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Got those pesky anchors up on Saturday and managed to get the boat tied to a mooring block too. As it was gusting 30 knots on the river, and the current was maybe 5 kts too, we’re quite proud of achieving that with only minor injuries to myself and the owner.
The big event was that we finally got a sailing permit!! Yup, they gave us 2 hrs for sail testing because the permit to be in Taiwan expires next week and the boat has to leave the country. It’s been sitting in that bloody river for six months while the massed officialdom of the boat-hating Republic of China prevent it doing what it was built for, and now it has to leave.
As it will have to clear customs in Jilong we got permission to go there this weekend instead, and spend a week in the harbour. There’s another ‘friendship race’ from Ishigaki back to Taiwan on 28 April, so we’ll be allowed to come back then and can probably keep the boat in a harbour down south afterwards. Maybe.
So we congregated at 8am to catch the tide. The river is only 1.4m deep when the tide is out so we had to get moving early, and motored up to Danshui fishing harbour to get clearance. That took one and a half fucking hours, even though there was no actual problem. We had to remain with the boat the whole time, guarded by a bunch of guys in orange jumpsuits: ordinary Taiwanesers doing their national service who seemed to know nothing about boats.
They put a guy on board to search the boat, in case we had smuggled something down the river I presume, and it was quite funny watching him rummage through the lockers with a confused look on his face. I needed to get something from one of the under-seat storage areas and his amazement at all the places he had missed was priceless.
They also videod us the whole time we were in port, and a TV crew showed up as well. They took some footage, but didn’t speak to us. Most odd.
The sailing itself was a bit of a disappointment because the winds were very light and variable, and in fact I slept through part of the journey. But it was nice to be out on the water again, and the trip was long enough that everyone had a chance to drive. I got the last stretch, including the entrance to Jilong Harbour with a coastguard escort.
We tied up at 5, and they finally completed the paperwork at 6:30! What a performance. This is in a country that is promoting sailing?!?!?
The boat will go to Bisha fishing harbour tonight, and stay for a week. There was some noise/vibration from the propellor at high speeds, and we’re going to try and get an extension on the permit for another month while we check it out and fix it.
I’ll have to take a look underneath anyway, to see what the effect of six months worth of current and pollution has been on the anti-fouling. Hopefully it’s just a little something snagged on the prop, and I can go to Japan next weekend. I’m quite looking forward to that, although it would be nice to not have to do a ‘visa run’.