My First Ship Journey- Port Blair to Havelock

Aug 11, 2008 by Nirmal    2 Comments    Posted under: Travel

Well, precisely this is not my first ship journey, but it can be said as a ship journey in sea for more than 3 hours. This trip was from Port Blair (Andaman Islands) to Havelock, another Island in Andaman. I was in Andaman during the last week of July for a leisure trip. This journey was on the third day of our tour. We were heading to see one of the best beaches in Asia- the famous Radha Nagar sea beach. Radha Nagar beach is situated in Havelock Island, around 39 KM from Port Blair. The estimated time for normal ship is 4 hours and speed boat is 2 hours.

We started our journey by 6.00 AM and we were in the passenger terminal of Pheonix Bay. The ship which was supposed to take us was getting ready for the Voyage. The name of the ship was M V Ramanujam and owned by Ministry of Shipping and Navigation (Govt of India). The capacity of the ship was around 600, but there were only less than 100 people as it was off season. The major problem during off season was that ships could get canceled any time due to bad whether or heavy winds. Luckily both these were not there on that day.

M V Ramanujam

So finally by 6.30 AM local time we set sailing for Havelock Island. Everyone was on the top deck of the ship as the seating was comfortable. But the comfort started to vanish soon. As we entered the deep sea, the was was getting rough. Since the ship was a flat bottom one, it started tilting sideways. The tilt was increasing as the journey progressed and it became difficult even to stand up on the ship.

Next one hour continued more or less the same way. In the mean time we had our breakfast on board. Within another half an hour the sea was becoming more calmer and the tilting of the ship reduced considerably and all the tourists were busy taking snaps on board.

After 3.5 hours of voyage, we could finally spot land. By 11.00 we reached Havelock Island and a vehicle was waiting for us which would take us to Radha Nagar Beach which is 20 min journey. Finally by 11.45 we were at Radha Nagar beach and I should say it was really a breath taking view and the beach was simply awesome. This was the best beach I have ever been to.

We had a great time at the beach and most of us took bath in the clear blue water. By now it was 1.00 PM and time to get back and have lunch. Our return voyage was at 2.30 PM on the same ship. We had our lunch from a near by hotel and returned back to the Jetty for our journey back to Port Blair. Most of the tourists who came with us had already reached there. It was raining heavily and too add to our woes, there is a bad news, the ship is canceled due to bad whether. The ship crew had got info about the condition of sea from another passing ship and it was really worse that M V Ramanujam cannot travel back as it was a flat bottom one.

Now what? We enquired in the booking counter and they told us that M V Ramanujam would start its journey only the next day morning subject to good whether. But there was another option, a speed boat which is coming from Neil Island and proceeding to Port Blair is supposed to touch Havelock at 4.00 PM. So in case there were seats on board, they would accommodate us. The capacity of the speed boat was around 90.

Now all eyes were eagerly waiting for the speed boat to arrive. But the story does not end here- Speed boat journey from Neil Island is further delayed because of bad whether (45KMPH speed wind and heavy rains). After hours of wait, we finally got the confirmation the the boat would reach Havelock by 5.00 PM. By 5.30 PM we could see the boat coming and it was raining heavily. Within another 10 minutes the boat M V Pilomillow bearthed Havelock. There was a mad rush in the rain to enter the ship.

M V Pilomillow (Photo Credit: LoveuDebu)

Finally we got inside and all of us got seats. M V Pilomillow started its voyage to Port Blair amidst heavy rains and wind. As soon as we entered deep sea, the ship started jumping up and down. The speed of the ship was so high that when it cuts each wave the front portion of ship would go up by 1 meter or so and then it would come down. It was a roller coaster ride and most of the passengers were feeling sea sickness. The ride continued for almost 2 hours, the journey it took to reach Port Blair. The most important part of this journey was that it had all the ingredients of bad weather- heavy rains, high speed wind, lightning and rough sea! Finally by 8 PM we could see the light house at North Bay Island.

Well that was an end to an eventful, full filled and adventurous Voyage. More on Andaman Islands to follow soon.

Got anything to say? Go ahead and leave a comment!