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November 24, 2005
Finding a home for Moksha
Well, things didn't work out with the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. An email came through yesterday informing me they wouldn't be able to assist with storing Moksha during the wet season. Hmmm, pity.
I'm not that surprised in a way. During the lunch meeting the day before yesterday I was asked some pretty stiff questions by the club secretary in particular, such as where our funding came from, how much each leg of the trip cost, why the trip had taken 11-years to date. I think they were rather put off by the grass-roots nature of Expedition 360. And it didn't help having one of Ellen Macarthur's management team interrupt our meeting at one point to broach the prospect of a much higher profile opportunity in the form of Ellen finishing her latest around the world voyage at the club.
Shortly after this disappointing email one came through from Hugh Young, a old friend of the family recently surfaced after 25-years here in Singapore, who had kindly put the word out amongst his sailing mates about storage for Moksha. We could put Moksha at the Singapore Armed Forces Yacht Club over at the Changi naval base on the east side of the island for a nominal $10 a month. Too easy! I'm meeting with Tracey, one of the club members in charge of boat storage, this afternoon, to nail down details. But just from speaking to her on the phone I get the feel this is a club a little more friendly and perhaps receptive to the expedition's needs. Again, fingers crossed.
In the meantime we've been meeting some very helpful people who are organising talks at local schools and sports clubs. There's a presentation at the United World College this Saturday. Moksha comes in Sunday, and according to my hugely efficient shipping agent Angie Ong with Megastar Shipping, should clear customs within one hour. ONE HOUR! That's Singapore for you. Things get done here, and quickly. By comparison it took 2-weeks of constant battling in offices to get the kayaks cleared in Dili, East Timor back in May.
Posted on November 24, 2005 10:33 PM
Comments
sorry the first yacht club didn't come through for you, but i'm glad someone else did! happy thanksgiving, guys. and congratulations! you made it!
Posted by: gl. at November 25, 2005 5:14 AM