Iva, Author at Phil & Iva

Introducing Love Making Waves

By: Iva

March 24, 2016

Phil and I often write about the endless and sometimes difficult learning experiences that we face daily on the boat. Living at sea involves problems of all kinds and in their resolution you are able to learn a great deal about yourself, the person next to you and the boat. However, the lessons don’t stop there. Living on a sailboat for the past two years has taught me a lot about relationships and especially about the relationships people have with nature.

One of the things I enjoy most about this cruising lifestyle is the freedom of exploration and the beauty of living in touch with one’s surroundings. As Phil wrote before, sailors and their vessels can come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all united by a common passion. Meeting sailors from across the world and getting a peek into their lives and floating homes has been one of my favourite things about cruising.

It is also from this exchange with others that I have learned the most. It’s impossible to count how many times we have relied on others’ expertise to help us solve problems. Whether it’s a home remedy for a bad insect bite or a DIY repair for engine trouble, we are always thankful to be able to count on our friends’ experiences if we can’t draw from our own.

It is in this vein that I introduce my new blog. These past few years I have been gathering experiences, collecting stories and most importantly meeting amazing women across the world that live, love and breathe nature.

Love Making Waves aims to bring women closer to each other, and closer to nature. It is a space for women and nature living in harmony. A platform from which to share those little sparks of wisdom that you can finally pass on after learning them the hard way. The girly tips & tricks to roughing it. To share stories that will one day encourage women everywhere to pursue their desire to travel and to venture into nature unafraid.

More to come!

An Hour in Phuket

By: Iva

March 3, 2014

Come join us for lunch in Phuket !

This is what our lunches looked like everyday during our two months on the boatyard in Phuket… Not a bad break from work.

**We recommend you watch this video on YouTube HD

Reflections

By: Iva

July 12, 2013

It was not easy to leave this corner of India that had us so eagerly engrossed. Returning from Cinque Island we fought against our visa deadline and tried hastily to squeeze a few more anchorages before returning to Phuket. We wanted to run on more beaches, see locals in sarees dancing on the sand and taste new native flavours. Chidiya-tapu and Port Blair bid us a colorful and warm farewell.

There are a lot of finer moments and small details of our trip to the Andaman Islands that have escaped our writing thus far. We have spoken of the incredibly beautiful, deserted beaches, the locals friendly and exotic and the fish plentiful and multi-colored… Yet as we began to conclude our tour of the islands I couldn’t help but feel that some of the more subtle yet significant discoveries had happened between our couple and within our selves.

As Phil set the sails and adjusted the wind-vane, the sun fell and we prepared for our night shifts. Unlike the first crossing, this time we had the moon to guide us during the early parts of the night. While Phil slept and the engine hummed loudly, I had the crescent moon as my companion and more than once danced on the deck looking at its bright yellow light. I danced, and stretched to stay awake during the hours of my vigil in the vast darkness. I admired the stars until my eyes lost focus and I began to see them move and blend and vibrate in the sky. Perhaps they are not called bewitching hours for nothing for it was during these moments that I found myself most exposed, more susceptible to the fantasies that sprung from the atramental night.

Took advantage of the lack of wind for a quick dip

During our crossing Phil and I would at times hardly see each other as the days passed. It was important that whenever someone was awake, the other was resting and regaining the energy necessary to take the next shift. I had more time to give in to my thoughts, no one to edit them for me and was left to indulge myself in my emotions, which fell and rose with the waves. At times I was exhilarated, in a trance with the music I blared from my headphones to help keep me awake. Other moments I was convinced we were on the verge of being in danger, that a strong gust of wind could at any moment catapult us into a disastrous squall… My heart beating loudly and my senses at once heightened from the nerves but dulled from the lack of sleep. I would stare at the soft orange light of our compass for hours on end, my eyes fixed on a range of three degrees until all else disappeared around me. Then dawn would come and with it an immense feeling of relief, followed by the overwhelming bliss of visits from dolphins and pilot whales.

