< Disclaimer> < Return To Issue Article Index >

3 years ago now, the urge to travel again became overwhelming.  We were doing particularly well in our adopted home, the small but picturesque town of Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand, with a beautiful B&B lodge, successful computer centre and my wife, Vickie's founding participation in a comedy theatre troupe.  But we decided that the time had come for a change, definitely against our better judgment financially!  So, the decision being made, we began the process of selling up all we owned and preparing to move on.  The same had happened whilst we were living in Malaysia.  We had spent 6 years building a solid financial base, I with a yachting Company and Vickie the head of an international school in Kuala Lumpur, when the wanderlust struck.  So we sold everything and emigrated to New Zealand with our then young family.  We have both always been avid travelers, though not in the usual vacation sense, but living and working in exotic locations.  I have always been involved in the yachting scene, owning my own yacht charter company and offshore sailing school for 7 years based in and around the Mediterranean and skippering the larger yachts prior to that..  Vickie Nannying in Switzerland and Russia then teaching in Italy, Iran and Eygpt.  We met in Malaysia, and being like minded, decided to travel together. So what next after New Zealand?  Sailing the world soon became the obvious choice, so off to Fremantle, Australia to start our next great adventure. 3 months of hard work to prepare 'Onfekomonadi', the 63 foot ketch aboard which we would explore the world's oceans, followed.

Since we have always enjoyed sharing our home, Lodge and various yachts with others, it seemed obvious to continue this tradition aboard, and invite various people to join us and share the experience and some of the expense!.  The departure crew consisted of us and our 2 children, Lauren (11) and Jamie (9), an Australian couple, who had lent us the yacht (but that’s another story!) and 2 English lads.  Arriving at Cocos, literally paradise on Earth, made all the hard work and sacrifices more than worthwhile and well exceeded any of our expectations.  We anchored off a totally deserted island inside the lagoon, with the classic white sand beach, shimmering turquoise crystal clear water, palms swaying gently in the breeze and beautiful sunsets.  We could easily have stayed there for years, with all the natural beauty, water teeming with tropical fish and abundant coral gardens to explore but the adventure beckoned.  So onwards to the islands of Rodrigues, Maritius and Reunion, lying to the East of Madagascar.  These predominantly French Islands, each with there own unique characteristics, were captivating.  The hiking and vistas in the cirques of Reunion remain fresh in our minds even today.

A change of crew in Rodrigues, and on to Madagascar, recently out of the grips of civil unrest and then, still not back on the tourist map. The reasons for which were poignantly brought home, whilst meeting new crew at the Nosy Be airport, which was riddled with bullet holes.  And whilst strolling along the beach in Isle St Marie, meeting a troop of government soldiers trying to round up stray renegades!  Isle St Marie, a pretty island on Madagascar’s East coast, also lies in one of the worlds major whale breeding areas, and while sailing in we were entertained for hours with their wonderful antics and majestic displays. Parts of Madagascar are time capsules, as villages have changed little over hundreds of years.  Still comprising of straw and mud huts with swept earth floors.  In certain areas even hard cash was of no practical use to the villagers as we found while trying to buy fresh fruit.  Drinking water was to become our trading commodity.  Thankfully ‘Onfe’ is equipped with her own desalinization plant, converting sea water to fresh, much appreciated by the people of these remote villages.

Onwards from this fascinating area to Tanzania and the African Continent via Mayotte, a French enclave, for a shopping extravaganza to re-stock the dwindling n board supplies.   This time the crew change in Tanzania coincided with an absolutely amazing safari which all of us, 10 on board, thoroughly enjoyed.  None of us imagined it would be so wonderful seeing all the diverse wildlife in its own natural habitat while we were caged in the back of a truck.  But eating lunch by one of Makumi National Parks water holes, with a pride of lions, hippo’s, crocodiles and elephants for company and the sight of hundreds of wilder beast strung out to the horizon at sunset defies description. 
.

