Lost In Translation
12/09/08 13:35 Filed in:
Trippy
A lot of you already know this : I was born from a Jewish
father and a Catholic mom , which makes me a atheist kid
;) , and what some of you also already know is that my
Catholic mom is probably the most "jewish mother" of all
Jesus loving persons out there . Why the hell am i
telling you that after being silent for almost 2 months ?
Have i gone crazy , or have i seen god you may ask
yourself . No , the reason is simple : because of this
heritage , i've been trying to find a way to write about
what's been happening here for the past weeks without
creating a chain reaction which would involve my Dad
contacting the local mossad people , have me kidnapped ,
drugged and flown back to France to make sure his little
jewel of a kid was fine . Or even worst , having my Mom
read the account of the previous month events and , since
she knows she'd do better than a mossad agent , fly
herself down here and escort me back to France to make
sure i'll be once again eating properly and sleeping in
100% pure cotton clean sheets .
How not to frighten such sensible parental units when the
past weeks have been spent (this list is non exhaustive
and in no chronological order) :
- drinking a lot of Rum , Beer and vodka
- Drinking a lot of Rum , Beer and Vodka in Girlie Bars
around town
- Going for a "quiet game of darts" with my Friend and
Surveyor Ray Wolfe , ordering quite a few tequila shots
for his "birthday" and ending the night at the Local
police station (he was the one driving when we crashed
into the back of that police car)
- Getting totally drunk on Rum and Vodka at 2 o'clock in
the Afternoon on the Marina's dock for one of the
filipino Boat boy 's birthday
- Getting totally drunk on Rum and Vodka (again) at 2
o'clock in the Afternoon on the Marina's dock for one of
the filipino captain 's Farewell party
- Stealing a friend's "girlfriend" , which is probably
too brown and not blonde enough for my Mom , while he was
away racing a boat down in Borneo
- and finally Making that "girlfriend" an almost
permanently crew onboard my boat
You can understand reading this that it could frighten
even the most depraved parent out there ... You people
could believe that i lost it , became an alcoholic and
spend my time bar hopping in search of a nice brown
skinned lady for the night . But you see , it's all part
of the game : there's times when you enjoy the good life
anchored in front of a postcard perfect sandy beach , and
other times going mad in smelly places waiting for parts
to arrive and repairs to be done .
I've been forced to experience this unfortunate side of
the cruising life lately , and even if I'm sometimes
bored to death , on the verge of loosing my mind or
having criminal thoughts because some guy's three weeks
late in delivering a stupid part , I'm still happy to be
here and living my dream . Understand this , I'm on a
mission . i won't leave until the improvements to my ship
are done ! So I'm trying to make the best out of this
situation . And regardless of the previous accounts of my
filipino fiestas , i really work hard on trying to keep
my liver in a good shape for the future :)
I'm putting the finishing touch to a really fine boat
here , and it's all worth it .
Big Kisses to All
Ben Ben , Lost in Subic
Everybody Loves The
Sunshine
20/07/08 08:31 Filed in:
Trippy
| cruising
"Smurf and Bryson , aka Santa Claus"
There's a south american feeling to this place . It
doesn't feel like Asia at all . I constantly have to
remind myself that I'm not in some mexican border town .
The place is full of U.S Navy retirees , expats with a
dodgy past and like Mexico , the local law enforcement
gentlemen have a deeply american-influenced sense of
fashion . I could also be lost in some Caribbean
ex-Spanish colony . The Filipino's genes are deeply mixed
by centuries of colonization . And the local alcoholic
delicacy is called Tanduy : Not another one of those
lethal Rice based fire-starter beverage but a really nice
brand of locally distilled Rum !!! I recently stopped
buying the really cheap one as i learned from an
acquaintance that making a 75 pesos (about 2 dollars)
full-size bottle of Rum is quite impossible unless it's
ethanol based :) I'm now spending a little bit more for
the really really nice one , and the morning headaches
have magically disappeared . At night , driving through
Barreto , the Tijuana-flavored part of town , really
reminds me of times spent south of the border . David ,
aka Smurf , calls that place the Dark Side , and he's
quite fond of it .
