Update: 27-may-2011 :

***Read the comments of Henry Capleton to Rene Tiemessen his mail from 05-10-2011 to him. I confirm that Henry his vision about Renee is 100 % correct. Lo Brust***

Mr Tiemessen

You choose to threaten me so let it be clear what my argument with you is.

Before either rally started you systematically tried to recruit people to the TTT rally away from the VDG by denigrating Lo Brust as a leader.  I have evidence of this from several independent parties and I was aware of your activity when I was in Rebak.   I thought even then that your behaviour was unethical.   People who were persuaded to switch to your rally regret having done so.  No one on the VDG Rally regrets their decision. Everyone who participated in the VDG thinks that Lo Brust fully succeeded as a rally leader. We do not know anyone who says the same about you.

You object to online comments I made to Sail-World in response to their article.  I stand by what I wrote and have documentary and eyewitness evidence for what I have said.  For example:

 1.Quote  in email from one of your own rally members about my comments to Sail-World: 'You have put together a wonderfully accurate piece of information.'
 2.Quote email to Paul Jeffries of VDG rally March 1:  'Are you able to send your route details … Renee from TTT asks if we know anyone they could ask about such details'
 3. Quote Richard Bolt, Director BWR  'I assure you, I did not pass on details of your (VDG) route to anyone.  …  There are a lot of incorrect details in it (the Sail-World article)'.

If you 'never' intended a direct route to Salalah from Maldives then poor communication with your rally members waiting in the Maldives is another criticism to add to the list.

Since writing to Sail-World I have met several boats that were part of the 'successful' remnant of your group that arrived in Aden.  They all say they had little value from your leadership or for the money they paid you. Quote on blog-site of one of those ... '250 Euro wasted'.

You seem to have the capacity to delude yourself.  My only interest in this matter is that in future you do not delude other yachtsmen. You say I do not know you. You can know a man through his words and deeds. I do not need to meet you nor do I wish to. But if you threaten me again I will publish on the internet all the documentary material I have and add it to all the other articles already published by others, particularly your own rally members (some wondering where the money
they paid you have been applied), so people can judge the truth for themselves.

Your best course of action now  is a sustained period of silence and reflection.


Henry Capleton
Turkey, May 2011

Update: 25-may-2011 :

****The vision of Lo Brust, concerning the debacle of Rene Tiemesssen and his TTT rally/convoy.

Update: 05-may-2011 :

***An article published on Sailoworld about piracy :

As the range and ferocity of Indian Ocean piracy rapidly increased this year, scores of cruising sailors became trapped in the Maldives and India.

Their plans of how to transit the danger zone, derived from successful transits of convoys from earlier years, had to be scrapped.

What was meant to be the adventure of a lifetime had become a nightmare. Here one cruising sailor, Graeme Mulcahy sailing on Kathleen Love, tells their tale.

Ten days of mixed sailing from the Andaman Islands took us past Sri Lanka (which seemed to generate extra strong winds around its south end) to get to Uligan in the Maldives by the end of January. Here we found about 30 yachts at anchor, agonizing over what should be the next move.

It had become apparent that pirate activity had become much more extensive, as they now operate from mother ships over all the Arabian Sea, concentrating on the major shipping routes. Some of those yachts were from our group, Thailand to Turkey(TTT) convoy, which had become somewhat fragmented. TTT's leader was currently stuck in Sri Lanka having sail repairs and with engine problems. A lack of communication from him left us in ignorance of how his plans for TTT might be modified in the light of changed circumstances.

Most yachts there were uncommitted to a convoy, but some also were participants in the the Blue Water Rally. We heard that others in the latter group were in Cochin and being extremely secretive about their collective plan.

Uligan although undeveloped was lovely, very pleasant people. And we could buy carrots and onions! A bit old but everything came from India. They also arranged diesel and water supplies, and put on a local feast for us.

Possibilities for the next stage were:

1. To sail a more or less direct route

2. To sail as far as possible up the Indian coast, even to Pakistan before crossing to Oman incurring up to 1000 extra sea miles

3.To return to Thailand/Malaysia and hope the situation improved in a year's time

4. To have the boat shipped to Turkey (at $650/ft = $25,500 for a 40ft boat

5. To sail round by South Africa (nasty seas and an extra 12,000 miles to get home).

We, together with another 9 yachts including three TTT yachts, chose a slightly modified version of the first option, skirting south of what appeared to be the main areas of pirate activity and sailing in convoy.

This convoy was put together by two Canadian boats, Chocobo and Seeamia, at short notice, but who provided a spark of decision and leadership which was entirely appropriate at the time

Each of the other options had takers, other small groups of compatible boats followed our example and some boats took the direct route solo. We had some encouragement from the fact that all the recent pirate attacks had been on commercial vessels, there had been no attacks on yachts in this region for over a year (tragically this was to change).

Those that chose to have their boats shipped then had a long wait, two weeks more than originally scheduled, were charged $650 for the cruising permit for the Maldives while they waited for the ship to arrive and were not made welcome at the various islands, particularly those with expensive resorts.

So after a thorough briefing we set out. Each boat (with a code name - we were Eagle 3) had an allocated position in the convoy which we stuck to as closely as possible. A schedule of VHF channels was determined, changing each day. One boat acted as liaison with the authorities via satphone and gave daily position checks with reference to waypoints.

Within a couple of hours of leaving, one boat had a severely overheating engine and had to return, leaving nine to continue. Lights at night were to be kept to a minimum, weak stern lights only.

