Yachting

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 49

A BOOK AT BUNK TIME

Voyage of the

Harrier is available

via Amazon, in

paperback (£8.33)

and e-book

(£2.99) formats.

You can also follow

Julian's exploits

on his website:

http://www.julian-

mustoe.com

A narrow escape from

fearsome drug smugglers

Julian Mustoe sails into a drug smuggling rendezvous in the Timor Sea as he rounds Australia

round a large, bright red,

fl oating object as if they were

guarding it. The object of

their interest consisted of

four packages, each about

three metres on a side, and

evidently lashed together. It

looked very much like a drugs

rendezvous. The three boats

confi ned themselves to their

tight patrol while I sailed by as

inconspicuously as I could.

On day seven I sighted yet

another large boat about two

miles away. She was on course

to pass well astern of us. The

sea was calm and visibility

was good. I left the cockpit

and went below to make a

cup of tea. Before the kettle

had boiled I heard and felt a

great crash from aft. On deck

I found that Harrier’s stern

was overhung by the bows

of the boat. She had collided

with my stern gantry, which

now had a bent stanchion.

On her deck were six rough-

looking aborigines, all staring

straight at me. One man, on

the foredeck, looked like a

hobgoblin. He was barefoot

and dressed only in a pair of

ragged cotton trousers. His

head was entirely painted

white apart from the eyes and

T

he east, south and

west shores of

Australia are well

protected by large

tracts of ocean.

Her northern border with

New Guinea and Indonesia,

however, is guarded only by

the Arafura and Timor Seas.

These stretches of water are

narrow. The distance from

Timor, for example, south to

Australia is only 300 miles.

The consequence of

Australian border protection

policy in recent years has

been the development of

an active trade in people-

smuggling from the north,

particularly across the

Timor Sea. It is also a busy

highway for terrorist traffi c

and illegal drugs. I set off

into these troubled waters

on 31 October 2010, with a

feeling of trepidation.

During the southern

summer the doldrums move

south of the equator to cover

nearly the whole Timor Sea.

I sailed and motorsailed

westward in light winds and

over a smooth sea. Once or

twice a day, a large cloud

towering overhead would

bring a heavy rain shower

mouth. This individual bade

me, with a contemptuous

gesture, to ‘Clear off!’

Their boat then departed

toward the north with

the six crewmen laughing

together loudly. I had been

deliberately rammed.

Fear is, proverbially, a

part of prudence. I started

my motor quickly and

moved off as rapidly as

possible. I was lucky that

the six men were intent

upon intimidation rather

than being determined to

rob or murder me. Had

they rammed me at speed

amidships, Harrier would

have sunk and nobody

would ever have known.

The rest of my passage

was uneventful. I sighted the

coral atoll of South Keeling,

the main island of the

Cocos Keeling Islands, on

22 November. A gap in the

reefs on the north side gives

entrance to Port Refuge and

to some sheltered water in

the lee of Direction Island.

a classic tropical isle with

white coral sand beaches,

limpid turquoise water and

groves of palm trees swaying

in the warm wind. W

and a strong blast of wind,

calling for a reef.

On day three I had my fi rst

brush with smugglers. On the

northern horizon I sighted

a fi shing boat, apparently

hove to with a large, dark

object fl oating alongside her.

Presently she left her station

and came steadily toward me.

I started my motor, advanced

the throttle and kept on

course to the west. The boat

looked powerful but she was

either unable or unwilling to

overtake me. To my relief she

soon bore away north towards

her previous position.

My voyage returned to

tranquility for the next two

days, then I sighted a group

of three large fi shing boats

some two miles to the south.

I could see through binoculars

that they were circling closely

‘I heard and felt

a great crash

from aft. I had

been deliberately

rammed’

Retired and divorced, Julian found

himself a free, if impoverished

man. Voyage of the Harrier records

how, in 2001, aged 68, he set off

from Plymouth to sail around

the world singlehanded in a 26ft

Folksong, following the track of

Darwin and FitzRoy’s voyage of

discovery aboard HMS Beagle.

Julian Mustoe

A navigational blunder wrecked

his boat on a Patagonian beach (see

Learning Curve, YM April 2014), but

he acquired a 25ft quarter-tonner,

had many more adventures and

fi nally completed the voyage in 2012.

He encountered further hardship in

October 2015 when his rudder failed

in the Norwegian Sea and his boat

sank under tow. He is now in the

process of getting afl oat once more.

There’s always a good read hidden on a sailor’s shelves. Tell us your favourite. EMAIL [email protected]

PHOTO: COURTESY JULIAN MUSTOE