Back to 6 on board and a fascinating cruise down the coast of Tanzania with a retired British couple, Maurice and Sue, good friends from our Malaysia days, after a short diversion to Zanzibar, the Spice Island paradise and former slave trade centre with all its associated history.  It was fascinating to discover how all the spices we used daily, Vickie is an accomplished chef and exotic food is often on the menu, is grown and processed.  Much to Lauren’s fascination we also saw natural lipstick and soap berries.  Maurice had been in the Colonial Police Force in the then Tanganyika, and his insights into former colonial life and the dramatic changes within the country added greatly to our enjoyment. Across the border to Mozambique, one of Vickie’s favorite countries, and continuing southward.  Mozambique had been war torn for over 20 years which was readily visible when visiting its former great vacation centers, now mainly in ruins with only traces of their former glory.  The coast, off lying islands and beautiful beaches, coupled with the friendliest, and most organized, of the African people’s we met (you can hitch a ride anywhere, and we frequently did with the whole family piling in the back of an old pick up) added to the charm of this wonderful country, were the locals are striving hard to rebuild there former lives and return Mozambique to the holiday playground of Africa.  Time to change crew again. This time anchored in the stunning Bazaruto Archipelago and onwards to South Africa leaving Mozambique, with our many happy memories, behind.  Carlos, a young Argentinean and Sue from England had joined us and first stop Richards Bay. Here 2 months of exploring, relaxing and making friends, with a little essential maintenance thrown in for good measure.

South Africa, with its abundance of natural resources, wonderful wildlife and scenery, made for a great cruising ground and a continuous stream of people joined us for one leg or another all the way to Cape Town.  We rounded the Cape of Good Hope with a party of 4 English lads, whales, dolphins, seals and penguins and one of the most spectacular phosphorescent displays I’ve ever scene, water pyrotechniques at its best!  Cape Town and Hout Bay in particular was among our favorite destinations.  A very beautiful city, surrounded by hills, mountains and National Parks.  Lots of exploring, and even better, lots and lots of crayfish courtesy of  our 9 year old son and couple of lobster pots!  In Hout Bay we became involved in the booming film industry, as ‘Onfe’ is an extremely pretty yacht, and was soon spotted and commandeered by the local film scout responsible for finding suitable boats for the industry.  Yet another diverse and extremely interesting diversion for us before moving onwards to escape the approaching southern winter.

Sailing North from Cape Town, we cruised the barren coast of Namibia as far as Walvis Bay.  This mainly desert country, one of the worlds great diamond areas had beaches where gems (unfortunately no diamonds) were there for the collecting and the strange floating vacuum cleaners used to recover the diamonds from the sea bed plied the inshore waters. We have since met more than one cruiser who has funded there trip with Namibian diamonds.  Now came our next major ocean crossing.  With the notorious Indian Ocean under our belt and ‘Onfe’ having already proved herself as a most capable, safe and comfortable ocean cruiser, we were looking forward to the South Atlantic crossing to Brazil.

We set off from Walvis Bay, with 2 South Africans, keen to learn as much as I could teach them about sailing and crossing oceans.  The sailing was superb, with gentle trade winds interspersed with lively squalls to keep us on our toes, and plenty of opportunity for the crew to practice there new found skills, from sail changes to weather forecasting.  9 days out we sighted the forbidding rocky cliffs of St Helena, a British owned island in the middle of the South Atlantic. Famous as the last home and resting place of the exiled Napoleon.  To our delight the island turned out to be an absolutely beautiful respite.  Wonderful walks through verdant countryside, locals with great tales to tell and no tourists as St Helena has no airfield and is serviced only by a supply ship every 2 weeks.  Napoleon’s house was fascinating, accentuated by the most enthusiastic French guide who kept us all spell bound for 2 hours with his anecdotes of life in the house whilst Napoleon lived there.  Its only fair to say at this stage, that each of our destinations definitely deserves its own article at least.
.

Our longest open ocean leg followed our departure from St Helena, 15 days to Salvador, Brazil and our first foray into Latin America.  What a country of colour, friendliness and festivals!  The Brazilians always have an excuse to party and Salvadorians were no exception.  We spent a remarkable 4 months cruising this diverse area, exploring everything from the cities, small remote islands and villages to the varied river anchorages and market towns still served by heavily laden donkey’s.  We were inundated with people wanting to join us and those that did, like us, were totally fascinated while getting a real feel for the Brazilian culture and lifestyle.  We left the Salvador area with numerous happy memories and 3 Israeli girls and headed north to explore Brazils North Eastern coast.  In Natal we climbed and played on the giant sand dunes and found a great new use for the body boards with the steep sandy slopes. While in Forteleza we were anchored off Brazils largest open air rock concert which soon became a case of ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ so we spent 3 nights entertained by Brazil's best Rock, Jazz and Folk stars, little sleep but a great time!