The boats included:

Anima a 36ft gaff ketch from Austria (singlehanded)
Asia, 28ft Polish boat whose lady skipper will shortly be completing her third circumnavigation in 6 years, mostly singlehanded,
Amante (US) a 51ft ketch
Chocobo, 40ft cat (Canada)
Kathleen Love (UK)
Glide (US)
Margarita (Denmark)
Seeamia (Canada) and
Tika Moye (Switzerland)

The varying sizes and performances made position keeping tricky, particularly at night, and we found that we were sailing much of the time reefed, and playing with the sailplan to stay with the slower boats. The pity is that we enjoyed some of the best ocean sailing conditions we have experienced - moderate winds, flat seas and almost unbroken sun.

So we settled into the routines that the convoy needed and plodded on, committed to sticking together, a tall order for a passage of 1500 miles. Some periods it was necessary to motor to keep up a reasonable speed, when we might have been content to sail slowly if on our own.

The cat developed a rigging problem one morning so we all hove to while they fixed it. Another boat's transmission cooling failed and they were taken in tow for 24 hours by the largest yacht while a replacement system was put together. Some boats were more prone to wander than others, but groupings were then restored as necessary.

The two Canadian boats who had brought us together and led the convoy did an excellent job in diplomatically keeping us all in order. As we went on, the discipline of keeping position improved, aiming to stay within 2-300m of our neighbours.

We practiced a manoeuvre to take close order in the event of suspicious vessels approaching. We did not, however, perfect 'formation gybing at night'! Speed targets were set periodically by the slower boats according to what they could manage under sail or with motor assistance. Keeping in formation did require a high degree of concentration, particularly at night, so 'happy hour' was celebrated on most days only with tonic water!

One morning a warship appeared on the horizon and diverted to have a look at us, before heading off back along our route, possibly to check on other small groups of yachts which we knew to be following. We were also overflown by a couple of helicopters and reconnaissance planes. The presence of the military was reassuring but, realistically, it is unlikely that any real protection could be expected.

Towards the end, we changed our destination from Salalah in Oman to Mukallah in Yemen, following close north of the protected shipping corridor through the Gulf of Aden.

One night here we encountered large convoy of commercial vessels eastbound, accompanied by two warships who kindly shone bright searchlights directly at us destroying our night vision! An extra complication had now entered the equation as we heard that middle east political disturbances had reached Oman and Yemen, and Aden in particular would be a very ill advised stop.

Closing the Yemen coast in the early hours we saw the flashing lights of small fishing boats and their markers; in quick succession, three boats got caught on fishing gear so we hove to until daylight and made our final approach after 13 days at sea. It is a tribute to the leaders and participants that such a diverse group managed to stay so closely together over 1500 miles.

In our few days in Mukallah we were able to refuel, provision (excellent supermarket, hooray) and catch up on the news, which unfortunately included that of the US yacht Quest, sailing alone, whose crew were all killed several days after being taken by pirates. Our last visit to the city coincided with a political demonstration accompanied by some gunfire, so we decided to leave and head direct for the Red Sea, bypassing Aden.

Another four days in convoy saw us enter the Red Sea, which greeted us with increasing winds which characteristically funnel between the land masses. Here the convoy split, having reached the end of our commitment to one another. Four boats chose to head into Assab for a much needed rest and thence to Massawa whilst others decided to continue on. In spite of US State Department warnings, we found a warm welcome in Eritrea.

It is a mark of the success of the convoy that many of us have chosen to sail loosely together in variable sub groupings as we progressed up the Red Sea All have now completed their Red Sea passages, and there is a collective sigh of relief to be in the Mediterranean!

by Graeme Mulcahy, SY Kathleen Love/Sail-World Share   9:00 PM Mon 25 Apr 2011 GMT

Update: 05-may-2011 :

***Article from the website Noonsite.com about the TTT Convoy

TTT Convoy - 2011 Red Sea Convoy from Thailand to Turkey - A Summary

Created by sue. Last modified on 2011-04-28 20:32:05
Topic: Piracy
Countries: India, Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey

Dutchman René Tiemessen and his family (wife Edith and 2 year old daughter Devi) aboard their yacht Alondra, had transited the Red Sea in 2007 to Thailand with the Vasco de Gama Rally. On this trip they had experienced different convoys, so Rene took the initiative to organise a convoy for the return trip to the Med in 2011.

A dedicated website was set up by Rene and by the end of September, 13 yachts had signed up for the Convoy. In the end, more than 35 boats applied for the limited number of 30 places.

The initial plan was for the convoy to leave Phuket on or around the 15th January, and end in the Med in May. A meeting was organised in the middle of December in Phuket for the yachts that had joined up. At this meeting it was agreed that all boats would make their own way to Uligan, Maldives, for a February 10 departure to Salalah, from where the official “convoy” through the GOA would begin.

Rene also stressed how important it was that every yacht considering doing this passage should make sure their yacht was tested and in full working order.

En route to Uligan, several TTT yachts, including Alondra, developed mechanical problems and had to divert to Galle in Sri Lanka.

Towards the end of January, the TTT yachts already in Uligan, were contemplating leaving for Salalah ahead of the February departure date, nervous of the increase in pirate activity and the mechanical problems the lead boat was experiencing. This was exacerbated by the Maldives regulations that only allow visiting yachts a stop of 72 hours before being charged $620 to remain or even move one's yacht to another anchorage. Fortunately, the authorities in Uligan were sympathetic of the waiting yachts’ situation and breakdown excuses were permitted to remain there, however time ran out for many.

Rene strongly advised everyone departing Uligan to go North and not cross the Somali Basin direct. Instead he recommended skirting the “danger zone” by following the Indian coast north to at least 20 degrees before crossing. This would add miles and difficulty, but he felt was a necessity based on the pirate activity at the time.

