`All the people who do what we are doing are old." One simple observation, but a very telling message from the skipper of the Sail Chernobyl project, Rory Coveney. Few people get the opportunity to circumnavigate the globe before they are 30 . . . and fewer still commit almost two years of their lives for victims of a disaster.
But then the smiling faces, the cheery Website messages, the television images of a graceful yacht on a glassy sea belie the physical hardship and the emotional toll. Living in confined quarters with uncertain weather and sea conditions for long periods can be taxing enough. To continue with the project in spite of the tragic loss of their father, Hugh - and in the face of the predictable level of cynicism and begrudgery about their venture back home - requires a level of strength and maturity that comes with age. The oldest person on the Coveney family ketch, Golden Apple, is only 24.
Ironically, it was 24-year-old Rory who went to Belarus in the months before the vessel left Ireland in October, 1997. It was he who witnessed at first hand what the venture is all about. The memories of children born with deformities in the thyroid tumour clinic in Minsk, and whose lives have been scarred as a result of the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, are still with him . . . and with his older brother, Simon (26), who is now Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central.
When Simon stayed at home after his father's death, and handed the helm to Rory, he also decided to travel to Belarus. On his return, he found it difficult to talk about it and preferred to send this reporter the photographs. Most of the images were too shocking to publish. One that was used managed to convey the dignity of a child suffering from cancer . . . who, along with many others, may not reach his 21st birthday, and may never get the chance to sleep under the stars at sea.
This week, the four sailors - Rory, twins Tony and Andrew, and Rebecca - sleep under the stars in Langkawi, Malaysia. They will be in the company of their mother, Pauline, and brothers, Patrick, Simon and David, who flew out this week to join them. Given that they are in a Muslim country, most of the Christmas atmosphere will have to be created on board the 51-foot teak boat. Fortunately, a friend presented them with a tree in their last port of call, Phuket in Thailand.
"It is a sensible size for our needs, 14 inches high, plastic, with a sticky bottom, so it won't fall over while the boat rocks around in the waves," Tony Coveney observes. He says he will miss the lights in Cork's Patrick Street, and the ritual television viewing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. "Of course what we will all miss most on board is the presence of Dad . . . He was always at the core of any controversial arguments at the dinner table and, whether right or wrong, he always tried to rise us by adding spicy detail to an already heated argument."
Last year, the row involved the Jesuits and Benedictine monks. At other times, particularly when a camera was produced, his dad would playfully remove his front false tooth and make it protrude over his lower lip. "This is the kind of insanity that we will have to try and imitate. . ."
It will also be up to Tony to repeat his masterful performance as Christmas dinner chef, complete with Santa-Claus apron. Last year's effort for a cabin of nine was a "daunting task" with only a tiny oven and two gas rings in a very cramped galley. He bought the turkey in a small shop on the Caribbean island of Martinique. As his sister, Rebecca, recalls, he had to cut off one of the bird's legs to get it to fit in. The pudding was presented by their father, who wisely brought it out from home.
Some of the crew are itching to set sail for Sri Lanka, and already there are plans to cut short some of the landfalls to arrive home a month early - May of next year, instead of June. The decision to spend some time in Thailand and Malaysia was influenced by weather factors - the monsoon season in the Indian Ocean.
In Thailand, they competed in the prestigious King's Cup regatta, and were disgusted with their performance. But then few of the competitors were carrying such ballast, and "racing in their homes". Any ideas of Golden Apple being a speed machine have "finally and definitely been suppressed", the skipper noted in the Website log after the last race. In spite of the poor results, the week was a great success for the charity, with some $1,600 raised.
Apart from resident cockroaches and occasional food shortages, the crew has adapted to life at sea. It only took the initial Atlantic crossing and the Panama Canal transit for them to adjust, according to Rebecca. By then, "we had seen amazing sights, experienced different cultures and traditions. We swam with dolphins, saw killer sharks, caught massive yahoo fish, ate battered crickets and met great people. We had got used to battling storms, tearing sails, breaking the toilet, running out of food, praying for wind, melting in the heat, sleepless nights, getting scared over pirates and running out of fuel.
"We had got used to most things that Mother Nature threw at us," she says. This time last year, her brother Rory was talking of how he couldn't wait to get to the Galapagos Islands. "Nothing could have prepared us for what awaited us," Rebecca recalls. It was while out studying the unique wildlife of the islands that news came of their father's accident. An email arrived from their oldest brother, Patrick, telling them to call home urgently.
"I will never forget seeing the boys' faces when they returned to the boat."
If satellite technology assisted their quick passage back to Ireland, it has sustained the crew on their continuing journey.
Golden Apple's track has assumed cult status in certain parts of the world, with a large proportion of supporters on the Website hailing from the US and Europe. Currently, the site is recording 400 hits a day, which is about 12,000 a month. Many schools are following their progress as part of ScoilNet, an information technology project, and some of the enthusiastic pupils have been hosting events to help the fundraising effort.
Take Lumcloon National School in Cloghan, Co Offaly. "Fifth and sixth classes in our school are doing a sponsored penalty shoot-out to raise money for your good cause," pupils in the second, third and fourth classes wrote in an email to the Coveneys' boat two months ago.
"Mrs Doolan, our teacher, read out an email you had written to them in class. They are really interested in you. We got jealous, so now we are doing a sponsored skipathon in fancy dress in our class. It's pretty cool that you're sailing round the world in a 50 foot boat. We hope that you get on well and Rebecca doesn't come face to face with any water-snakes . . ."
Eventually, after a long wet spell, the Lumcloon pupils seized the day. Friday, November 30th, was lovely and fine, they reported - "but it was very mucky for the penalty shoot-out . . . not quite as bad as the monsoon rains you have in Thailand right now.
"Fourth class have been reading about snake charmers, and we learned the snake charmer can hypnotise the snake by swaying from side to side," they added. "We have almost all the money in at the moment, and it amounts to £653. It is in our Post Office account at the moment and Mrs Doolan is going to bring it to AIB next week."
Thanks to Lumcloon, to many other schools, to the Government donation after Hugh Coveney's death, to the supporters of fundraising events in many ports, and to the recent £10,000 effort by students at University College, Cork, the Sail Chernobyl account now stands at £300,000. The target is £1 million. One third of it has been raised, with one third of the journey left to go . . .
The Sail Chernobyl website is at http://aardvark.ie/ccp/sail-chernobyl. Donations can be lodged to the Sail Chernobyl ac- count at Allied Irish Banks, South Mall, Cork, Acc No: 11100050.
