Recovering Cdn diplomat (posted in Mexico, Colombia, Sudan, Pakistan, South Africa & South Sudan). Sails, writes books, treks; opinionated on both Sudans. Home is Salt Spring Island BC. Sailing blog www.bosunbird.com Also at (X) @NicholasCoghlan
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"While the #Sudan- ese live through conflict and wait for their families to help them escape, Sudanese Canadians are fighting their own battles against constant silence, delays and inaction from the ๐จ๐ฆ government as they try to get their families out.." www.newarab.com/features/sud...
#Sudan "Both sides have targeted civilians thru attacks, summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture/inhuman treatment in detention. These are deliberate strategies amounting to war crimes. The RSF has further committed crimes against humanity.." www.sudanspost.com/un-mission-s...
๐๐ #43 in "Under Wide and Starry Skies - 50 #Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled" - the ๐ง๐ท island of Fernando de Noronha. The viewpoint is reached via a 1060ft (323m) climb on steel ladders.
Things in #Colombia had been looking up. But not lately. "The latest events are a warning that it is going backwards fast. Security is deteriorating... illegal armed groups are growing, and security forces are weaker than they were a decade ago." americasquarterly.org/article/colo...
๐๐ Approaching Cayo Herradura, Isla la Tortuga, #Venezuela. One of fifty out-of-the-way anchorages featured in Under Wide and Starry Skies. #sailing www.bloomsbury.com/ca/under-wid...
Yet more tragedy in #Sudan - just creeping into the news today: 1000 killed in #Darfur. www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...
Sunrise over the Coast Mountains this morning, seen from Salt Spring Island.
No - definitely not....!
What a privilege this morning.....We're camped at Nissen Bight, on the North Coast Trail, and a Coastal Wolf turns to stare at us. A sub-species of the Grey Wolf, these wolves are solitary and survive on clams, mussels and foraging on the beach; they are strong swimmers.
"Conditions in the besieged city of El Fasher, capital of North #Darfur (#Sudan), have grown increasingly desperate. Residents have resorted to eating animal fodder and scraps of discarded food.. " www.sudanspost.com/wfp-sudan-fa...
When will ๐จ๐ฆ finally take action against this sanctions-busting ๐จ๐ฆ-owned company that is fuelling the war in #Sudan? Pleased to be quoted in this important news item. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
๐๐On VJ Day.....This book is not just an account of #sailing in ๐ฏ๐ต but also an evocation of how the Japanese look at WW2, from today's perspective. www.amazon.ca/Sailing-Hear...
Good summary; but tbh I can't see anyone volunteering their soldiers for the "robust UN military intervention" envisaged.
What an appalling idea - the forced relocation of Palestinians from the hell-hole of Gaza.... to one of the world's most underdeveloped states, aid-dependent and itself a perennial generator of refugees #SouthSudan www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Link doesn't work (?)
๐๐So you reckon you've travelled a bit? Here's Palmerston Island ๐จ๐ฐ where everyone has the surname of a 19thC Bristol sea-captain. To see if you've been to any of the other 49 places in "Under Wide and Starry Skies" see the List of Contents in the link www.bloomsbury.com/ca/under-wid...
๐๐On our #sailing voyage to Haida Gwaii this year (1400 miles there and back) we returned via one of our favourite anchorages: Hollywood Passage on Vancouver Island's west coast (one of 50 remote places featured in www.bloomsbury.com/ca/under-wid...
#Booksky Latest review of Sailing to the Heart of Japan: "This fascinating book gives a wonderful insight to the Japanese people, their customs and culture, as well as much #sailing information..."
๐๐ "Under Wide and starry Skies" hitting the big time (have to admit these categories are a bit "niche"...๐) #Sailing
๐๐Reviews are piling up - this one from ๐ฌ๐ง's Yachting Monthly magazine. #Sailing
Latest review of Under Wide and Starry Skies - from ๐ณ๐ฟ's Island Cruising Association: "Vivid Stories of #sailing and discovery..."
๐๐ #Sailing around the world in the 1980s, we occasionally would drop overboard a message in a bottle. We never heard anything back...until one day more than thirty years later. Chapter 32 of "Under Wide and Starry Skies" tells the story.
๐๐ It's not too late to get your Mom the perfect Mothers' Day gift! The book that will inspire her to give up her humdrum life at home, go to sea and live a life of adventure: "Under Wide and Starry Skies - Fifty #Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled" ๐
Senators call for ๐บ๐ธ re-engagement on #Sudan - following the termination of envoy Perriello. Desirable - as long as they're empowered to talk tough to the UAE; and there's no transactional "dealing" (as we saw with the previous Trump administration). www.warner.senate.gov/public/index...