At this stage there were TTT yachts anxious to complete their repairs still stuck in Sri Lanka, others wanting to depart for Uligan but held back due to strong winds (including the lead boat Alondra), and of course those that had made it to Uligan wanting to be on their way but getting more and more apprehensive about the current situation by the minute.

Inevitably, this resulted in a great many yachts that had “signed up” for the TTT convoy to pull out. Some returned to Thailand or Malaysia, others decided to transport their boats and others left Uligan early, before the scheduled departure date for the TTT convoy, to make their own way across the Somali Basin in smaller groups.

From Uligan, 6 TTT boats departed together, however on departing Uligan Alondra once again developed mechanical problems and had to be towed to Cochin in India. They caught up with the rest of the boats as they were transiting the Omani coast.

The group arrived in Salalah late, however there were several other TTT boats waiting for them. Almost 3 weeks later than originally intended, the much-reduced convoy of 9 boats safely transited from Salalah to Aden.

In Aden 1 more yacht joined the convoy making 10 boats going through Bab al Mandeb and travelling together up the Red Sea, to Massawah, Eritrea and beyond.

Conclusions

Following safe transit of the 9 TTT boats to Aden, several cruisers have been in touch with noonsite about their experience with the convoy, both those that chose to leave the convoy before it departed Salalah and those that stayed with the convoy and are still with it en route to Turkey.

Various points were raised, both positive and negative, however the following two are two very important factors to take into consideration if you are planning on joining something similar in seasons to come.

Communication

Several of the yachts who initially joined the convoy communicated using Sailmail and Winlink. The lead boat communicated with gmail and for some reason could not get information through to most of the Sailmail and Winlink users. Nothing was done to rectify this situation which left many people feeling ill-informed and out of the loop.

The Convoy website also states that convoy communications were to be via SSB, however the lead boat did not have an SSB on board so was unable to communicate with the majority of the group.

Whilst at all times it was stressed that this was not a “rally” but a group of like-minded skippers travelling together, many felt there was not sufficient communication amongst the group and too much of being “kept in the dark”. This was only worsened by the fact that the lead boat experienced break downs and was out of the picture at times.

Fees Paid

All yachts paid a 250 Euro fee for joining the convoy, regardless of the number of crew. The Convoy Website stresses that the convoy was a non-profit organisation and that the fee charged was to cover expenses for prints, phone, organizing and negotiating transits, fuel, agents, harbours, local transport, convoy etc. Any money left over was to go to a charity to be named in due course. This fee was non-refundable.

Those that are still involved with the convoy and reported to noonsite feel they have had value for money, however, many of the yachts that withdrew from the convoy prior to its departure from Salalah, feel the organisers did not deliver what was promised and that they should have had a partial refund, or at the very least an explanation of expenditure. To date none has been given and no charity named.

The yachts that withdrew before leaving Thailand for either health or mechanical reasons did not get any refund.

René Tiemessen had intended for the TTT Convoy to become an annual event, however he has informed noonsite that he will now stop organising it.

Update: 29-april-2011 :

More info about the rallies in de Indian Ocean:

We have read your email to Elaine Bunting and its comments ina round way, amazing how this cruising network works. You have put togethera wonderfully accurate piece of information. We are one of those TTTers who have decidedto Ship. You may be aware that Renee wrote a glorifying article for Noonsite on the succes of 'his'convoy and a number of us have written to put our side of the story. As a result Rene's articles have been removed from Noonsite.

We can confirm that Renee run Lo down as we did originally make enquiries of VDG but chose Rene after we heard the tales. What a terrible mistake we all made. Rene had a severe communication problem  and a very short fuse.

He was dogged with yacht problem as soon as he left Puketh which continued and caused him to arrivebehind schedule in the MAldives where a number of us were waiting.On arrival he spent the first 1.5 hours of a meeting telling us all about his problems and reading out of press articles that actually ridiculed him but he did not understand. He was very proud of these!!!

Many thanks for supporting our cause. We are determined that people will know the truth so no other cruisers suffer similarly in the future.

***An other cruiser wrote to us by mail:

I know people who were registered with the Vasco da gama Rally and were approached by this rene character who bad-mouthed Lo Brust and tried to persuade them to switch. Deciable behaviour at the best of times but, as things turned out, with the serious consequence who did answers let down badly.

An other interesting info you will find on their website www.scorpiosail.com

Update: 25-april-2011 :

Read all about the TTT Rally and the comments from sailors in the area.

The Tiemessen family, sailing in their Phillip Rhodes designed sloop Alondra, a 60ft classic yacht, are heading from Thailand to Turkey via the Red Sea, and organising an informal rally or convoy for the journey, beginning the transit in early 2011.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) strongly recommends against travelling this route because of the pirate activity in the area, but it doesn't stop dozens of yachts from making the journey. Travelling by convoy has long been recognised as sensible for yachts travelling through the Gulf of Aden, with recent convoys hugging the coast of Yemen to remain under the control of the Yemeni Coastguard. Yemen has played a significant role in recent years in the war against piracy, with coordination centres in three Yemeni cities.

Alondra has already transited this area in 2007 in the reverse direction, visiting Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Oman, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on their way to Thailand. On board for the voyage back to the Mediterranean are Rene and Edith Tiemessen, their two-year-old daughter Devi, all from the Netherlands, and American crew member Kate Schafer.

According to the Tiemessens, over the years a clear view has developed as to how to organize the convoy from Salalah into the Red Sea.