The Skipper was born in New Zealand and he's now enjoying
life aboard Lady Emma , his beautiful 55ft sailing yacht
. Smurf , an australian passport holder , replied to his
ad on the internet asking for a crew and joined him
aboard his ship . Both of the are making a great couple ,
and perfect partners in crime . I truly believe they'll
never leave this place , life for them is just too good
here .
The cruising life is a good life .
By The Time I Leave From
Subic
01/07/08 09:29 Filed in:
Boat
The List is like an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie : It'll
be back !!! and once again i've started a new list :)
It's already growing out of control , and trying to burn
it won't be enough , i'll probably have to use nuclear
power this time to get rid of it "permanently" this time
. So apart from fixing the things that got damaged in the
storm , i'm planning on doing a few important
modifications to the boat . I've split "The List" in two
categories : "cosmetic" and Design issues ... Don't get
me wrong , it's already a good boat . Hell , it survived
a typhoon so it can't be that bad but there's a few
things that i'm going to fix now before i get in trouble
again !!! Guess i'll be staying here in Subic Bay until
all is finally done right !!!
So i'm slowly getting used to my new home . Subic used to
be the biggest american navy base outside of the U.S.A .
They've left and it's now a Tax-Free port with
restaurants , shops , supermarkets and light industries .
The Marina is "On Base" too , and if you want to get out
to the city , you need to go through guarded gates . It's
a big change once you're out . Tons of crowd , traffic ,
small shops and hundreds of "Bars" where you can find a
"girlfriend" for a night or a wife for life . The
Philippino people are really poor , most leave in shacks
without running water or any other comfort us westerners
are used to . So for the girls , finding a husband to get
out of this is quite understandable and i don't blame
them for trying their best . But i still have a problem
getting used to the view of those old , ugly , fat and
sweaty retired guys drunkenly walking down the street
dragging a tiny cute girl behind them ... Quite
disturbing !
Anyway , the marina is a really nice place and there's a
few restaurants on the beach quite close to it so i think
i won't be leaving the base that often :) Too much to do
on the boat !
C U SOON
Ben Ben
With a Little Help From My
Friends
27/06/08 19:21 Filed in:
Friends
Subic Bay Yacht Club , Philippines ... Here i am ,
sitting down in the pilot house , thinking about those
months spent in China . All the people i met , all the
things i've been through ... and suddenly I'm in another
country , It's like starting all over again . I'm going
to have to understand how it works out here , make new
friends ... It's a bit overwhelming . I feel quite lost !
On top of that , my friends "from China" left this
morning , going back to their own adventures . I've been
feeling very melancholic the whole day , i will miss
those guys . I've been so lucky to meet such great people
. I feel blessed that our paths crossed . I was looking
to meet new faces and up to now this lifestyle has been
great for that . So this is for the guys i've met during
this part of the trip , priceless encounters with
amazingly nice and helpful people . I have had Family
members or long time friends in Paris who never did even
one percent of what those guys did for me . But these
people have all been so helpful and so supportive of my
trip that I'm still wondering if all this was not a dream
!!! I'll remember this for the rest of my life . It
finally seems to me that true relationships are possible
!!!
Thanks to you guys , i'll always remember you .
"Dave"
Dave is a retired Police officer from California . He's
been working on many different jobs during his career :
undercover agent , coast guard diver and more . After
spending all his life witnessing all kind of crazy things
, he finally decided he had enough and now lives on his
boat with his wife Dorothy . I met him a month ago when
he returned to Hong Kong after spending a year here in
the Philippines . Great guy , great stories and now a
great friend ! I had tears in my eyes when he finally
left this morning , but i know i'll see him again one day
, it cannot end like this .