๐๐Cocos-Keeling atoll, Indian Ocean, ๐ฆ๐บ. One of 50 remote destinations featured in Under Wide and Starry Skies, this is the island that led Charles Darwin to the definitive theory of how atolls are formed; the Admiralty chart still reads "As surveyed by HMS Beagle, 1836." #Sailing
๐๐I'm signed up for next week's "Living Library" project at the Salt Spring library. It means acting as a living book, on two subjects: The Life of a ๐จ๐ฆ Diplomat; Sailing Around the World. Check me out! (or at least don't leave me on the discards pile...๐ข)
currents.bluewatercruising.org/article/the-...
๐๐ Out today in softcover in N. America/Down Under: Under Wide and Starry Skies - 50 #Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled. This one's Easter Island (dodgy as an anchorage, but scenic). If your bookshelf's already too full, just ask your Library to order. Review in Replies.
Kuir and David, students from #SouthSudan at ๐จ๐ฆ's Pearson College, needed a break from their end-of-year IB exams so we took them for an afternoon of #sailing off Saltspring. They may not be the future of the #SouthSudan navy ๐but there's no doubt they're the future of the country.
Home...
Lots of focus (rightly) on the #Sudan catastrophe, but meanwhile #SouthSudan (or possibly its ally #Uganda) is also bombing humanitarians and the people they care for. Just sickening. Sympathy to all @msf.ca staff and patients. x.com/SudansPost/s...
Sorry to learn this. Ever since 2005 the Netherlands have contributed greatly to the development of #SouthSudan, including with their unique expertise in hydraulic engineering. Also the landlord for the ๐จ๐ฆ embassy and wonderful colleagues; you will be missed. www.sudanspost.com/netherlands-...
๐๐ Readers: help out your favourite author in these "interesting times": Pre-order their book; Buy it from your local bookshop if you can; Share it on social media. Talk about it; Request it at the library; Leave a review (it boosts the algorithm); Recommend it to your friends.
No - dead and gone by then โน๏ธ. It shouldn't detract from whether or not you enjoyed the book/movie - but both of them do stretch the truth a little... Such is art.
Yes - overlapped with the author (who wasn't that happy we had effectively kicked him out of his flat โน๏ธ).
Interested in the now-screening movie The Penguin Lessons? Here's the real apartment (top floor, with adjoining rooftop one side, dormitory the other; our home 1978-81, inherited from the author); the pool, and the school chapel. All at St George's College, Buenos Aires ๐ฆ๐ท
๐๐ An unexpected hazard of #sailing in tropical waters - this (venomous) sea snake found its way below before we persuaded it to leave again via the cockpit drain. From Chapter 29 of "Under Wide and Starry Skies."
What ethical judge would allow a 4-year-old to appear and stand in their court without a lawyer, or parent, or adult guardian.
Wonderful photo essay - wrestling in the Nuba Mountains #Sudan #SouthSudan www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
currents.bluewatercruising.org/article/the-...
Palmerston ๐จ๐ฐ South Pacific. Population 25, all descended from ship's captain William Marsters and his 3 Polynesian wives. Only reachable by sea; one of 50 remote destinations featured in Under Wide and Starry Skies; review in Replies. Note the rock to the NW of the main island๐
๐๐"Under Wide and Starry Skies will create dreams; if you are fortunate enough to own a sailboat, it will inspire you to GO. As Nicholas states: โDonโt dally too long. Itโs always later than you think.โ currents.bluewatercruising.org/article/the-...
At a time when international partners are slashing overseas aid budgets (and with the rival Conservatives promising to follow them), it's some consolation to see that a ๐จ๐ฆ Liberal government would maintain humanitarian assistance at a minimum of $800m. liberal.ca/cstrong/secu...
There is one destination in particular that - unfortunately - is likely to be "Less Travelled" for some time yet: Alkwasir Island, on the Blue Nile above Khartoum!
Add to the list....๐ฃ
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/under-wid...
๐๐ Rodrigues Island, ๐ฒ๐บ, Indian Ocean. One of 50 remote #Sailing destinations in Under Wide and Starry Skies.
๐๐"Under Wide and Starry Skies is certainly not your average cruising guide....a very enjoyable read to while away the โoffโ season and dream about locations for future cruises" (Royal Cruising Club) #Sailing www.rcc.org.uk/book-reviews...