While reluctant to divulge details of the plan on the internet for security reasons, the couple are confident, using the experience of their own previous passage and innumerable transits by others. In addition, they remind us, on their website, that no leisure yacht has been attacked by Somali pirates in the most recent season.  (by Rene Tiemessen/Sail-World Cruising)

The Thailand to Turkey Convoy (TTT), led by Rene Tiemessen, rejected for escort by the combined navies, has safely transited the pirate zone around Somalia, which has now spread so wide that vast stretches of the Indian Ocean have been deemed too dangerous for cruising sailors.

When the convoy left Thailand in January this year, transiting yachts had found a largely-kept-secret route to navigate the former danger zone through the Gulf of Aden between Salalah and the Red Sea. However, during their voyage from Thailand, the scope of piracy activities increased dramatically, both in violence and in geographic reach, so that all the areas between latitudes 15 and 20 N and longitudes 060 and 064 E are now high risk areas.

By the time the TTT Rally and the Blue Water Rally, which had negotiated the zone several times before, reached the eastern edge of the north Indian Ocean, the waters were judged too dangerous to complete their planned routes. Most of the yachts in the Blue Water Rally chose to send their yachts by cargo ship to Europe and it is believed some yachts chose to return to Asia against the wind.

The TTT Convoy, after being repeatedly rejected for help from the various forces situated in the area to protect commercial shipping, decided to go it alone, and following the plan and the route which remained secret for their own safety, have successfully arrived into comparatively safe waters.

Rene Tiemessen, leader of the convoy, sailing with his wife Edith and two-year-old daughter Devi on their 60ft yacht Alondra, reports that accompanying him in the final stage of their voyage to the Red Sea are yachts Baringo, Lizza Forte, Skylark II, Puerto Seguro, Vagabond, Apsara, Oukiok, Lyra and Second Life.

'All yachts have been on a voyage to remember, from the Maldives over to India, or in a few cases directly over to Muscat in Oman. Mostly far north, in favorable but sometimes wet conditions in the end we all made it to Salalah, Alondra joining a group of five just at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.

'In Salalah twelve yachts of the Blue Water Rally are waiting for transport. After what happened to Quest their insurance was revoked. Their choice for Dockwise Transport seems a problematic one. The shipping company that is to pick up the yachts (Beluga) went Bankrupt and maybe this is going to have further consequences.

'Anyway, our convoy went well. No major problems, apart from some fishing nets and engine hiccups, no encounters with any other but fishing boats and friendly people. Mukallah proved a useful stopover to sleep and rest although the internal turmoil in Yemen was felt dearly.

'A demonstration went on, streets were not very busy and we had a Police escort going for dinner in the evening. Nevertheless a nice stop.

Then on towards Aden. Here's an excerpt from the blog:
En route to salalah, Oman we passed a stretch of coastline famous for pirate attacks. It was as calm as the sea of tranquility on the moon. 2,000 meters deep and smooth as a lake. The coastal landscape was and is positively lunar. Sharp rugged cliffs on a ragged tectonic plate give birth to a very calm and deep sea with no wind.

Like a dreamstate with mixed messages, the irony of the fearfulfulness and tranquility on such a stretch of harsh yet calm coastline was a surprise to us all. Right at the cliffs edge the sea bed drops 2,000 feet below; the coastline so rough there is no access to the sea, yet the ocean is calm enough and deep enough to anchor a supertanker. A place where the ocean life thrives deep below, the surface is flat as a lake in Minnesota. There are no fishing boats, no sea birds, no flying fishs. It is where a wild desert land meets a very calm sea and they co-exist like two lovers each the opposite of the other.

On record there were a few pirate attacks here. More recently the Omani gunships have kept them at bay. They have been chased out of the coastal zones but intensify farther off shore outside Coast Guarded control.....

'The last part to Aden was a quiet one. Yes, a lot of conversations on the VHF about Piracy and coalition forces but nothing disturbing.

However, Rene's impression of the joint navy operations that are patrolling the Gulf of Aden and nearby areas is less than complimentary. He says that cooperation between the navies is non-existent, and they force vessels to indicate their lat. and long. position repeatedly via VHF radio, thus opening them up to attack by pirates.

Although they are glad to be through the danger area, Rene says they are constantly thinking of their four fellow cruisers who were killed by pirates last month, and the Danish sailors now held hostage.

'Our thoughts are with the souls of the crew of four of Quest, and of course with our seven Danish fellow sailors from yacht ING held captive in Somalia...we feel with them and their three children and hope for a safe and fast release.'
 

Britain’s Royal Navy has rejected a request by a cruising couple to give a convoy of around 30 yachts escort through the Gulf of Aden. Dutch cruising sailors Rene and Edith Tiemessen, who previously sailed with kidnapped sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler, have organised a rally/convoy from Thailand to Turkey and appealed for help from the British Navy several months ago.

Sailing with their two-year-old daughter Devi and an American crew member Kate Schafer on a 60ft yacht called Alondra, the Tiemessens are now in the Port of Salalah waiting for a propitious time to depart. It is estimated that at least 60 other cruising sailors are with them and seeking protection of a similar kind to that afforded to commercial shipping.

However, Royal Navy commanders have ­condemned the couple, as there have been repeated warnings for yachties to avoid the area completely.

Britain currently commands Operation Atlanta, the EU anti-piracy taskforce, which has 27 vessels from Spain, Germany, Italy and France patrolling an area larger than Europe. Royal Navy commanders turned down the request on the basis that they cannot spare a vessel.

A Ministry of Defence source told Britain’s Daily Express: ‘We received communication from this couple, demanding protection from a naval warship, which they want to ­escort them through a stretch that could take two or three weeks to ­navigate. This is a totally unrealistic request. The naval vessels of Operation Atalanta have to prioritise their duties, and protecting merchant vessels leave them with little scope for protecting unnecessary sailing.’

