Diary »

The Norton family have  been at sea now for 21 months on yacht Miss Tippy. Charlie, Freddie and Annie on the bow of Miss Tippy arriving in Oman after a 8day and 10 hour exhausting and emotional voyage across the Arabian Sea from India.

We have had an amazing experience  sailing around the world. Sadly this was our last sea voyage south of the Suez canal. Little did we know about the worstening piracy situation in the Arabian Gulf, extending for the first time this year out from Somalia, deeper into the Arabian sea, towards Indian waters.

After  3 weeks in India it was time to leave for Oman.

Miss Tippy  had been anchored in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel and The Gateway to India. We had talked to many yacht crews and all were nervous about embarking on this passage. We read in the Hindu Times that the Indian Navy had intercepted a Somali pirated mother ship only 30 miles off the coast of India.

After many discussions with sailing friends we decided to sail in convoy with 5 other boats. Everyone on the rally shared their plans and everyone was consulted to make sure no one was left to make the voyage alone. Although we were not officially planning to travel ing groups until th eGulf of Aden

We decided  to follow a coastal route to Oman with 1800 miles of water ahead. The view left behind Miss Tippy, anchored ships, the smog of Mumbai with our convoy  of 5 other boats setting out to cross the Arabian sea.

Just out of the harbour two ship wrecked boats awaiting rescue after hitting rocks. There was a huge spill from the oil tanker Giant 2 and it stuck to our hull!

Sunset with Indian fishing boats in the distance.

Miss  Tippy in the sunset.

We diverted through the oil fields to avoid the area north where a  pirate attack had taken place as we were en route.

Fire plumes from the oilrigs lit up the night sky along the Mumbai coast.

Night watch.

Camera tricks. Crazy light pictures taken of the oil rigs as Miss Tippy rocks and rolls on through the sea.

Supper below deck.

I love 2am to 6am the sunrise watch. Multi tasking, steering, reading and drinking a cup of tea!

Sheila Norton on night watch!

A little bundle of Annie, helping on watch.

Next day Charlie on deck, Brian at the helm.

During our passage through the Arabian sea, it quickly became apparent that piracy had recently escalated to an unprecedented level.  Although the sea was calm, the waters  were very dangerous and we were travelling as a family with the children on board.

Two days into our transit, a rally yacht with friends aboard was pirated near the Somalian coast and as we sailed on, events unfolded and  the crew were held hostage on yacht Quest for 5 days with tragic consequences.

Saildance ploughing through the water alongside Miss Tippy. We stayed very close for the rest of the voyage.

Miss Tippy, Blue Magic, Island Kea, Jackamy, Saildance and Sol Maria  sailed in tight formation for 8 days through the pirate infested waters.

There was no turning back, we realised the dangers were both ahead of us towards the Omani coast and also behind us near the Indian coast. We were in close contact with UK MTO, MARLO, the EU Naval Force and with information gathered from Naval forces we were able to plot on our chart, reported recent pirate attacks.

On the chart the black shape is our boat, the green line our course and the yellow showing the wind blowing against us.

Red skulls show attacks reported, blue flags show the position of mother ships in the area within the last 2 days. The sharks show where Yacht Quest was hijacked.

The closest pirate attack we plotted was 28 miles away from us, our journey was 1800 miles.

Miss Tippy was amazing but the little wind we had was against us. Engine purring and speeding through the water, we had great faith and confidence in the capabilities of the boat. The worry came from the unknown path ahead and unidentified targets approaching us at times whilst hundreds of miles from shore. We were very anxious about Quest and the welfare of our friends.  The  nights were long and dark.

Together Brian and I kept watch together every night for the rest of the voyage. The children snuggled up together. It felt like a great team.

The sunrise always lifted our spirits as morning came.

Daily routine set in, meals to cook and eat.

Daddy had a pedicure.

We waved and chatted between the boats.

Time for a haircut……….

…….one for Freddie too.

Freddie looking for some food through the hatch!

Feeding the crew!

Life on board was very tense, the sea was calm but with no wind at all we motored almost all of the 1800 miles and were constantly worried about running out of fuel and not being able to fill the sails. More chocolate was needed.

On the 5th day of being pirated all 4 of our friends on board yacht Quest were killed by their captors. It was a very dark day.

While we were still at sea a family with 3 children that we had met was pirated and taken to Somalia and are still being held hostage.

We have stopped sailing and the children are now in England being cared for by our family. Brian and I are with 19 other rally boats and organising a ship to carry the  yachts to a port in Turkey.

We are sad to end this way but happy to be safe.

Thank you to everyone for very many kind messages and for watching our progress since we left home in July 2009.

With love from the Tippy Crew……. the boat is expected back in the Mediterranean in May…..fingers crossed! The voyage will continue. Please join us again soon.

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