Looking north up Trincomali Channel from the tombolo at Montague Harbour, Galiano Island. Like many locations in BC's Gulf Islands, the Channel is named after a Royal Navy ship: HMS Trincomalee (sic) was on the Pacific squadron in the 1850s.
It's been a wet winter in BC, so the euphoniously-named Skunk Cabbage, which thrives in marshland, is doing well. Optimists prefer the name Swamp Lantern. It's best not to get too close.
The withdrawal of the ๐บ๐ธ from the international scene, following the gutting of USAID, looks to become ever more visible. Sadly ironic, if confirmed, will be closure of the US mission in #SouthSudan, a country that the ๐บ๐ธ, more than anyone, helped create. www.cnn.com/2025/04/15/p...
Statement at close of the ๐ฌ๐งconference on #Sudan. Pleased to see ๐จ๐ฆhere. Many will be disappointed in the lack of concrete results. But to say that the climate is not conducive to progress would be an understatement, esp with ๐บ๐ธ fading out. www.gov.uk/government/p...
Channelling Elvis Presley: the lone public washroom on Galiano Island BC.
The carved doorway of Galiano Island's tiny but beautiful museum - open 3 hours a week, every Sunday.
Taking advantage of the Spring weather in BC's Gulf Islands for a sail and overnight to Montague Harbour, Galiano Island. Not a single other vessel to be seen as we beat through Captain Passage, into Trincomali Channel. #Sailing
On the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the #Sudan conflict, and the biggest international gathering in a year (in UK) the RSF take the war to new depths: among the dead, 9 humanitarian workers. More $$ relief is vital (๐บ๐ธpulling back) but above all: action www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
๐๐ Happier days in #Sudan. "It was only on these morning sails back from Alkwasir that we expats could beat our Sudanese friends, in fact. For we were more experienced, you see, when it came to tea drinking." #sailing www.sail-world.com/news/285081/...
๐๐It's not very often that my interests in #Sudan and #Sailing coincide - but sailing on the Blue Nile (described below) was one of the most treasured memories of my three years in Khartoum. It seems like an impossible dream now. www.sail-world.com/news/285081/...
๐๐ Ever thought how great it must be to make your living from writing books? Excellent reality check here (and this is *after* you've found a publisher). kristie-de-garis.ghost.io/published-do...
๐๐ Struck a chord - I lived in the apartment formerly occupied by The Penguin Lessons' author Mike Thompson (real name), when he moved on from Argentina in 1978. "Cute" story. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ap...
The mood today on Heard Island.
Kings!!
The inhabitants of Heard Island seem unfazed by the news that they now face 10% tariffs.
๐๐ Is history repeating in #SouthSudan? Some things have changed, others not. Rivals for 34yrs, Salva Kiir still fears Riek Machar more than anything; there's no clear SPLM succession plan; the army remains divided on ethnic lines (and hasn't been paid). Edgy times.
๐๐ #Sailing to the Heart of Japan - read an illustrated excerpt, as featured in the latest edition of Latitudes & Attitudes. www.bluetoad.com/publication/...
"The release of Mr Machar, an end to fighting and a recommitment of all parties to the 2018 agreement are needed. Without those steps, the best hope is that the UN peacekeeping force for #SouthSudan is able to create safe zones to protect civilians." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"The places where water comes together with other water. Those places stand out in my mind like holy places." (Raymond Carver). Khartoum, #Sudan.
A short explainer on what's up in #SouthSudan at the moment www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7l...
#Sudan. "Thereโs a symbolism.. in seeing emptiness where these grand objects once stood that sort of captures the scale of destruction, loss and emptying of the country that weโve seen since the war started." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Khartoum celebrates. But "a question about ejecting all military from governance, a demand thwarted by the SAF/RSF partnership after the revolution, has become suspended... pushing #Sudan further into militarised rule & consolidation under the SAF." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Repellent though the RSF are, unsurprising that the SPLM-N, based in #Sudan's Nuba/Blue Nile, should side with them. SAF are the older enemy by far - to do otherwise would be reversal of 50 yrs of history. Some in #SouthSudan may feel the same. Proliferation coming? www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
๐๐ #Sailing
From Chapter 18 of Under Wide and Starry Skies - 50 Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled: Robinson Crusoe Island, ๐จ๐ฑ, the setting for the real-life adventures of Alexander Selkirk that inspired Daniel Defoe.