As the convoy is already in Salalah, the sailing time to reach the comparative safety of the Red Sea is around five days.

Speaking via satellite phone Rene said: ‘We have been begging for help for months (from the EU anti-piracy taskforce), because we knew we would have to make this journey. But now they have told us there is nothing they can do. It’s like asking for help from the police, and being told you are not eligible.’

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) strongly recommends against travelling this route because of the pirate activity in the area, but it doesn’t stop dozens of yachts from making the journey. Travelling by convoy has long been recognised as sensible for yachts travelling through the Gulf of Aden, with recent convoys staying strictly in the patrolled zone or hugging the coast of Yemen to remain under the control of the Yemeni Coastguard. Yemen has played a significant role in recent years in the war against piracy, with coordination centres in three Yemeni cities.

Alondra has already transited this area in 2007 in the reverse direction, visiting Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Oman, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on their way to Thailand. In this journey Rene and Edith sailed in loose company with the Chandlers, from Kent, and were some of the cruising sailors in the Seychelles region who advised the British couple against sailing to Tanzania. The Chandlers were released last year after 388 days in ­captivity following the reported ­payment of a £625,000 ransom.

According to the Tiemessens, over the years a clear view has developed as to how to organize the convoy from Salalah into the Red Sea.

While reluctant to divulge details of the plan on the internet for security reasons, the couple are confident, using the experience of their own previous passage and innumerable transits by others.

The couple, who have spent the intervening years sailing in Thailand, have been putting together the convoy and meeting with participants to advise on such issues as:

*Sailing with a group leader, acting as the sole one to take on group decisions
*Not more than 5 or 6 boats together per group being able to maintain the same speed
*Code names
*Distance to the coast and strict route planning
*Fishing nets and a plan to cut nets off propeller of any one boat if necessary
*Formation and distance
*Navigational lights
*AIS
*Radar
*VHF
*General radio conversations
*Plan of attack
*Keeping together
*Towing plan
*Mayday, Distress
*Notifying and staying in touch with the proper authorities

However, it seems that the ‘proper authorities’ are not willing to cooperate, as the yachts do not carry cargo.

The Thailand to Turkey Convoy (TTT), led by Rene Tiemessen, rejected for escort by the combined navies, has safely transited the pirate zone around Somalia, which has now spread so wide that vast stretches of the Indian Ocean have been deemed too dangerous for cruising sailors.

When the convoy left Thailand in January this year, transiting yachts had found a largely-kept-secret route to navigate the former danger zone through the Gulf of Aden between Salalah and the Red Sea. However, during their voyage from Thailand, the scope of piracy activities increased dramatically, both in violence and in geographic reach, so that all the areas between latitudes 15 and 20 N and longitudes 060 and 064 E are now high risk areas.

By the time the TTT Rally and the Blue Water Rally, which had negotiated the zone several times before, reached the eastern edge of the north Indian Ocean, the waters were judged too dangerous to complete their planned routes. Most of the yachts in the Blue Water Rally chose to send their yachts by cargo ship to Europe and it is believed some yachts chose to return to Asia against the wind.

The TTT Convoy, after being repeatedly rejected for help from the various forces situated in the area to protect commercial shipping, decided to go it alone, and following the plan and the route which remained secret for their own safety, have successfully arrived into comparatively safe waters.

Rene Tiemessen, leader of the convoy, sailing with his wife Edith and two-year-old daughter Devi on their 60ft yacht Alondra, reports that accompanying him in the final stage of their voyage to the Red Sea are yachts Baringo, Lizza Forte, Skylark II, Puerto Seguro, Vagabond, Apsara, Oukiok, Lyra and Second Life.

***Read the comments of Henri Capleton about the article in Sail-World about the TTT rally and the vision of Rene Tiemessen on the Royal British Navy.

As Rene wrote in his publication on Sail-World on 30 August 2010 to introduce his rally: Over the years a clear view has developed as how organize a convoy from Salala into the Red Sea.He checked never the situation in the Indian Ocean between the Maldives and Salalah, which became the last year the most dangerous piracy area. Also warnings from the ISAF send by mail the the Rally organizers of the VdGR, BWR and TTT are ignored by him. Read More

Having recently arrived in the Red Sea with the Vasco Da Gama Rally led by Lo Brust  - a rally that operated to its original plan  and without incident - we feel we must challenge, for the sake of cruisers making decisions in the future, the misleading piece about the TTT rally published in Sail World last week.   Self-promotion is no substitute for extensive experience and intensive and continuous research regarding potential dangers.  Also to criticize the coalition forces who have, from the outset, quite clearly stated their mission does not include protecting pleasure yachts is a misplaced attempt to pass off responsibility.

It is a matter of record that as recently as last autumn the TTT rally openly published its intention to sail direct to the Maldives and from there to Salalah , Oman at which point their formal convoy was to be formed.  It is not at all clear from the article what happened and how many boats stayed with the organization but various blog sites suggest it fell apart in the Maldives with some going back to SE Asia, some looking for boat transport, some taking the dangerous direct route to Salalah and some doing what they should have done in the first place and go the northerly route via India.  So for your article about Mr Tiemessen to hint that this was a successfully accomplished rally does not equate with the known facts.