Deb, Grev & Vic, Sakatia, Madagascar

....
Leaving Brazil, tired but happy with 2 Swedish girls aboard we headed North for the Caribbean, the famous sailors playground.  Stopping on route in French Guyana at Isle Du Salut, readers of Papillion will be familiar with the notorious French prison of ‘Devils Island’.  In fact all 3 islands in the group possessed prisons and wandering among the half overgrown ruins was both sinister and captivating.  Having prisons on such beautiful islands was in stark contrast to the surroundings.  For us the break in our northward journey was similar to St Helena, a very pleasant surprise, as we enjoyed walks amongst the lush tropical vegetation, exploring the ruins and generally relaxing in the beautiful surroundings.

Our arrival in Tobago late October 2003 heralded the beginning of the next stage of our ocean wanderings, Venezuela and the Caribbean.  The strong West Indian flavour was savoured by us all and many happy hours were spent exploring Trinidad and Tobago with there heavily forested hills, quaint towns and villages and golden beaches.  With the lead up to carnival just beginning we were treated to plenty of calypso and steel pan band music and even previews of this years costumes, magnificent to say the least. 
 

The trip to Venezuela gave us a taste of another Latin American society, with its desperate economic climate working heavily in our favour we stocked up with everything we could carry on board and ‘Onfe’ sank another couple of inches in the water with all the weight.  The stark contrast to the heavy foliage, of Brazil, The Guyana’s and Trinidad, proved an invigorating change.  Little rain and low humidity, typical desert foliage with an abudance of cacti, clear waters and no shortage of giant Iguana’s and small tree Boa’s made our forays to the hill tops for those breathtaking panoramic views delightful.  Although we didn’t venture too far into Venezuela, we have to keep something for the next trip! We thoroughly enjoyed the cruising we did there and the people we met.  We have spent the last few months slowly working our way through the chain of Caribbean islands which surprisingly are very diverse both in topography, sophistication and culture, leading us to always wait in happy anticipation for the next.  Over the past 2 years we have shared our adventure with so many different people of all ages and nationalities, both children and adults, and thoroughly enjoyed, as they have, the whole experience, and are looking forward to what lies ahead and all the people who will join us for the future legs of our journey.  More of the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Cuba then Florida.  Across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean stopping at Bermuda and the acclaimed cruising of the Azores. The summer to be spent in my old stamping ground, the Med. and all the changes that have undoubtedly occurred there. We have been asked so many times ‘What are the highlights of your trip?’ to which there is no defined answer, virtually every day leads to new adventures and experiences.  But comments from our various crews have given me a new insight into what I have taken for granted for so many years.  The simple pleasures of sailing at night with a canopy of bright stars, Dolphins playing in the bow wave, leaving magical phosphorescent trails at night, steering 30 tons of yacht in a brisk 20 knot breeze, the feeling of being at one with the elements and harnessing their power to drive you onwards, swimming mid ocean in the richest blue water over 5000 metres deep,  catching the large ocean fish and eating them fresh and the excitement of arriving at the next new place.

.
One of my personal delights is having been able to share, with others, the joys of sailing, often made prohibitive by the usual high cost, by offering on board vacations or adventure sailing legs to those keen to join us at a  much lower cost.  I know we have converted many ‘Land Lubbers’ to bona fide ‘Yachties’, so If you are interested in following our adventures or joining us aboard, take a look at our web site http://groups.msn.com/bluewatersailing we would
love to hear from you.

John & Vickie Billingham,  Antigua,  March 2004

If you are interested in joining John & Vickie or you would like to ask them questions about their adventure Click Here
.

< Send a Letter to the Editor > < Subscribe> < Submit An Article >< Disclaimer>