A crane off-loads the new masts
The masts take shape
9th May 2010
Work on hand-shaping the new masts moves forward as Jewel has a close call in the harbour at Galle
The two new masts arrived on schedule this morning and the carpenters began at once to chisel and plane them to their proper dimensions–a task that will take several days. The crew plans to remove the old masts from the ship on Monday.
We had a bit of excitement today when a sailboat which was moored close to the Jewel of Muscat dragged its anchor during a morning of high winds and rain and nearly collided with the ship. Quick reactions by the Jewel of Muscat crew prevented the two ships from hitting and after considerable work the wayward sailboat was re-anchored at a safe distance from the Jewel of Muscat.
Early this evening Captain Saleh Al Jabri and several Omani crew members enjoyed a visit to the beautiful, centuries-old Al-Khayrat Mosque located inside the walls of the Fort in Galle. While there, they met with students attending the Koranic school, and donated several copies of the Holy Koran to the mosque.