"Andrew"
Andrew Chan was building his boat , Lady Dragon , at the
same time as mine . He's from Singapore and is a lawyer
in Hong Kong . I'm still not sure if this guy really
exists . I got so much help and support from him that
it's hard to believe he's real . He's got it all : Great
Job , Good Looks , Great family and he managed to stay a
really accessible person , always ready to help . And a
great sense of humor on top of that . We'll surely meet
again sometime , maybe i'll go with him to Malaysia next
fall .
"Don and ICE"
Don and Margie McIntyre (sorry Margie , i couldn't take a
picture of you , weather was really bad during the time
our paths crossed) are professional "adventurers" .
They've been leaving a dream life , always doing crazy
stuff ranging from treasure hunting to racing rally cars
to spending a year in Antarctica on their own in a 3m by
3m shack , Polar Bears and Penguins being their only
neighbors . They've become an inspiration for me as it
seems they've managed to never stop dreaming . And on top
of that they're the nicest people out there , always
ready to help . The cutest thing about those guys is that
they call each other "Ted" , as in Teddy Bear . I hope
i'll be able to live my life the way they live theirs .
Thanks to both of you for all the stuff you gave me and
for helping me survive the typhoon by planning the
weather for me . I will always be here for you if you
need me .
Love to all of you guys , i miss all of you so much right
now ...
Big Kisses
Ben Ben
Born To Be Alive
26/06/08 00:00 Filed in:
Trippy
"The Lifesaver"
First crossing , first Typhoon !!! After three days of
pure bliss , I started feeling a bit worried when i
realized that this typhoon was not going to stay on the
east coast of the Philippines . A quick look at the
weather map confirmed that there wasn't enough time to
reach land before everything got out of control . The
only option was to start heading west to get away as much
as possible from the center of the storm . Night fell and
rain started pouring down . 50 knots of wind and no way
to see were the waves were coming from . Scary ! The boat
got knocked down a few times : it's a strange feeling to
be standing on the wall of your boat !!!
I was glad i had met Glenn in Hong Kong and asked him to
come with me on that trip , I probably wouldn't have made
it without his support . We had to endure 30 hours of
madness before finally managing to get to the coast . ICE
, Don McIntyre 's boat (more on him later , he's a legend
!!! ) who had left Hong Kong with us had managed to get
in before the Storm . He was waiting for us at the pass
and guided us through a maze of Philippino fish farms to
a good anchorage spot . First time in my life i was happy
to see flat water :) Surfing a 20 tons steel boat had not
been the most pleasant experience . I finally shut down
the engine and we went to bed exhausted . After a day of
rest we got back on the water this morning , heading for
Subic to repair a few things and make a some
modifications to the boat .
I'm really peacefull now , fear has been replaced by a
feeling of ecstasy . I don't know if i've ever felt like
this ...
I guess that's what happens when you really start to
enjoy being alive .
Ben , transmitting Alive from Kalakuta , 15° 28 North -
119° 45 East
Go Slow
20/06/08 16:40 Filed in:
cruising
| Trippy
"Around The World"
The List is Dead , Long Live The List !!! I finally left
Hong Kong yesterday and i'm on my way to the Philippines
right now ;)
I was on watch this morning and i enjoyed my first
sunrise onboard ! 130 miles away from Hong Kong and 420
miles to go !!! What a great feeling , watching the world
go by at 6 knots . It's so much more than what i was
expecting , i don't know how to write about it ! I just
can't get rid of that big smile on my face :)
James Brown blasting from the speakers in the Pilot House
, Kalakuta gently rolling with the South china sea swell
, I'm like a turtle , slowly moving my house to a new
country .
Big Kisses to all who believed in what i was doing, and
supported me and my crazy dreams . And a big FUCK YOU to
all the others who tried to make me doubt :)
Free Your Mind , And Your Ass Will Follow !
Ben , Transmitting live from the South China Sea : 20°
32' 054 North , 116° 18' 067 East