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sail away…

Posted on July 27, 2005 @ 8:33 am by massimo | Filed under: africa, blog, fun, sailing, travel, wordpress

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dhow sail arabic craft sea lamu kenya illustration adobe

Dhow is a typicall Arabic craft. It was originally employed by the Arabian traders sailing the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. I had the chance of sailing by dhow from Lamu to Mombasa in the early eighties; at that time dhows were still employed as cargo-ships. The one I was aboard, carried a huge quantity of empty glass bottles and me, the occasional tourist! It was a few days passage and I felt quite at ease on board. As soon as we got Mombasa Old Port, the captain asked me if I wished to sail away again to Sri Lanka: he would leave Africa three months later. Meanwhile I ran out of money and I had to fly home…
Ten years later in Guimaras Island -the Philippines- I came across batels, a sort of huge sailing boats deriving from the ancient Spanish caravelles…but this is another story.

hammerheads

Posted on July 22, 2005 @ 2:59 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals, blog, diving, fear, philippines, wordpress

hammerhead philippines aynaku illustration travel

Hammerheads are terrific and mighty creatures! I came across them only once, diving into the waters of Pescador Island, a well known tiny and rocky islet, just off the coast of Moal Boal, the Philippines.
I was thirty meters deep when I heard Claude, my French dive-buddy, banging his knife against the cylinder, suddenly drawing my attention: a coupple of hammerheads were passing rather quickly, undisturbed above us…That vision is firmly fixed in my memory although it happened almost fourteen years ago. And in the style of nineteenth century sailors or travellers who survived shipwrecks and disasters, as soon as I got my bungalow -surviving that very special dive- I drew this sketch in the style of a contemporary ex-voto.

Illustration Friday’s topic is: might

Welcome to AYNAKU!

Posted on July 19, 2005 @ 11:12 am by massimo | Filed under: blog, wordpress

mermaid sun sea welcome message aynaku illustration adobe

Good morning, it is six in the morning – local time - Sun shines and wind blows.
This is the first message in the bottle from AYNAKU, the beachcombers internet cove…
Are you presently island hopping? Are you diving into crystal-clear tropical seas? Are you floating on swimming pools greysh water? Are you braving the traffic jam?…
No matter what you are doing, if you feel somehow on the move, longing for “enchanted islands”, please drop me a line…
You are welcome!
AYNAKU is run by me, Massimo. I took off Italy and travelled for ten years after deciding that there must be more to life than a career in architectural planning.
Think of AYNAKU as an exhibition by the beach: if you enjoy it, I’ll be glad to share my thoughts on art, sea, voyages, with you.
Have a good time and look for a new illustrated post next week!
Ciao!

Massimo