Dolphins

Pilot Whales

Pilot Whale

Enjoying the few hours a day that I saw Phil, both of us awake and excited, me in awe of his growing, brilliant abilities as Captain. And sometimes sheer frustration, lack of wind and lack of movement for hours on end… Being pushed in the wrong direction by a current we can’t fight in heat we can’t escape. Night again: my eyes fixed on the sails and the compass when something bright flashes and in fear of it being lightning I look up immediately and instead see a meteor blazing across the stars.

Midnight as we see the first bright lights of fishermen appear on the horizon and we know we are closer to Thailand. Twilight as we approach Phuket and the silhouettes of the wooden boats with sleepy fishermen greet us and lure us closer to shore. Dawn breaks over Promthep Cape and lights up the Big Buddha who gives us the official welcome. Yindī t̂xnrạb

Iva

Twenty-Six

By: Iva

June 10, 2013

My birthday this year was spent in a bubble. Made from the froth of the sea, lingering gently on a small strip of beach, shaded by green and red leaves. Far from phone calls and Facebook messages I spent the day basking in the warm embrace of Philippe, Dali and the Andaman Sea.

By this point in our trip our eyes and minds had begun to adjust slightly to our altered and privileged reality. So much so that we did not feel too intimidated to handpick a secluded corner of Chakra Jurum and claim it ours for the night.

Phil anchored the boat with fresh confidence and ease acquired from our recent crossing. Dali had never sat so close to the shore, and looked magnificently smug about ten meters from the reef, perched perfectly on a white sandy bottom surrounded by turquoise and azure.

Laying on the sand and looking at the sky while Phil fished for our dinner, I found it hard to reflect on my twenty six years of life. I felt too far removed to consider it all as a sequence of events or coherent ensemble. I saw Phil and I floating in a bubble, detached from our previous experiences, suspended temporarily in our fragile and pristine paradise. Even when two catamarans entered the channel to remind us of the outside world, our eyes quietly followed the movement of their sails until the intrusion was chased away and we were alone again.

In the early afternoon we made a fire on the beach and prepared for dinner. Our picnic was complete with white wine and a freshly baked cake. We toasted to us, to the boat, to the halfway mark in our journey and to our family and friends who were in our thoughts as night fell and the stars united everything under their guard.

Iva

Havelock

By: Iva

May 9, 2013

Dali and the Mangroves

It was difficult to know where to begin… The Andamans are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal. There are 572 islands strewn vertically over an area of 8,249 square kilometers, which for us meant that we had the luxury of being able to sail only a few hours before finding ourselves at a new destination.

We decided to start our discoveries by visiting some islands north of Port Blair. We sailed just 30 nautical miles from Port Blair and anchored on the South West tip of Havelock Island. Belonging to Ritchie’s Archipelago, Havelock is the largest of this island chain and also one of the few Andaman Islands that are inhabited.

However, we did not see anyone at our first anchorage. The day was spent marveling at the water, framed by lush greenery punctuated with red. We wasted no time in adopting what were to become our island-life rituals. Phil plunged into the turquoise depths spear gun in hand and with the fruits of his hunt we celebrated the first of many fish inspired feasts.

Dinner

As the celebrations continued into the night, we made a bonfire on the soft sand and watched the sun disappear behind a few stray mangrove trees.

The next morning we moved north and anchored in front of the monumental Radha Nagar Beach, also known as “Beach Number 7”. To say the seven miles of sand, deep, flat and white, were impressive is a gross understatement. Looking at the sprawling beach from the boat, I felt dwarfed by its magnificence, in awe of the sheer magnitude of its collective beauty.

Clear Water

The lack of a coral reef allows for a lagoon-like crystal pool that touches the edges of the fine sand in calm waves. From the depths of the beach sprung the massive trunks of trees, accentuated by smaller varieties in all shades of possible greens. There were even small thatched lookout posts, which seemed comically perfect – as if the whole landscape was a man-made set, ready for its close-up.

We spent several days at this beach, both at the beginning and end of our Northern tour. It was by far one of our favourite anchorages.

Dali Awaiting a Squall

Also a popular destination for Indian tourists, it was a spectacle in itself to observe women dressed in beautiful saris play in the waves. Returning one afternoon from a visit to the nearby village, we were also amused to find that an Indian family had made a homey rest stop out of our dinghy!

