Page 368 - The Tigris Expedition

The Tigris Expedition
hndoJsoSrf STh?rCCaUd°n WC hurried to ask for Permission to
nd 0,1 Socotra. The answer was a new disappointment:

Have approached the Embassy of South Yemen in London for
permission for Tigris to land in Socotra if necessary. Stop. They
arc aware of Tigris s proximity to Socotra but stated that Tigris
must not repeat not attempt to land on this island before such
written permission has been given. Stop.

We drifted closer. London stressed: ‘You risk arrest if you land on
Socotra without permission. Stop.’ And direct from a friendly west
European Foreign Office came an independent warning: ‘Do not go
to Socotra now, you may get trouble.’ Unconfirmed radio mes­
sages said it was believed that Russians were installing important
military bases on this strategically located island which controlled
the entrance to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. No planes or ships
were allowed to pass within sight. South Yemen simply answered
that we could not approach the island unless we had advance
written permission from the island itself.
Helpless without wind, we drifted still closer, while the well-
meant warnings increased. We could be shot at. Court-martialled.
On 12 March the impressive mountain skyline of Socotra rose
into sight, pale blue in the distant south-west, just where we were
drifting. Carlo discovered the faint outlines just as the red sun set in
the west, and we all shouted with mixed feelings ofjoy and concern.
‘Hurrah, we see Socotra! We have reached Africa!’
This was great. We had crossed the Indian Ocean. There was now a
very faint ripple on the sea, but not enough wind to lift the sail. Yet we
must not come closer to that island. We struggled with sails and oars to
keep away. The sun set and we saw nothing. We sent out new
messages: we approached the forbidden island against our own will.
On 13 March the sun rose in a faint haze, with a lazy breeze still
too faint to give us steering speed. By noon the haze gradually
became so thin that I detected a sunlit formation of something
bright but indistinct far over on port side. It most resembled an
iceberg shaped like a seated polar bear. It seemed to be part of
something bigger with darker outlines. We had clearly drifted
much nearer the island, but could not quite make out what we saw
in the haze. A seagull came out on a visit. The boys fished up
clusters of floating algae.
Norman passed on a report of our unfortunate position, and
got back the message that the London embassies of all nations

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