This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/shortcuts/2012/sep/10/hijack-couple-back-at-sea
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| The hijack couple are back at sea – just don't mention the pirates | The hijack couple are back at sea – just don't mention the pirates |
| (7 months later) | |
| There is still, says Rachel Chandler, a bullet hole in the boom. An abandoned dagger and a flip-flop are further reminders of the gruelling ordeal that she and her husband, Paul, endured after Somali pirates, operating thousands of miles from their base in a hijacked merchant ship, stormed their yacht off the Seychelles in October 2009. | There is still, says Rachel Chandler, a bullet hole in the boom. An abandoned dagger and a flip-flop are further reminders of the gruelling ordeal that she and her husband, Paul, endured after Somali pirates, operating thousands of miles from their base in a hijacked merchant ship, stormed their yacht off the Seychelles in October 2009. |
| But apart from a few small teething problems – there seems to be something the matter with the electric bilge pump and the boat "is smelling a bit", says Rachel – the 38ft Lynn Rival is shipshape, repaired and ready to resume her voyage. As are the Chandlers, despite the 388 days they spent as captives of the pirates. | But apart from a few small teething problems – there seems to be something the matter with the electric bilge pump and the boat "is smelling a bit", says Rachel – the 38ft Lynn Rival is shipshape, repaired and ready to resume her voyage. As are the Chandlers, despite the 388 days they spent as captives of the pirates. |
| "We would have been devastated if we hadn't been able to carry on," says Paul, 60, a retired engineer. "It would have been very difficult. You retire early enough, with a dream; you scrimp and save to make it possible … It's like coming home. The Lynn Rival was to be our chosen home for many years. We've been back in her a week." | "We would have been devastated if we hadn't been able to carry on," says Paul, 60, a retired engineer. "It would have been very difficult. You retire early enough, with a dream; you scrimp and save to make it possible … It's like coming home. The Lynn Rival was to be our chosen home for many years. We've been back in her a week." |
| The Chandlers survived solitary confinement, a diet of goat's liver and rice, and severe beatings. Front-page news for more than a year, they were finally released in November 2010, after a reported £600,000 ransom had been raised by their family and the Somali diaspora in the UK. | The Chandlers survived solitary confinement, a diet of goat's liver and rice, and severe beatings. Front-page news for more than a year, they were finally released in November 2010, after a reported £600,000 ransom had been raised by their family and the Somali diaspora in the UK. |
| Now, having just completed their first proper sea voyage (overnight, from Dartmouth) since their capture, they are in Falmouth harbour, sorting out a few last-minute bits and pieces – that recalcitrant bilge pump – before setting off for Spain. They aim to spend the next few months in Spain and Portugal, moving on to Morocco and maybe the Canaries, before reaching the Cape Verde islands by December, and hopefully Brazil by February or March next year. | Now, having just completed their first proper sea voyage (overnight, from Dartmouth) since their capture, they are in Falmouth harbour, sorting out a few last-minute bits and pieces – that recalcitrant bilge pump – before setting off for Spain. They aim to spend the next few months in Spain and Portugal, moving on to Morocco and maybe the Canaries, before reaching the Cape Verde islands by December, and hopefully Brazil by February or March next year. |
| How does it feel? "Fantastic," says Rachel. "It was hard to believe we were actually doing it. I wasn't even seasick, and I quite often am for the first two or three days." For Paul, it was just "wonderful still to remember how to do it. There was always that apprehension that we might not be physically up to it any more." | How does it feel? "Fantastic," says Rachel. "It was hard to believe we were actually doing it. I wasn't even seasick, and I quite often am for the first two or three days." For Paul, it was just "wonderful still to remember how to do it. There was always that apprehension that we might not be physically up to it any more." |
| Neither believes they will be unduly troubled by memories of what they went through. "We're comfortable," says Rachel, 57. "We've gone through it, and it was a horrendous experience, but we were very unlucky. We can't pretend it didn't happen; it did. But we know that underneath we are still the same people. And you do have to get on with life." | Neither believes they will be unduly troubled by memories of what they went through. "We're comfortable," says Rachel, 57. "We've gone through it, and it was a horrendous experience, but we were very unlucky. We can't pretend it didn't happen; it did. But we know that underneath we are still the same people. And you do have to get on with life." |
| The couple's family, who have refused to tell them who donated what for the ransom because they don't want to be repaid, and Dahir Abdullahi Kadiye, the "incredibly kind" Somali-born London businessman who, out of shame for his fellow countrymen, raised the final tranche but has equally rejected all publicity, are all "very happy" to see the Chandlers setting off again on their cruelly interrupted journey, Rachel says. The east coast of Africa, though, will not be on their itinerary. | The couple's family, who have refused to tell them who donated what for the ransom because they don't want to be repaid, and Dahir Abdullahi Kadiye, the "incredibly kind" Somali-born London businessman who, out of shame for his fellow countrymen, raised the final tranche but has equally rejected all publicity, are all "very happy" to see the Chandlers setting off again on their cruelly interrupted journey, Rachel says. The east coast of Africa, though, will not be on their itinerary. |
| Not as things stand, anyway. "Maybe," says Paul, "maybe, after we've been to South America and the Pacific and the Far East, say nine or 10 years down the road, perhaps it will be perfectly fine there. Who knows?" If not, they'll be steering well clear. | Not as things stand, anyway. "Maybe," says Paul, "maybe, after we've been to South America and the Pacific and the Far East, say nine or 10 years down the road, perhaps it will be perfectly fine there. Who knows?" If not, they'll be steering well clear. |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |