Across the Graveyard of Ships
by Cdr Abhilash Tomy
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This gripping account from Cdr Abhilash Tomy's blog 'Sagar Parikrama' describes a dramatic phase of his 2012–13 solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe aboard the sailboat Mhadei, a 151-day voyage that made him the first Indian to achieve the feat. On 19 February, he rounds the notorious Cape of Good Hope, the 'Cape of Storms' or 'Tavern of the Seas', where the warm Agulhas current smashes into the freezing Benguela current, piling up 'rogue waves as high as 100 feet' able to 'snap the spine of the strongest steel ships'. Crossing his own outbound track, he completes a 'personal orbit', becoming the second Indian to circumnavigate solo under sail. But the Cape lives up to its deadly name: a 70-knot storm ambushes him, pinning the boat twice and shredding his genoa sail 'into violent ribbons'. He survives, receives a congratulatory message from the legendary Sir Robin Knox-Johnston offering him '200th' place on the elite list, and, facing a 5000-mile Indian Ocean 'obstacle course', resolves with courage and humour to sail on and bring the Mhadei home to the Gateway of India.
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'Across the Graveyard of Ships' is a thrilling first-hand account from Cdr Abhilash Tomy's blog of his solo, non-stop voyage around the world aboard the sailboat Mhadei. It captures the extreme physical and mental endurance and navigational skill demanded by one of the ocean's deadliest passages.
The Cape of Storms
On 19 February, Tomy rounds the notorious Cape of Good Hope, which sailors know as the 'Tavern of the Seas'. Named 'Cape of Storms' by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, it is where the warm, fast Agulhas current 'smashes head-on into the freezing Benguela current', creating a 'weather war zone' with a gale every 36 hours. Over the shallow Agulhas Bank, storms 'pile up rogue waves as high as 100 feet', 'violent enough to snap the spine of the strongest steel ships'.
A personal orbit
Amid the chaos, Tomy has 'a moment of quiet awe': 19 February is the 540th birthday of Copernicus. By crossing the very track of his outbound journey (which had begun from Cape Town in 2011), he completes 'an orbit of my own' and 'proves the rotundity of the earth', technically becoming 'the second Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo and under sail'.
The storm's deadly ambush
But the Cape lives up to its nickname. Winds gust to 50 knots and swells rise to 8 metres, 'we were climbing mountains of water and sliding down into dark valleys'. Then a 70-knot gale 'slammed into us', pinning the boat violently. Out on deck without a safety harness, Tomy clings to the winch in 'a death grip' as the Mhadei 'groaned and shuddered'.
Pinned a second time, a rogue wave catches the front genoa sail; the wind blows it 'up like a balloon', shaking the mast like 'a fragile toy'. As he waits for the ship's spine to snap, a frantic prayer escapes his lips, then, 'Crack!', the genoa 'shredded into violent ribbons', releasing the tension and saving the boat. It is 'the offering this Cape demanded'.
The long way home
Relief comes with a congratulatory message from 'sailing royalty', Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world, who tells him the '200th' position on the elite list of solo circumnavigators is 'waiting for you. Go for it!'
Yet the journey is far from over: ahead lies a '5000 mile long obstacle course' across the Indian Ocean, cyclones, currents, doldrums, piracy and more, 'like playing a massive, high-stakes game of Snakes and Ladders'. With courage and good humour (he has sailed two-thirds of the way with no chopping board and no popcorn), Tomy resolves to sail the last miles and bring the Mhadei home to the Gateway of India, where his 'crazy, beautiful dream' began.