15 Dec 2017  |   02:34am IST

THE ‘UNSINKABLE’ TAKES A 34 KM RIDE

A three-member team of Paul Lobo, Ashok Kamath and Sudeep Dalvi took a boat trip from St Estevam to Bodeim in the small boat ‘Bismarque the Unsinkable’. Sudeep shares their experience through the mangroves and crocodile-infested waters

Dolcy D’Cruz

On May 23, 2017, a boat, called Bismarque

the Unsinkable, was launched in memory of late Fr Bismarque Dias on his birth anniversary. The aim of creating this boat was to protect the environment and the ecosystem of River Mandovi, a river that Fr Bismarque worked for tirelessly. The members of Team Fr Bismarque the Unsinkable are Sudeep Dalvi, Joel Moraes, Venzy Viegas, Kinsley Rodrigues, Romeo Fernandes, Nery Silveira, Raj Kunkolielar, Nilankur Das, John Pereira and Ronaldo Fernandes. Since its launch, the team members have taken guests, including environmentalist, photographers and bird watchers, on free trips to create awareness about the environment. “A person can sink but his good deeds and personality are unsinkable,” says Sudeep.

However, their latest trip was the most challenging; the longest journey this three-seated boat has undertaken till date. “It all started when Paul Lobo from the UK, who was in Goa on vacation, asked me whether it was possible to travel from St Estevam to his village Bodeim, Tivim in this boat. I could not resist taking on the challenge. The boat would have to cover 34 km of river, from the last village in Tiswadi to the second-last village in Bardez,” says Sudeep, who steered the boat and took on the captain’s post. They were accompanied by Ashok Kamath, a boat inspector.

“The journey started at around 9:30am as we left Cupa Manush and entered River Mandovi. We travelled via Akkhara, Narve, Vanxim, Vittojem in Divar, skirting Dr Salim Ali Bird sanctuary at Chorao, and entered the mouth of the river at Penha de Franca. Next, we crossed through the villages of Ekoxim, Pomburpa, Oulalim, Calvim, Aldona and Quitula, where we entered uncharted waters in Moira, where boatmen from outside usually do not enter. After travelling a few kilometres with abandoned iron ore jetties by our side, we entered a narrow channel with thick mangroves on both sides,” Sudeep explains.

“The most difficult phase of the journey was going through the overwhelming vegetation which had formed a thick canopy over the backwaters. We pushed the presence of cobras, pythons, bats and crocodiles to the back of our minds,” he adds.

The team embarked on this journey without the help of GPS or maps, just asking for directions at the river banks. “We reached a point where the dome of the Church of Bodeim was visible. We anchored at a point where we could safely land in the low tide. The area around was a complete jungle. We cut open our path using a commando knife, slashing at thorny branches right and left. Soon, with bleeding arms and feet, we made our way to a paddy field which led to the main road in Bodeim. We completed our journey in five and a half hours, and fuel consumption was around four and a half litres,” reveals Sudeep.

It was an emotional journey for Paul as he explored the river route to his village but the adventure trip was worth their trouble as it gave them a better understanding of River Mandovi and its struggles. “We want to create awareness that people should not throw plastic into the river and as long as Team Bismarque the Unsinkable and the River Mandovi exists, we will have many such journeys,” concludes Sudeep.