In the Beginning…..
Like all stories, there has to be a beginning, an introduction of sorts, followed by the main story, and then the close.
This is a sailing blog post that will attempt to chronicle my entire plan to circumnavigate the globe on this five-year mission…. (it sounds like a Star Trek intro…. hahaha).
The 5-year plan started with why I decided to do this. For this, we will, as they say, need to revert back to the very beginning.
My name is Fabian Fernandez, and I was born in 1971 in a small town in the northern state of Perak, Malaysia. Growing up, typically in a small town, meant the same ol stuff of naughty kids and their antics!
My parents are typical second-generation families that migrated from India in the 1930s. Both my parents were born in Malaysia, and I trace my ancestors to Trivandrum, India.
My father worked as a Clerk in a school and was in the government service. This is very typical for the period when most immigrants to Malaysia, 2nd Gen—at least—were employed in the civil service. Mum was a homemaker, so ours was a very conventional household. I am the middle child, with an elder and younger brother.
I remember something my mum told me very early in my life: I would travel a lot. In those days, it was common for children to have their stars read when they were born (regardless of what religion they were).
This stayed with me, and in my early years, I was always interested in jets and the Air Force. Then, when I turned 13, I had to wear glasses, which meant ‘ bye-bye’ flying…. so, in turn, I changed to think about doing engineering and joining any branch of the armed forces. After my required government entrance exams, I did not succeed in getting into a local varsity to further my engineering aspirations due to the requirements for entry. Thus I was rather pissed and decided instead to perhaps study law.
"That also presented some challenges because my brother was already attending a public university, and if I had gone too, it would have been too expensive for my dad to afford both of us at the same time. Contrary to popular belief, not all of us non-Malays in Malaysia are born super-rich and have access to a lot of money and scholarships!"
At that point, my former classmate - Mr Kanaga Lingam, suggested I take up a course in Marine Engineering. As it stood, I would obtain a scholarship and a guaranteed job upon graduating. That seemed like a good deal! I had never had any idea of working on a ship in the merchant marine. So, this was all rather new. I could not swim, never felt at ease in the water, and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Although I must admit, tall ships fascinated me!
I was always hoping to get a stint training on the ship KLD Tunas Samudera, which HRH Queen Elizabeth 2 presented to the government of Malaysia. But that never happened.
So here started the beginning of my journey.
The Ship Years
on board MV Alam Aman
