"Cruising in Causeway Bay"

This is Karta and his Mom . This guy leaves on an old wooden junk at the Marina . He designs clothes and accessories for upscale bicycle fanatics . Two nights ago they took me out to dinner at their local Sikh Temple . How did i end up eating Sikh food in Hong Kong ? Well it's all about meeting the right people i suppose , which is what happened to me all week long .
The past few days have been quite hectic , running around Hong Kong to buy stuff for the boat . I've been looking for so much things , ranging from Bed Sheets to Pipe wrenches that i sometimes get dizzy just looking at the list i've made! So i was on my way back to the boat the other day when i bumped into two Funky looking englishmen on the Yacht Club's San-Pan: Dan and Omar are multimedia geniuses and they were flying back to England that night . Feeling a great urge to be talking about something else than boats and oil filters , I invited them to share with me their last Hong Kong sunset . Many laughs and a few beers later i heard about this Karta dude for the first time . Apparently they'd been friends for a long time and had just spent three weeks at his factory in Shenzen to set up his new internet site . Since they'd been back , they were leaving aboard his boat . The two of them strongly suggested i should hook up with him while i was here . I gave my email to my newfound friends and then they finally left for the airport .
The next day i was entertaining a couple of French friends onboard . I'd met Mathieu and Sam two months ago when i first arrived . At that time they'd taken me to the Hong Kong Sevens (seven people/seven minutes games of rugby played every year in H.K) . Sam brought some friends visiting from France and a bottle of Pastis !!! It was a real French "Apero" and once again i made new friends , French this time !!! And just before going out for dinner I finally had my first glimpse of the elusive Karta : As he was passing by in his tender , he stopped by my boat and "rendez-vous" was taken for lunch the next day . I was finally going to meet the only guy around this Club who's about the same age as me !!! The evening ended having to steal a boat to get back to my bed : The San-Pan service stops around midnight and being out with French people it was much later than that when i got back to the marina ... Chance was with me again as i found an old dinghy on the dock and i finally managed to paddle back safely (and dry) to my Home .
Lunch the next day was great . Overlooking the bay on a sunny afternoon , Karta and I were enjoying our outdoor table at the club , unshaved amongst the Cigar smoking elite of the Royal Yacht Club of Hong Kong . He was born in Oregon and was still a child when his Mom and dad converted to the Sikh religion . They sent their kids to a Sikh boarding school in India for ten years and the stories he tells about his time out there are hilarious . He could be a character from a Wes Anderson movie . I've got to instantly like the man and hanged out quite a bit with him the last few days . He went through a really bad motorcycle accident doing the Gumball a few years ago and he'll be going in for his nineteenth surgery tomorrow . his mom was in town for the surgery so we met the next day . She's a great person , always laughing and happy to be living : The real Hippie Mom !!! The two make a great team . Once again i feel really lucky to have met them , just listening to their stories makes me want to travel more !!! So when they invited me to follow them to the temple , i just couldn't refuse this unexpected trip .
So that's how i ended up wearing a turban and eating free food sitting on the bare floor of a Sikh Temple in Hong Kong . This city has been all i was expecting , and even more . I met many new friends from all around the world , had my share of new experiences and even got some work done for the boat's preparation .
This is just the beginning , I think i'm on the right path .

