Compressed air junkie

The SV Infinity, the research vessel of the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation, recently returned to its Asian home at Raffles Marina, two years after it left Singapore for it epic, 16,000 nautical mile journey, which covered Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu and the The Solomon Islands.

Time really flies – I recall the last time I was on the Infinity in 2006, and she was just getting retro-fitted for the voyage by her crew at Raffles Marina. The steering wheel hadn’t even been fitted in yet, at that time. The decking of the main cabin was bare and there were wires hanging all over the place, a stark contrast to the “sea”-soned vessel that greeted me as I clambered aboard her tarp-covered deck.

Me on the deck of SV Infinity at Raffles Marina.

The named tarp covering the sails.

The sky seemed to reflect the melancholy feelings etched on the faces of the crew – it drizzled on and off for the whole time during the get-together. The last leg of the Infinity was to be from Singapore to Thailand, where the owner of the boat would be waiting.

As with all endings however, new doors open – for Gae and Laser, the monumental task of looking for a new vessel to continue the extraordinary work, for Klaus (the captain), it was to return home to take care of his family, for Ola to write about the research findings from the voyage, for Michelle the chef/visual artist to start the process of cataloging his image and video collection, and for the younger crew, to pursue their higher degree’s.

As before, when I first hooked up with the PCRF people on Heraclitus (their first ship), and now on the Infinity, my best wishes for safe journeys, wherever they are headed.

David?, Francis (Raffles Marina), myself, Orla (PCRF) and Abigail (PCRF).