From the beach we were able to hire a Mahindra jeep and visit the nearby Village No.3, or Govind Nagar Village. The ride inland was beautiful, crossing plantations dotted with brightly painted houses and white cows.

The village was equally charming, being comprised of a small stretch of shops clustered around the fresh market. Walking the short street, we found everything we needed and even made our first international call home! It was good to hear my father’s voice and though we have been separated before by much greater distances, finding an international landline in the village and the static on the other line made me feel like I was phoning home from the ends of the world.

Waking up to its imposing scenery, walking and walking the stretches of sand and buying samosas from a very friendly man under an umbrella. The vegetarian menues were amazing and we found each dish delicious and perfectly seasoned with mild spices.

In short, it was hard to say goodbye to Havelock. The island seemed to have everything we could have hoped to find in our Indian travels. But this was just an introduction, and we were already short of days so we lifted the anchor and continued north…

Iva

Farewell Havelock…

Welcome to Port Blair

By: Iva

April 29, 2013

Arriving in Port Blair was exhilarating. Though Phil and I have both lived in Asia for many years, this is my first introduction to India and after months between Thailand and Malaysia, it looks, smells and feels extremely dissimilar. There is something already exotic about arriving somewhere by boat. Even if that place happens to be readily accessible by other means of transport, by evading them you avoid arrival terminals, other tourists, taxi cues. Instead we were greeted by a bustling port and as we entered Chatham channel – all the while communicating with local port authorities with a VHF radio – I had the ridiculous but giddy feeling that we were discovering something new. Granted it was only new to Phil and I, but the excitement mounted.

We anchored finally in the designated area for visiting yachts and for the first time in five days the rocking, rolling, lurching, climbing, falling… stopped. Though it had taken my body some time to become accustomed to it, I had luckily never found the movement uncomfortable during our crossing and it was actually the lack thereof that resulted in an immediate headache. In my mind I pictured my brain, which had been bobbing along happily, hitting the front of my skull as the boat reached a halt.

Although I was itching to explore the first piece of the Andamans we had access to (and also curious to see how my legs would feel on firm land), we could not go to shore until the following morning. We spent the day of our arrival welcoming authorities onto the boat, which sounds anticlimactic but was actually a very comical and colourful experience.

Port Blair at Dusk

The next morning we made the one-kilometer long dinghy ride to the dock and began to visit Port Blair, the largest town and capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India.

As I have not had the chance to visit mainland India, I cannot make any comparative statements but according to Phil the South Andaman Island port is a “very chilled out version” of India. And I can see what he means. There are the beginnings of the chaotic characteristics associated with India; jaywalking cows, loud music blaring from invisible speakers, fishing boats near the roads, the intermittent car horns. But all with a laid back island-life attitude in much less densely populated space.

Driving to the heart of town you feel that you have travelled back in time. That you are on an island somewhere in the 60’s or in some warped Asian version of the Dharma Initiative. We rode a beautiful HM taxi through streets lined with white linens drying in the sun. We arrived at the Harbour Master’s office where we had to present our itinerary for approval and receive our final clearance to visit the nearby islands.

No Traffic Lights in Port Blair

The building, well maintained but clearly out dated had incredible charm as we stepped into offices where windows were wide open, letting the sunlight yellow the stacks and stacks of papers that have not yet been replaced by computer hard drives. Everywhere we visited was clearly over staffed with officials taking time and pleasure in completing their duties in an orderly fashion as well as consulting their colleagues or inviting them in just for fun. Though we had read warnings about the bureaucratic procedures necessary to visit the islands, we were on the contrary surprised by the officials’ friendliness and enjoyed participating and observing their administrative culture.

Phil and our friend the Customs Official

We had lunch and did our grocery shopping in Aberdeen Bazaar, which consists of one main road that starts with a giant golden Ghandi monument and stretches upwards for about four blocks. These four blocks are packed with stores side by side, on top of each other, above street level, below street level and some almost on the street itself. Everything from bakeries to dental surgeons, clothing, supermarkets, electronics, chai tea stands and Internet cafes is packed in the small and bustling downtown area. We bought our fruits and vegetables from the fresh market then continued up the road to Baba Restaurant where eight four-person tables are crammed into the last shop lot on the road and we waited in line to get a seat and some delicious chicken masala, vegetable curry and tomato rice.

