PCRF on AsiaOne

In Singapore some folks from an internet magazine came onboard and did a short video on us...check out the link (click on the title of this post) if you'd like to see Infinity (and me!) in Singapore.

(You have to wait through an annoying car ad to see the video.)

Singapore

Six months ago, I had decided Singapore would be my final stop with PCRF. Heraclitus was due there for a drydock in August 2007, and, after completing drydock, this was to be my point of departure.

Little did I imagine I'd be there before the end of 2006, however, participating in a drydock-like experience on a whole new ship! Well, I can now say I've been there and done that (but Singapore, obviously, is no longer my point of departure, at least not this year). Infinity never physically came out of the water (validating the "dry" in "drydock"), but the work we put into her rivaled what, I'm told, goes on during the genuine experience.

And what an experience it was...from removing and cleaning seized turnbuckles (how many crewmembers does it take to loosen a turnbuckle? Would you believe up to six?), replacing all the shrouds (that's about 20 steel cables, ranging in length from around 30 to 120 feet), onloading and storing an outfit of safety equipment (liferaft, fire extinguishers, lifejackets), installing a brand-factory-new generator, modifying the anchor winch, bringing our new dive compressor up to speed and a host of other engineering/electrical/plumbing projects...the worklist goes on (and on, and on).

All ship's work and no play was not the full-time tune of our four-week stay in Singapore, however. In fact, I've never been with PCRF during another time when we hosted so many events (ok, parties) onboard...not just becuase we like to have a good time but because we were extremely fortunate to have many generous people and companies sponsor us, donating goods like previously-mentioned, brand-factory-new generator, outfit of safety equipment, all-new shrouds, etc, etc. Even our docking fees were donated, as we were hosted and sponsored by Raffles Marina (which, I'll mention, is now the official home port of PCRF due to a long-standing relationship). We held open houses (well, "open ships"), cocktail parties, movie screenings, tours, school-group presentations, all events connecting us with more and more people interested in what we're doing.

As has happened in past ports, I left Singapore with tremendous respect for people and cultures I previously knew nothing about. During our stay I came to know top brass in energy companies, liquid petroleum gas tanker and oil drilling rig captains, superyacht officers, commercial shipyard managers, and other driving forces behind Singapore's shipping and marine industry. Not the kind of folks who are enthusiastic about saving coral reefs, right? Wrong. These people and their stories demolished plenty of my own illusions about worlds I never bothered or had the opportunity to investigate beyond superficial stereotypes. These were the people donating goods, expertise and advice to our expedition, and they gave us overwhelming support and good wishes for our endeavours. Again, the window of my perception grew a little wider thanks to these people.

Despite the continued support and enthusiasm from the folks we met in Singapore, after four weeks it was time to move on. So we did...on to Pulau Tioman, Malaysia, where we'll be until mid-November. Infinity will be back in Singapore at Raffles Marina, though, in two years' time. Will I be back? I really can't say...