52 JULY 2019
ROUND EUROPE WINDSURF
Jono at Batumi, Georgia.
PHOTO Georgian Coastguard.
PEOPLE
I look back now and laugh at myself for the trepidation experienced before
sailing beyond the comforting familiarity of Europe. We pick up fear of the
unknown and carry it. It conditions our attitudes and can undermine our
humanity if left unchallenged. People here are the same as elsewhere, with
good intention. I enjoy reflecting upon historical migration, trade routes,
discovery and conquest. We are a genetic tangle, and that’s fantastic!
I have enjoyed seeing the easy coexistence of faith. How people identify
or dress doesn’t seem to be a big deal for anyone else. There is no obvious
segregation. The mosques issue their call to prayer five times a day just as
municipal clocks might mark the passing hours in European cities.
In villages and rural settings people are unlikely to speak English. In
the urban centres there are typically more educated people who may speak
some English, and for these religion does not seem to be a major part of
their lives.
The family of the sea in Turkey has been particularly engaged. There
are sailing clubs in the bigger towns and cities and all have been hugely
generous with time and support. There has been lots of TV and interviews
that repeat the same format. I get a little tired of those. But I do enjoy the
opportunity to talk freely with children of all ages with open minds, and
perhaps play a part encouraging others to explore their ambitions.
The sun is out this morning, the description of a grey Black Sea no longer
fits. The café where I am writing this plays jazz music and my sleeping bag is
airing nicely in the gentle breeze. Time for breakfast – Kahvalti in Turkish- and a few more cups of tea. The journey continues to be a huge privilege.
For the first time the Russian border, the end of the sailing part of the
journey, appears close. I hope to savour every mile.
ARRIVAL GEORGIA
Winds remain light for the remainder of the Turkish Black Sea coast. Only
the occasional outcrop of coastline is natural. For the rest a 3-lane dual
carriageway, protected by a rock armour wall, runs parallel, separating alltowns and villages from the sea. Inland are attractive hills and mountains;
hazelnut country becomes tea country, and behind the mountains are
snow-covered. Most days are at least part paddled as progress into light
headwinds barely provides a return. Help continues to come my way either
planned (often a hotel) or spontaneous (fish soup and a covered place to
sleep). Every town has a harbour, so stopping is easy, even on days when
there is an awkward swell, and there is nowhere else to stop.
With a few days to go until the border with Georgia I step up my
attempts to attain permission to sail into Abkhazia, which has declared
independence from Georgia and is self-governing. I reach out to embassies
and specialist fixers. It soon becomes clear that the plan I had in mind
had never been viable. Avoiding misunderstanding at borders shared by
countries and regions in conflict is paramount. There is no sea traffic from
Georgia to Abkhazia or vice-versa. The situation now is calm, but the
border remains a tense place after more than 12000 deaths during their still
unresolved conflict. Over a few days I move to and settle on an updated
plan. From Georgia I will catch a ferry to Odessa, Ukraine in order to
bypass the politically complicated north-east corner of the Black Sea. Then
I will sail the Black Sea coast to Romania, and then to Bulgaria, from where
I will begin the cycle to the Arctic.
The final leg of the continuous windsurfed part of the journey is a border
crossing from Turkey to Batumi in Georgia. It is a suitably effortful day:
part-paddled and part-sailed. 10 hours hard slog with cramping muscles
at the end. The mountains give way to river delta and flat land and then a
modern clean city. Like every day, it is a good one. The next day I catch the
ferry to Ukraine and at the time of writing I’m in Odessa sorting paperwork
to enter Romania; the final sea legs of the journey await.“THE JOURNEY CONTINUES TO
BE A HUGE PRIVILEGE.”