One of the many bakeries in Aberdeen Bazaar

Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Market

Buying Fruits

Schoolgirls in Uniform and Matching Braids

Blender Repair Shop

Back on the boat, and though thoroughly charmed with Port Blair, its colourful wooden houses perched on hills with wandering goats by the roadside, it is the beaches and the water and the islands that we came to visit so once our administrative procedures were underway, we were happy to leave and further our exploration.

Iva

Dali 2012 Tracks

By: Iva

October 10, 2012

As this year slowly approaches its end, we find ourselves reflecting on months gone by. I have trouble grasping the idea that I have been living on a boat for eight months now. The change in lifestyle is still a very fresh one, almost abstract in my mind when compared to the futures I had previously imagined. Yet it’s a lovely feeling looking back on this year in quiet surprise while, with time, I become more and more used to the idea.

Below is a map showing the combined journeys we have made since I joined Phil on Dali this year. Together we have travelled roughly 1,250 nautical miles which is 2,012 kilometers (yes, really!).

We have come to be reasonably comfortable along the West Coast of Malaysia and Thailand. We had the amazing luck of discovering new anchorages, beaches, islands each time we made a move. Returning to old favourites made me feel incredibly privileged… I know it is a rare thing to be able to say, “let’s go back to that favourite mooring, where the water is clear and the sun sets between Rok Nok and Nai”. And then a few days later, do so.

In short, these are our travels. As much as these ups and downs have taught us, we will be happy to explore new horizons in the coming year.

Iva

Boat Life, Thus Far…

By: Iva

May 30, 2012

Difícil describir semejante cambio de estilo. De vida. Dormía en la casa de mis padres, en la ciudad donde pasé la mayor parte de mis veinte-y-cinco años. No había pasado mucho tiempo pero algo de rutina tenía, y todo lo familiar. Mis horarios parecían organizarse independientemente, según factores ajenos que me interesaban pero no me pertenecían. Y aunque tengo padres jóvenes, que con su entusiasmo, energía e insistencia siempre nos acercaron a ella, nunca me sentí muy afín con la naturaleza.

And then you wake up. And though the sun has only been up an hour it’s enough to lure you out and into the water. My favourite thing about the boat is what it sits on. A sapphire blue, an electric, a pastel, a stunning, stunning blue, a turquoise, a cyan, a whole world of crystal hues where you can float suspended in a different reality. The freedom to jump in whenever you want; however you want. With no one but the fish watching.

I have discovered mornings, which never seemed to last this long in the city and for the first time in my life my body deems breakfast a necessity as everything falls into a more natural routine. Mornings spent chasing fish hovering over coral reaching the beaches touching the trees.

Tiene otro ritmo el día que se pausa a la mitad cuando la tierra lleva como corona al sol. La hora de un almuerzo hecho con las manos, con lo que hay o con lo que queda. Un rato de descanso sin culpas con la tranquilidad de saber que todavía te queda toda la tarde por delante y toda la isla, todo el mar.

As with everything else, afternoons are also determined by the weather. Postcard perfect afternoons taking the dinghy to explore more and more beaches. Underwater afternoons swimming in our private aquarium. Afternoons when it’s too hot to move and we lay belly up reading and dozing. Productive, cloudy afternoons working on things here and there on the boat. Rainy afternoons graciously enjoying the temperature drop inside with a movie.

Of course it’s not always idyllic surroundings and fair weather. As of late, more often than not we are running around gathering materials and hoping for less rain so repairs can move forward. But even the hard work seems more rewarding when it’s physical, and it’s a nice feeling doing something for no one other than yourself, the other person and the boat.

El mejor momento de descanso viene teñido de violeta y nunca dura lo suficiente. Un juego de cartas, algo de música, las preparaciones para la cena y de repente termino el día.