Ben Ben

Hong Kong !!!
At last I'm out of the yard and at this moment enjoying my first relaxed morning at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Causeway Bay . Sorry for not posting anything yesterday but i had no more energy after the departure from mainland China ... Why ??? , well it went like this :
Woke up early on Friday morning , It was going to e a hectic day as the final cosmetic repairs were done to the Boat (at the last minute of course) . So i packed my bags and checked out to be at the yard around 8 a.m , the plan was to leave around 1 p.m . Got to there only to discover that the guys had punched a hole through the roof while taking the mast down ( to get under the bridges on our way out to Sea ) !!! Instant nervous breakdown , we were not going to leave that day : I suddenly felt the urge of strangling a couple of my little chinese friends . So instead of spending my life in a communist jail cell , i went for a last bike trip through town . When i got back after a hour , they were already fixing the damage . They're so used to breaking and repairing that i got confident again : i'll be leaving this place soon . By the end of the afternoon everything was ready at last and it was time for celebrating : I invited all the guys (close to 60 people) to eat dinner at a local restaurant and ended up doing shots of some very strong rice alcohol at every table for the all evening . I barely ate that night and stumbled back to the boat for my first night onboard .
4.30 a.m next morning , Mr.Gong , Fido (the co-owner of the yard) and I slowly motored down the river towards the Doumen customs , met the workers there to raise the mast and they only managed to break my radio antenna this time : Good job guys !!! Immigration officials were super fast to clear us out and at at last i was on my way !!! We got past Zhuhai , Macao and out to sea for an 8 hours trip to Hong Kong . We had a bit of a rough sea and very little food to eat but it felt great :) I was cruising on my ship for the first time and all the stress accumulated for the past 2 1/2 years disappeared in a second . It was a feeling of pure Joy , even if i was seriously regretting the previous night's drinking !!!
After a very bumpy trip in 25 knots of wind , it was already night time when we got to tie down at the dock in Hong Kong . We were surrounded by brightly lit skyscrapers , it looked like i was in a scene from Blade Runner ;) We quickly went for dinner , checked in at the immigration building and went back to sleep to the Boat .
Sunday went by very quickly as i was in a bad shape : the drinking and the stress had taken it's toll and i slept on the boat all day , only getting up to go get some food . In the evening i went out to eat sushis , watched a movie in bed and passed out very early .
So here i am on this lovely Hong Kong Morning . It's holiday here today (Buddha's Birthday) , so i'm taking it easy , sitting in the pilot house writing this post , listening to music and watching the ladies in their little wooden water taxis (San-Pan) going back and forth between the dock and the yachts . I'll soon be using one of them to get to town and send you this little message !!!
The trip has begun .
See you soon for more Hong Kong report live from Kalakuta , Ben Ben's new home .

"Kalakuta at the dock in Baijo , Zhuhai"

Yes , I Just Can't Wait Until Saturday . That's the chorus of Saturday , one of my favorite disco tune . It's also what I'm feeling right now because on Saturday , i'll be cruising towards Hong Kong !!! The boat is all done , we're painting the non-skid on the deck tomorrow and then I'm out of here . I've just reserved a spot at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and let me tell you boys and girls , that feels GOOD ;) It was time for a change of scenery , and time to change that little flag on the site . By the way , The Hong Kong flag will be following me all around since the boat will registered in H.K , so i guess it's a good sign .
So yesterday evening i went to downtown Zhuhai to buy a few stuff like bed sheets , cookware and bathroom accessories ! It was a surreal experience , that place is very "modern" compared to what i've been accustomed to : Computer shops , Night clubs , well dressed people ... It felt quite strange actually . I got out of the taxi , headed for the first floor of a giant supermarket where i was told I'd find tons of supplies and suddenly there it was , what every sane people would dream about after weeks of rice and noodles : a McDonalds restaurant !!! Now , I'm probably going to loose my French passport writing about how much i enjoyed this enormous amount of junk food , but who cares :) One BigMac please , a Hamburger , Vanilla shake , large Fries and a Coke ! Heaven !!! I'd forgotten how Ketchup tasted like . Just writing about it drives me mad , i want more !!!
So there it is , my china days are over soon . Hong Kong here i come . I'm going to enjoy going to the movies , eating western food (Pizza is next on the list) and just cruising around this amazing city which for me is the Asian New York .
Cheers
Ben Ben
p.s : there's a KFC not far from my hotel , i think i can't resist going there tonight ... Hmm , junk food never tasted so good :)

"Ray Wolfe"

Once again it's not really about the places you go to , it's more about the people you meet once you get there ... This is Ray , he' s the guy who's doing the survey of my boat . He was raised on a farm in England , spent part of his life in Africa where he , amongst other things , worked on the "Save the Gorillas" campaign and finally settled down in the Philippines to raise his two daughters . For two years now he' s been checking the boat and trying to get the yard to do the right stuff (an almost impossible job !!!) but i'd never met him in person until three days ago . He' s a sharp person , is very professional and has a great sense of humor : quite "British" in a certain way :) He's very knowledgeable about boats and i have a feeling this encounter is going to be a very important one in this adventure . I could have chosen many other surveyor but he's the one i contacted : you can call this fate or luck , i'll just say LIfe has been good to me lately !!! He's just finished the final inspection and apart from a few details i'm done here ;) Yes the boat could still be improved but i think it's good enough for what i need . So for the first time in a very long time i can finally start making plans , and after having to deal with the demented people at the yard it feels great to know i'll soon be leaving . Don't get me wrong , i enjoyed my time here but they were starting to wear me down ... I'm just amazed i managed to survive this nut house :)
This brings me back to Ray , i was on the verge of a nervous breakdown the past few days and meeting this guy has been a life saving experience :) Not only did he certified my boat as being ready to go to sea but he's also been very supportive of my project without any hidden agenda ! PRICELESS !!!
Thanks to you Ray !
Thanks to all of you for your support !
See you soon for more news :)
Ben Ben