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Jungle

Climax

I have been dreaming of sailing my own boat around the seas since I was a teenager.

The open seas. Deserted islands. Self-sufficiency. Choosing where to go, deciding when and with whom. Living close to nature, following its rhythms – the movement of the water, the light that hits the beach – the sudden change in weather, the power of the swell. Finding time for myself, a good book, hours of contemplating the variations of color in the sky. And most importantly, good company.

Well, I dreamed a lot over the years. And then slowly things started taking shape. Years of work that made the possibilities seem more real. The purchase of a boat that physically embodied that dream. Months of hard work on that boat to get it ready to carry me to the place I had hoped for. And finally the encounter with Iva. The perfect partner to give me the last piece of the puzzle : a person to share your hopes with.

And then you dream of the perfect spot. A place that exceeds your dreams with its perfection, its simplicity, and the serenity it rewards you with.

Iva, Dali and I found that spot in North Cinque Island.

As we entered the west bay of the Island it was still early morning, the rising sun still blurring our view of land with its glare and the water with its reflection. We could barely see the reef and anchored in 12meters of water in the middle of the bay. As the sun rose in the sky, its light unveiled a perfect spectacle : a long stretch of sand separating the island in two lush hills outlined by giant trees carried by sinuous trunks. The water was splendid, the bay playing with different shades of blue and green, from the coral heads scattered across it to the perfect pool on white sand lining the beach.

We reached land with our dinghy, walked to the top of the stretch of sand only to fall on the ground, in awe of the other side : another perfect bay, another perfect beach. The same one, really, a long white line of fine sand holding two jewels on each side. We looked at each other and smiled.

We spent five days in North Cinque Island, all too quickly carried away by time. Days of exploring the forest, or lying on the sand. Playing with the water, snorkeling through the reefs. Spear fishing in the rocks, taking our time to elaborate gourmet meals.

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On our first sunset, we climbed an old dead tree lying on its side. The island rewarded us with yet another blissful surprise : a herd of deer feeding on the grass, meters away.

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After three days in The Perfect Bay we moved to the South side of the island.

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There, the passage between North and South Cinque, covered in reef, answered our wildest snorkeling and fishing hopes : a vibrant underwater life. Thousands of  small reef fish, huge schools of parrots and surgeons, crayfish, hump head wrasses and parrots, giant groupers and trevallies, sharks, and on the last day, our biggest reward : a manta ray aknowleged us with its gracious swimming style, and glided away.

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Fishing Action

Fishing Action

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Delicious Sweetlips

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Iva’s Favourite Coral Reef Fish : The Oriental Sweetlips !

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Attaining your dreams is something you have to deal with. Trying to reach a goal brings you forward and helps you deal with the common interrogation of existence. Why am I here ? What should I do ? What will I work towards when I wake up tomorrow morning ? For years, I was aiming towards the idea of a woman, a boat and a perfect place. All these images in my head finally took a clear shape and gave me more than I had ever expected. But what’s next ? What do I do now ? Thankfully I’m not alone anymore to figure that out…

Phil

Above and Below

It was hard to leave Havelock Island. But we were already one week into our trip, and the Indian authorities only deliver a one-month visa for the Andaman Islands. The frustration of not being able to spend more time in paradise slowly started creeping in. We had to plan our trip accordingly. It wasn’t easy to find the balance between our yearning to visit as many islands as we could and the need to spend more than a couple of nights in the places we loved the most. With only three weeks left we made our way to our next stop, Inglis Island.

As perfect as Havelock Island had been, Inglis rewarded us with a striking convex stretch of white sand contrasting with the deep turquoise of the water. And we were alone. The island was ours. The excitement grew as we anchored in ten meters on sand. As soon as we dropped the anchor, we were greeted by a group of mouse deer feeding on the beach. The next surprise came from the sky as a very intense experience: a Coast Guard helicopter circling 30 meters above us! We made contact though the VHF radio, identified ourselves, confirmed we had properly checked in in Port Blair and were bid farewell with a lovely “Have fun…and be safe!”

We spent the next couple of days exploring the island: the beach, the forest and the gorgeous sand cliffs rising above the water. Their different shades of yellow would constantly change with the light and amaze us throughout the day; we were grateful to sit in the shade of its caves, protected enough from the harassing heat to contemplate the waves breaking on the outer reefs.

Land Art

Land Art

Mouse Deer Skull

Turtle Skull

Again, it was hard to leave, but we had to stay on schedule. We motored north against a strong breeze and a choppy sea to reach North Button Island.

We both expected a lot from this tiny island as we had read that it was vibrant with sea life. Iva wanted to see manta rays. I was pretty excited about the fishing.

North Button Island from the Water

North Button Island from the Water

Iva hunts for photos, while Phil hunts for food! Here, a beautiful but very poisonous Lion Fish

Iva hunts for photos, while Phil hunts for food! Here, a beautiful but very poisonous Lion Fish

I started spearfishing back in 2003 when I was crewing around the South Pacific on sailboats for eight months. It quickly became an addiction at the time, although I barely caught any fish the first few months. Spearfishing is a difficult sport. You usually have to dive down in at least five meters of water to catch anything. 10 to 20 meters if you want to spear the big ones. The fish can breathe underwater, you can’t. The fish is really fast and reacts instantly to any movement or noise nearby. As free divers we are slow and not very agile underwater, especially if we want to stay long and keep enough air in our lungs to actually catch something. The slightest movement of a fin or the click of the gun releasing the spear will scare the fish away instantly.

Considering fish is our only source of fresh protein on the boat, it’s an exciting challenge.

I had done a bit of spearfishing in Thailand in the past year, but the Thai seas are so overfished that it is very hard to catch anything more than a small parrotfish or snapper. I was finally confronted to a proper fishing ground, as commercial fishing is not allowed in the Andaman Islands.

On the first day I caught a small grouper that was delicious but left us craving for more. On the second day we decided to take the dinghy further past the west point of the island. There was a lot of fish out there, but I wanted to challenge my fishing skills by catching something big, fast and delicious. A big grouper – always hiding in the rocks and very hard to catch – or a jackfish – one of the fastest hunters out there. As I jumped in the water at our second stop, I couldn’t believe my eyes : a school of small tuna was swimming right in front of me ! Tuna are rarely seen that close to the reef in shallow waters. I had caught some in the Pacific trailing a line of the back of the boat in open sea, but never actually seen one underwater. I tried to control the adrenaline pumping through my veins, gave a very smooth stroke of a fin towards the school and aimed at the closest fish with strong determination but little hope. The whole school instantly swam away from me but I shot anyway and rejoiced : I had caught one ! It was the strongest fish I’ve ever had to bring back onto the dinghy. This tuna was fighting hard but I somehow managed to pull it up, throw the spear into the dinghy and quickly finish it’s days of swimming the Andaman Sea.

That catch ended our fishing for the day. A two/three kilo tuna is definitely enough for the two of us ! I cut two beautiful filets out of our little friend that more than filled us up. We first enjoyed an appetizer of sashimi, then had one filet for lunch and one for dinner, accompanied by delicious vegetables, of which our favorite will remain the lovely little Andaman aubergines !

North Button Island also enabled us to do a bit of socializing with two French boats anchored next to us : Sea Lance and Nez Rouge. It felt great sharing stories around coffee in the morning and beers in the afternoon with people who have been sailing for years around the world… But we had to leave, to make it in time to an anchorage we had identified with Iva on the way up as a perfect place to celebrate her 26th birthday… more on that in the next episode !

Phil