Sun, Moon and Star

Last week was memorable in more ways than one. Antara did her first non-stop 3-day sail; she rounded her first Cape (Cabo de Rama); we had the youngest crew member yet: 10-year-old Neel Patil; Antara had her first experience of diving; two of us, Neel and I, did our first dives ever; and, all this on the last full moon of this decade.

Neel at his favourite perch

We left Donal Paula, bright and early on the 13th with Ajay and Neel as our guests for this sail. Our destination was Netrani, a small island off Murdeshwar on the Karnataka coast. A downwind sail made it an easy ride for our newbie sailors. Neel took to it like a duck to water, exploring the boat on nimble feet and a sturdy heart. His favourite hangout was the bow, which he occupied as often as possible. 

The first day of sailing is usually tiring, even for us, so it was no surprise when Neel nodded off to sleep right after dinner. We started the day with a breakfast of eggs and toast made fresh on the boat. Having learnt from earlier sails, I had prepared that day's meals at home so lunch was sabudana khichdi and dinner was tuna salad. That taken care of, I was free to chat with the crew and catch up on my reading.

Ajay, our diving buddy, runs Dive Goa. He offers diving instruction courses and dives off Grande Island and Netrani. When we suggested exploring the possibility of partnering for sail & dive cruises off Antara, he readily agreed to a test sail to Netrani. I was amazed to learn that he has been diving since he was 10 and became a Dive Master while still in 12th grade! And Neel is all set to follow in his father's flippers.

Reading a graphic novel

Chilling on the transom

Neel completely blew me away. I have yet to see such a tough young man! He found his sea legs, treating them like long lost friends and was at home on Antara in a snap. He had no trouble eating, sleeping, reading, lolling, playing, anywhere on the boat. All on his very first sail, the star of this show!

First-time divers

We reached Netrani the next day and wasted no time in getting into the water. I was nervous about my first dive, but Ajay put me completely at ease. Once I figured how to breathe through my mouth, I was less nervous about going underwater. Exploring the reef there, we saw at least 10 different fish in their element. Better seen than described, so have a look at my video.

I did not realise till after my dive that Neel was waiting for his first dive. The little chap patiently waited for his turn, snorkelling around the boat. Later, the two of us celebrated with cans of Coke and a game of Ludo, while the practised divers went off on their own. 

We turned around for home right after the dives. Dilip set the boat on course and then cooked up his scrumptious sausage pulao. A worthy meal for a bunch of ravenous divers, with a tabasco sunset to compliment the mood and a fiery moonrise to complete the show. 

Chef Neel, framed by the window with Sous-chef Dilip

The next morning, Neel was up early to make breakfast. He remembered that we had some chorizo sausages leftover and wanted to contribute his mite to the food fest. So he comes along to the galley, takes one whiff of the sausages and heads above board to throw up! Give me a minute he says, I'll just throw up and be back. Dilip courteously offered to be sous chef and suggested that Neel direct him while he did the grunt work. We had chorizo omelettes a la Neel for breakfast.

Such feasting also involves a lot of cleaning up after. So for lunch that day, we made bhel puri. Turns out, it's Neel's preferred food for a celebration! 

The wind picked up that afternoon and we made rapid progress homewards, moving our ETA from late that night to late evening. Neel's mum, Ashwini, had packed some canned tuna with Neel, so we used that to make a farewell snack of tuna with mayo slathered on Monaco biscuits. Try it, they're yumm. Definitely a fixture on our future sail menu!

A fitting end

With Antara, you now have the opportunity to sail, safe in Covid times - on a large sailboat, along the coast, in the deep blue yonder! You decide and we'll design a sail just for you. 

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