now I have been all across asia, been to the northern/western/eastern corners of India, headed to the southern...and now looking for that boat.

Seems like I will have to find a way to get to Sri Lanka then.

When will boats be stopping in Galle?

-Taylor

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by nhb

When will boats be stopping in Galle?

-Taylor

The details are in the link to the Cruising Wiki that I gave above - HERE

[nhb]

I have read that, many times. Sorry for not being clear - is that fixed? I was hitching with an english skipper who said boats would be moving earlier than that. I was wondering if someone could comment from their experience rather that that website.

feedback welcome

-Taylor

www.couchsurfing.org/people/xnothingxheldxbackx

[JeanneP]

I think that you've misunderstood.

Perhaps one yacht a year will sail from West to East except for record-breaking racing boats. So, you should not expect to be hitching a ride from Sri Lanka to SE Asia. Sri Lanka to Africa, perhaps, but not the other way. This has to do with seasons, storms, and the easier way to sail - with the wind, not against it. It is a rare yacht that will risk getting caught in a tropical cyclone since that way lies possible shipwreck and worse, so the timing on the Wiki link IS our experience, and that of the overhwleming majority of all cruising boats. "wishing won't make it so."

[Lighthouse]

There is a short weather window in September for yachts to sail from East Africa - heading up to 08 degrees North and then cross the Indian Ocean to Thailand/Malaysia with a POSSIBLE stop in Galle (Sri Lanka). But, with the current piracy issues off Somalia (for extended distances now) the crossings by yachts on this route has come to an end.

[nhb]

Thank you again for your responses. I understand that there is a some sort of yacht show in Kochin this week so maybe I might get lucky there.

Sorry if I come across the wrong way. Every day I am told that my journey is impossible, so sometimes I get frustrated getting told the same thing again and again.

JeanneP:

"I would rate your chances as close to zero"

http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/ind...ndpost&p=43394

and yet our polish friend is now in South Africa straight from Australia. Wishing might not make it so, but I like to keep my glass 1/2 full not 1/2 empty

" Few of us want to be stuck for weeks on end with someone who is not a good fit."

http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/ind...19&#entry44919

Well I have over 180 references on couchsurfing so I hope that someone could read through them and get some kind of idea about me, these aren't cruisers but are still real people who you could contact (couchsurfing membership is free)

Anyways, thanks again for the info. I will keep hope, because, I may have lost everything else at some point in my life, but never hope.

-Taylor

www.couchsurfing.org/people/xnothingxheldxbackx