By contrast our rally led by Lo Brust took a different route based on the published pirate incident information available to everyone who took the time to do the research.  It was clear very early that Maldives to Salalah was dangerous as it went through the heart of current pirate activity.  For obvious reasons we did not publish our route, (except to the coalition forces’ coordination centres).  It is our more northerly route that in the end others followed and we have documentary evidence that it was members of our rally that later provided details of the route we had successfully taken to both the Blue Water and TTT Rallies and not as attributed in your article. Mr Tiemessen in promoting his leadership of the TTT rally claimed experience of the route. It appears he has actually only done the crossing once and in the opposite direction (with the Vasco Da Gama rally in 2007).

During our convoy the presence of the coalition forces provided some comfort as we sometimes saw and frequently heard them on the radio, but we knew it was highly unlikely that they could get to us in time if we were attacked.  This is why we formed convoy for a much greater distance than had hitherto been the practice.  Mr Tiemessen makes much play on having asked for escort from the naval forces and being denied it.  It is unreasonable to expect them to operate outside their remit at short notice and when people do not pay attention to the information they provide about where the worst dangers lie.

Of course our thoughts also are with the Danish hostages and relatives of the crew of Quest.  One can only imagine what they are going through.  We have counted ourselves very fortunate to have a leader who has done the crossing many times and has built up experience and personal contacts over the years and uses a very inclusive approach to decision making. This is why we are now in Sudanese waters - ALL TOGETHER AND SAFE.

There are lessons here for those who may plan to pass this way in the future. It remains our own responsibility to keep ourselves properly informed concerning our safety.

Henry Capleton

SV Endelig

Suakin, Sudan

****Reaction from Rene Tiemessen:

*****In response : comments from Lo Brust, Mistral, Vasco da Gama Rally :

Piracy and the role of the Alondra crew with their TTT Rally in 2011

When  the 4^th Vasco da Gama Rally arrived in april 2010, in the Port of  Salalah in Oman an attack on a Turkish cargo ship 25 Miles of the Oman coast needed us to change our route to Mumbai, more North East, almost to the Gulf of Oman before crossing to Mumbai. During the next months there were many pirate attacks. Even close to the Indian Coast ,making sailing from Sri Lanka, Maldives and Cochin in the south of India, very dangerous. For this reason we decided to sail with the 5^th rally in 2011  from Cochin and Goa to Mumbai and from there, depending on the situation in February 2011, taking a more northerly route along the Coast as far as necessary. Finally we did sail almost to Karachi before crossing to Sur in Oman.  1000 Miles more as the regular route. With the experience  of 7 earlier crossings, the rally sailed, in a good organized convoy in the coastal waters  from Oman and Yemen to Aden. A Coast Guard boat was waiting 5 miles outside the Port of Aden and attended the convoy into the anchorage. After an one week stay the rally left Aden for just one more day in the Piracy affected area and arrived safe and without any incidents in the Red Sea.

From Mumbai till the Red Sea, twice a day, UKMTO (UK Maritime Trading Organisation) was informed of our Position, Speed and Course and they shared this information with all the warships in the Northern Indian Ocean. We also received daily an up to date weather forecast for 4 days,  send by mail, from the German based Company Wetterwelt which was excellent.And we downloaded all the excellent information from the NATO anti piracy Website. The VdGR organization did stay in contact with the Blue Water Rally and this rally followed mainly our route. Two groups of yachts of the B W R, in proper convoy, passed us under the Coast of Oman.

We were not only very surprised but also upset, when we red in September 2010 on the Sail-World and Noonsite website, the announcement of Rene and Edith Tiemessen that they planned to organize a rally/convoy from Thailand to the Maldives and from there to Salalah. The most dangerous route in 2011. Without any knowledge of the situation and showing their route and dates on the internet was a really stupid action. Even after being informed by the ISAF ( International Sailing Federation) on October 23, they didn’t change their plans.

The Alondra crew has given complete wrong information to most crews in Malaysia/Thailand with plans to sail to the Red Sea. More than 40 yachts, arriving in February 2011 in the Maldives, were upset to be informed not to sail the route to Salalah. As result, several yachts did sail back to Thailand or other destinations. Others decided to send their yachts as cargo, for a huge amount of money, to the Med. Some decided to sail to Al Mukalla in Yemen. Fortunately most of the yachts arrived without problems, but not all. Later in Eritrea, speaking with some of those yachtsman, I was told that they were not aware of the dangerous situation.  We are not saying the Alondra crew is responsible for the loss of the lives of the 4 Quest crew or the capture of the crew of 7 from the Danish yacht ING incl. 3 teenagers, but because  their information many sailors got the idea that the Thailand/Maldives/Salalah route was safe and many skippers decided to go with the TTT or on their own. Finally the Alondra sailed, together with one or a few more yachts to Cochin, from where a desperate Rene did try to find out the information of the VdGR route. One of our members received on March 1 a mail from friends, with their yacht in Mumbai, with the request from Rene  if they could ask one of our yachts about the details of the route.

We don’t understand why the Tiemessen crew  did write about their success. They started with a  wrong plan and did take the one wrong decision after the other. A real disaster for many yachts. Also a big problem for the people in the ports in Yemen,  Eritrea , Sudan and Egypt. They los customers and income.

As long as the situation in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden doesn't change, yachts are advised to avoid this area. If you are in the Med, the Red Sea a far as Massawa is a good alternative for the winter.

****COMMENTS FROM AN OTHER YACHT SEND TO THE VDGR.

There are many e mails flying around amongst a number of us who feel Rene should account for the substantial sum of money he collected from us all.We can confirm that a very small number of yachts actually broke down and one of those was Alondra that continuously broke down. There were a couple of yachts that withdrew back in Phuket due to mechanical and healthreasons but these were quickly replaced with more people paying their 250 euros. Rene went to Galle for repairs, managed to get to Uligan where he had another major breakdown and relied on others to do the repair and usto supply the equipment. He then broke down again on leaving Uligan and we hear he was towed for a couple of days to Cochin by the guys who did the repair.We also heard from a very reliable source that he refusedto pay the guy who looked at the gearbox in Cochin leaving a substantial debt.Only a few days ago we heard he had broken down yet again and was being towed but we know nothing more.We do not want to interface with this guy again. He is bad news.