Being on the boat has taught me a lot in these short months. I am braver than I was. Though braver is much too robust a word and it’s more accurate to say I am learning to prioritize my fears. It is a relief in a sense to be thrust into a squall and feel dwarfed by the power of the wind and the waves.

And everywhere is as impressive. Vegetation dripping off limestone walls disappearing into green water mirroring the clouds pass. The crystal water black under a sky with no moon but littered with stars. The same black water lighting up with bioluminescence with every drop that stirs. A jet stream of glittery bubbles behind the dinghy on our way back home.

De las comodidades urbanas extraño pocas, aunque seguramente eso cambie con el tiempo. Por ahora mis mayores preocupaciones están relacionadas con el higiene y el cuidado femenino que tan cuidado lo tenia. Lo peor hasta ahora ha sido tener que ir cortando principios de rastas, mientras mi pelo lucha contra la sal, el mar y el sol.

Thus, life on the boat has been a welcome change for me. I hope it will continue to give me opportunities to grow; learn more about myself, about my surroundings, about it all.

Iva

Visitors

By: Iva

May 2, 2012

In sudden and boisterous contrast to our first two months alone, we have spent the past few weeks welcoming friends and family on board. The first guests we were expecting were newly wed Cedric and Sum from Hong Kong. Since they graciously welcomed us at their wedding earlier this year, we wanted to make sure we returned the favour and showed them a good time on the boat. That same weekend, some friends of ours from Kuala Lumpur were hosting a farewell party for a notorious Mr.Freddy. Those who know us (individually and as a couple) know well that we aren’t the kind to turn down a good party… So we anchored in Pantai Cenang and prepared to socialize for the first time in weeks.

We all spent a lovely afternoon on the boat. Sum and Cedric were excited and at ease. At the time they also shared with us their hopes of having a baby and since we have recently found out this dream of theirs has come true we can’t help but think maybe a little Dali magic helped speed things along! In any case, may they realize the rest of all their ambitions.

That night Sum & Cedric retired early (possibly for reasons stated above) and we joined our KL friends on the beach. It was great to be surrounded by such familiar faces and feel like we were not too far from the city we both called home, and its people. The night was complete with a full blown game of Flunkyball after which we even visited Langkawi’s ‘hottest night club’. All in all a great day and night amongst friends and a warm welcome back to Malaysia.

Photo Courtesy of Romie L.

However, the party could not continue the next night as we moved the boat and prepared for the arrival of Philippe’s parents.

Fuel Dock in Telaga Harbour

Dali anchored in front of Philippe’s parents hotel, awaiting their arrival!

I was very happy to meet Philippe’s mother and father, Renate and Alain and to see that the feelings of relief were mutual as we all got along effortlessly. Their easy ability to adapt also applied to the boat, where they were both instantly comfortable.

While I was just beginning to breathe a sigh of relief, we had to brace ourselves for the arrival of my family.

The day before my family was to arrive Phil wanted to take his parents out for a short sail. We left in the morning, enjoyed lunch and a swim at a nearby beach and were making our way back when Phil noticed a problem with the engine. For those of you who know about boats, and those of you who don’t: engine problems are stressful. Philippe and I had gone up to the border of Myanmar and back – sometimes using the engine for 13 hours straight and the first day he takes his parents out is when something decides to go wrong. Needless to say we both believe strongly in Murphy’s Law. I also believe in Karma and like to think that’s why we were lucky enough to have good conditions and were able to sail back and anchor in front of his parents’ hotel and identify the problem with the engine: a broken impeller in the water pump.

Alain and Philippe raising the French and German flags

The next day my parents arrived at their hotel with me sweating and stressing, and Philippe up to his neck in grease. My parents arrived in the middle of the problem yet eager to help. I spent the afternoon with my mother and sister on the beach while the men worked on Dali. With help from my dad, who has always loved mechanics, the problem was finally fixed – just in time for celebratory sundowners.

That evening we met back with Philippe’s parents and had a wonderful meal together. The rest of my family’s stay was just as pleasant and the next day we all went for a sail around the islands of Langkawi. I was very happy to have my parents and sister experience a little of life on the boat and be able to imagine what our day to day is like in more detail. All in all both families were very happy to have had the chance to meet, and Phil and I the happiest of all.