"Far from the #SouthSudan-ese state creating the flourishing nation hoped for by many its citizens at the moment of the countryโs secession in 2011, state power has been built on the instrumentalization of ethnic difference." africanarguments.org/2025/03/is-t...
An excellent deep dive into #SouthSudan by the always well-informed Joshua Craze; looking forward to the next instalments. africanarguments.org/2025/03/what...
"International donors are fiddling as #Sudan burns..." www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
The Lion Gate at Mycenae ๐ฌ๐ท. One of the greatest surviving sculptures of the Bronze Age, it dates from 1250 BCE.
๐๐ Latest review in #Sailing Today, UK's top-selling sailing magazine. www.sailingtoday.co.uk/news/latest-...
One of the several amazing Tholos (beehive) tombs of Mycenae ๐ฌ๐ท, from 1300 BCE. First excavated in the 19th C, when parts of its faรงade were removed by (who else...) Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. Later excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, legendary discoverer of Troy.
Spring flowers at Mycenae, ๐ฌ๐ท. The capital of Agamemnon, the hero of Troy, this city was already a thousand years old when Athens was at its apogee in 300 BCE, its architecture so impressive that it was said to have been built by Cyclops.
"Despot" originally means no more than "one who has power." Aslan Pasha, the tyrannical ruler of Epirus ๐ฌ๐ท played a key role in giving the word its modern negative connotations. When not drowning his enemies en masse, he liked to shoot them with his engraved, all-silver rifle.
We're at the Aslan Pasha mosque, Ioannina ๐ฌ๐ท. Famous for his long pipe, Aslan Pasha (1740-1822) was fascinating but tyrannical: he once had eighteen women drowned (in one go) in the adjoining lake, for adultery. Lord Byron was a big fan of his.
Evening mist, and snow on the Pindos range - Ioannina, ๐ฌ๐ท.
A new dimension to proliferation of the conflict in #Sudan: the RSF lines up with SSPDF (army of #SouthSudan) to fight forces aligned against the Juba government, within South Sudanese territory. sudanwarmonitor.com/p/renk-count...
Up into the mountains of Epirus ๐ฌ๐ท. In 1944-5 (L) my Dad was stationed on the lake at Ioannina, suppressing (on Churchill's instructions) Communist guerrilla fighters - while running supplies/intel across the border in support of similarly Communist partisans in Albania.
The Liston, Corfu ๐ฌ๐ท- the place to be for a coffee/cake, when the sun catches the arcade on a late winter afternoon. The odd name is a Venetian term meaning a marble- floored street.
๐๐ That feeling when you have a new #sailing offering, in times like these...
#Sudan - and what Canada can do to help soundcloud.com/user-6094853...
Laundry day in Corfu town, ๐ฌ๐ท
The Republic of San Marino is quaint enough off-season, but judging from the number - and contents - of the presently closed-up shops, it is a tourist trap par excellence in summer. Not sure why the late Queen, in bobble head, is a favourite; note the Zero Euro banknotes too...
A quiet morning in the independent Republic of San Marino; not much of a line-up at the Torture Museum.
We're at the Commonwealth war cemetery, at Cesena ๐ฎ๐น, to visit the grave of my Dad's best friend, who died here fighting fascism in 1944. Some of the epitaphs are unutterably sad, like this ๐จ๐ฆ one. This truly was The Greatest Generation.
A pair of Ravenna mosaics, so bright and lively that it's difficult to believe they are 1500 years old. Justinian was Emperor of Byzantium, 527 to 565 CE.
From one hell to another...I don't have much time for #Sudan's military government, but they are entirely right to reject this appalling "deal" suggested by Trump, that treats Palestinians as chattel to be dumped. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
We're in Ravenna ๐ฎ๐น for a couple of days. Now a small and quiet Italian town, it was once the capital of the Roman Empire, later a major city of Byzantium. Its churches house the most amazing collection of mosaics (from as early as the 5th century AD) anywhere in the world.
Another misty morning on Venice's lagoon. Could be an impressionist painting - but the wonky campanile (church tower) is distracting (not an optical illusion - it really is tilting).
Walking home at midnight in Venice is atmospheric - and a little spooky. The canals glug mysteriously. Rats scamper out of your path. You half expect to see a flash of bright red - evoking the quintessential Venice movie "Don't Look Now" (Julie Christie/Donald Sutherland).
Ugandan troops arrive in #SouthSudan to bolster a nervous President. We've seen this movie before; it's not a happy one. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...