Back last year when we decided to go with Rene he told us he only wanted well found yachts and would inspect everyone's yacht before he accepted them. Dates were published to leave Phuket on or around a specified datein January to make our own way to Kuludufushi in the Maldives. According to Rene's booklet we received fees would be minimal and we would continue to Uligan to check out. The first yacht into Kulhudufushi was immediatelycaught for a cruising permit costing in excess of $650. The authorities gave them just 72 hours in the Maldives, but as the convoy route was to head onto Uligan they had to pay the money.The appropriate authoritieswere phoned on our sat phone to check out the legaility of it all to find that this was correct information - a cruising permit was essential to stay longer than 72 hours. We immediately informed all yachts and Rene tohead straight to Uligan which everyone did. At Uligan we were treated wonderfully by the authorities who allowed us to stay longer than the 72 hours on the basis that we needed to effect repairs and maintenance. Rene at this time was limping along with a broken gearbox and a blown out main sail towards Galle. One other yacht, Skylark, which whom we initially sailed also headed there to deal with their hydraulic steeringsystem problem. Other TTT yachts in Galle were there to travel inland in Sri Lanka before heading to Uligan.

At Uligan around 30 yachts assembled, some Blue Water Rally, some TTT and many independent. Each afternoon a meeting was held where information and research was pooled. At the time the pirate situation haddeteriorated considerably and much discussion was held on convoys, routes and tactics. One suggestion was that a large group should leave all at the same time, we wrote to Skylark to tell them what was going on atUligan to keep them informed, sadly they wrongly interpreted the e mail reading that there was to be a mass exodus of every single yacht in the anchorage including the TTT yachts. This was relayed to Rene who wentballistic and accused us of breaking up the convoy totally. His abusive e mails were upsetting and no explanation would placate him. He firmly blamed us. The route up the Indian coast as far as possiblebefore crossing across to Muscat was the preferred route.

Rene had already talked of having a form of convoy from the Maldives at the meeting in Phuket just before we left due to the detiorating pirate situation. There were 22 TTT yachts, including Alondra that set off forthe Maldives others had gone their own way to Salalah. Of these 22, 3 decided to return to Malaysia/Thailand or continue to India, 5 decided to ship, 4 plus Alondra and one other recruited in Uligan, continued withRene, the remainder had left in small well organised convoys making very successful passages, At Salalah Rene met up with a few of those TTT members who had gone their own way to Salalah.

Many of the 22 had lost confidence in Rene very soon after leaving Phuket, some never received any e mails from him and 3 yachts signed up almost the day before we left Phuket and handed over their money. Webelieve 2 of these went their own way Whilst at Uligan we heard from friends that they were shipping so we immediately made enquiries and decided that would be the route we would take.

We do hope you can understand this, this has been the most unsuccessful period of our circumnavigation and we would not wish a similar situation on anyone else. This man has received a considerable sum of money forcharity and he firmly refuses to say how much and what has been spent. The whole episode has left a nasty taste in our mouth.

****More comments :

Evidence that voyaging through the Indian Ocean is getting just too hard for the cruising sailor, if you didn't already believe it, is underlined by the fact that one of the best known world circumnavigation rallies has been called off nine months before it is due to begin.

The Blue Water Rally, which would have been on its ninth circumnavigation, setting out from Gibraltar in October and picking up participants along the way, has been cancelled.

The rally traditionally follows the 'milk-run' route tracing its way by using the best trade winds that the world has to offer. The route also involved going through both the Panama and the Suez Canals, but reaching the Suez Canal via the Red Sea requires crossing the Arabian Sea, across which Somali pirates have now spread their deadly tentacles by using captive ships.

While the Gulf of Aden was the only issue facing round-world voyagers, the rallies kept going, because organisers of rallies and convoys had developed a successful way of negotiating this section of the voyage. Blue Water Rallies have stated that they made the unfortunate decision before the killing of the four kidnapped yacht crew who had been in their rally, but, fatefully had left it just before their seajacking.

Prior to leaving the rally, skipper Scott Adam, 68, and his wife Jean, from California and their crew Phyllis Mackay, 59, and Bob Riggle, 67, of Seattle were sailing Quest, a 58ft Davidson a pilot house double-headsail cutter, as part of the current BWR round -the-world rally, but left the rally in Mumbai.

It proved to be a crucial moment, and the rest of the tragic story has been told.

According to the organiser of another rally - the TTT (Thailand to Turkey) Rally - Rene Tiemessen, up to 100 yachts, including the thirty yachts in his rally, the remaining members of the Blue Water Rally, and many yachts travelling independently, still have to make the transit from the general area of India to the Red Sea.

It is these cruising sailors who must be proceeding very nervously, as they make their very secret way across the danger zone.

***** And another message from one of our participants : Paul Jefferies of sailing yacht Damarri, writing about the convoi en his opinion about the visiting countries :

My wife and I are currently members of the Vasco da Gama Rally which has recently transited the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and is now, thankfully, safe in the Red Sea.   As a result of a number of postings on Noonsite and other websites,  I want to give an account of our experiences which hopefully will go some way to correcting what I believe are erroneous impressions given by some other cruisers.