Both families. Only missing Philippe’s brother Julien (who will join us soon) and my sister Ileana who will hopefully visit this year.

My parents returned to Kuala Lumpur as Philippe, his parents and I sailed to Koh Lipe, Thailand, for a few days of clearer waters and gorgeous beaches. We enjoyed our small vacation and returned to Langkawi happy and relaxed, with his parents even more at ease on Dali.

Beautiful Koh Lipe

We have said goodbye to Philippe’s parents now, happy to hear that they are excited for their next visit. In a few weeks our string of visitors continues as we prepare to welcome Philippe’s brother on board. Meanwhile, we may take a short holiday to Kuala Lumpur to take a break from playing hosts!

Iva

Langkawi to Phuket

By: Iva

March 4, 2012

As you can see from the previous post, we are now in Phuket, spending one more night here before continuing our journey north. It’s been a little over two weeks since we left Langkawi, and we now find ourselves about halfway to our final destination, the Surin Islands.

Though it makes me feel slightly old and out of the loop to admit it: we are new to this blogging business and finding it somewhat of a struggle. Nevertheless, we started this project with the hope of sharing our experiences and thus will keep insisting.

In Langkawi our days went by quickly between settling me in and preparing the boat for the trip. This mostly consisted of checking that everything was in running order, filling up water and petrol tanks and a fair bit of grocery shopping.

Second Day on the Boat

Small Repairs

Koh Lipe was the setting of my first visit to the boat so I was very happy to be sailing back there a year later. Who could have imagined it? Phil and I enjoyed a few quiet nights there, me getting reacquainted with the boat and the two of us with each other.

We stopped overnight in Koh Adang where the beach is interrupted by beautiful rock installations.

Koh Adang before sunset

We arrived in Koh Rok after a ten-hour sailing day. At the moment, on days we have to move, we have been waking up early in the morning to make the most of the last of the Northeasterly wind. It usually dies at around noon and we find ourselves motoring the rest of the way.

Koh Rok Nai from afar

Happy to have arrived

The Water at Koh Rok

Thank you Steph for the lovely present!

Watching the sun set

Koh Rok is comprised of two small islands, Rok Nok and Rok Nai – both equally beautiful in different ways. Rok Nai is the main island, hosting a small campsite and a makeshift restaurant. Opposite lies Rok Nok which has dense jungle fringed by orange sand.

View of the water from Koh Rok Nok

We had a few days of great snorkeling at Koh Rok. The water is stunning at every hour of the day and I was lucky enough to celebrate my 25th birthday there – cake and all!

My Delicious Birthday Cake & Presents!

Phil caught a fish!

Koh Rok Nai

Enjoying the shade a little…

Beautiful Snorkeling Point

Life on the boat thus far has been ‘smooth sailing’ (couldn’t help myself!) and Phil and I are forced, in the nicest of ways, to know more and more about each other.

My 25th Birthday

After Koh Rok we made our way to Koh Lanta. Arriving just in time to see the sunset from the beach, we enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere of the evening on the island.

Everyone enjoying their ice creams at sundown

Sunset at Lanta

In the morning, we left for Koh Phi Phi. Arriving in the southern bay of Koh Phi Phi Don at midday is not something we would recommend. After the relaxed pace of our previous stops, we found ourselves thrust into the loud reality of the popular tourist destination. Boats of all kinds, shapes and sizes sped in and out of the pier, teeming with tourists – also all shapes and sizes. It felt like being anchored in the middle of a highway in big city during rush hour.

Despite the noisy start to the day, we had a great night out (as Phi Phi promises). In true Thai style, we enjoyed some of the most agile fire dancers I have seen as well as cheap alcohol and a bit of rain.

Iva LED-Rope Jumping

After a night to recover on the northern bay of Phi Phi, we made our way to Phuket. Here we have been re-stocking the boat and catching up with some of Phil’s sailing friends. After four days here we are excited for the next leg of our trip.