Our decision to join the rally was quite late and was a result of the well publicised increase in pirate activity in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.   The routing was not "secret" but from well before the time we joined,  the Vasco da Gama Leader, Lo Brust,  would not commit himself to a routing,  initially because he hadn't decided on one and later because he did not want details to fall into the wrong hands. Our actual routing was not decided until shortly before our departure from Mumbai and was based on the very latest reports of pirate activity from the UKMTO.  Once it had been decided,  obviously it would have compromised our own safety if our routing had been made public before we reached Aden.  Suffice it to say that the route we took was "common sense" based on information supplied by the UK Maritime Trade Organisation.

Postings elsewhere have said that the Thailand to Turkey rally was "rejected for escort by the combined navies" and.........  "Britain's Royal Navy rejected a request by a cruising couple to give a convoy of around 30 yachts escort through the Gulf of Aden"............  It has been clear from the outset that the combined taskforce was put in place to protect commercial shipping and specifically to protect ships carrying food for the World Food Program.  t was never intended to protect private yachts and indeed the small number of ships involved and the HUGE area of ocean in question make such escort duties virtually impossible.  Under the present terms of reference, yachts cannot expect an escort..........  though I suppose there is no harm in asking!

Rallies,  indeed all yachts,  are urged to register with the UKMTO and to send in their position each day.  In the event,  the VdG rally sent in their Position, Course and Speed twice a day and on the couple of occasions we were a bit late,  they contacted Lo Brust to check that we were OK!  The support we got from UKMTO and the task force was fantastic and more than we expected.............   When we were "out in the middle", on two occasions we had flypasts from carrier based F-18s and on two other occasions from helicopters.  These visits proved not only that the Task Force knew where we were but also that they were watching us...........  They were a fantastic morale booster at what was a very tense time.

Through contacts in England I was aware that all 3 yacht rallies - Blue Water Rally, Thailand to Turkey convoy and Vasco da Gama Rally- were being monitored closely by the relevant authorities and that Naval forces were directed to pay special attention to cruisers because of their particular vulnerability.  All were advised to avoid routing directly through the 'Red High Risk Areas' and to take more circuitous routes similar to that already selected by V da G.  Some cruisers broke away from their convoy routes and some chose to route alone through the 'Red High Risk Areas' - with disastrous consequences.

The Vasco da Gama Rally consisted of eleven boats and were blessed with mainly very light and/or following winds throughout.........  Just the conditions most favourable to the pirates and we did have two full "alerts" in which we thought we were being attacked.  On both occasions the convoy "closed up" but thankfully both turned out not to be hostile though some of us are still not sure about the intentions of one of those visits.  Between Mumbai and Aden we had a total of eighteen days Motoring and motorsailing in convoy.  We did manage to turn the engine off occasionally but as one of the slower boats,  we found it difficult to maintain our position in the convoy under sail alone and we put a total of 380 hours on the engine in that time.

It is such a pity that the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden have become a "no go area"...........  This website can be accessed just as easily by pirates as by legitimate yotties so I don't want to say too much about our routing except that ALL the people we met in Oman and Yemen were friendly and helpful and seemed genuinely pleased to see us visiting their countries.  Most of the countryside we saw was beautiful and remote and under different circumstances we would love to return and cruise the area properly.

We are now in the Red Sea where, contrary to some other postings even on Noonsite, our experience has been nothing but positive.  Our first call was at Asab in the South of Eritrea............  Asab IS closed as a Port of Entry and indeed as a Port at all,  because Eritrea is very nervous about a possible attack from Ethiopia who, since the war, now have no access to the sea and are believed to have designs on Asab.   However the Port is still there and we went there as yachts looking for shelter from strong Northerly winds.  It proved to be a first class anchorage with excellent shelter.  There is a skeleton staff still there and our leader went to see the Port Manager who was delighted to see us and made it clear that yachts will always be welcome there,  though he could not allow us to leave the immediate Port area because Asab is no longer a Port of Entry and we could not clear in.  This was a pity because Eritrea was once an Italian colony and from what we could see,  there were many interesting buildings and we would have liked a better look at the place..........  But the Port provided excellent shelter and is a useful stop on that part of the coast.

Our next stop was in Massawa and here too we were treated with nothing but friendliness and courtesy.  It is TRUE that a motor yacht was arrested there not long ago,  we saw it and I understand the owner is still being held............  But we were told by two separate sources that he tried to leave in the middle of the night,  with no lights, without checking out and without paying his Harbour Dues..........  there is some confusion over whether he paid for fuel he uplifted.  

While in Massawa we made an excursion inland (and considerably uphill!) to the Capital, Asmara where once again we were met with smiles and courtesy.  Asmara is a beautiful city, again with much Italian influence in the architecture and it was surprisingly clean.  It really seemed that the Eritreans are proud of their Capital and we were welcomed wherever we went.  The people we met seemed genuinely pleased to have Westerners visiting their country and often asked us what we thought of Eritrea...........  our experience was only positive and we would love to return there someday.

So, the moral of that particular story would seem to be that if you treat the people with courtesy and a smile you will be treated in the same way but if you do not obey their rules and try to outsmart them,  you will be treated just as you would in any "First World" country.............  We have now reached Suakin in Sudan and.........  "so far, so good".

Paul Jefferies, SV Damarri

Update: 22-march-2011

Today we received a very nice email from one of our ships that sails the Vasco da Gama Rally.

Dear Lo,

We don't know how to thank you to have bring us safely til here but we would like to let you know that we are so so grateful to you ! So, thank you very very much for all you have done for us !

The rally is not finished yet so we have plenty of great time to share together ! Take care of you and thank you again. We are the champions my friend but you are the best !!!! 

Betty & JosÃ