Eastern Mediterranean Sea

The weather looked good: Sunny blue skies, winds north at 6 knots, a slight bump on our port bow.  We had entered the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  The mosques and smells and sounds of Port Said Egypt, the long rock jetties that protected the northern entry to the Suez Canal all faded in the distance behind us.  We had done it.  We were so proud of our personal accomplishments at sailing successfully through the sporty Gulf of Aden and through the pristine waters of the historic Red Sea.  Here, before us, lay the Mediterranean Sea.  The crown jewel of our global circumnavigation. We made a note of that slight bump in the waters from the west.  Marmaris, Turkey, was our destination, 390 NM to our NNW.  

We left Port Said under motor sail initially, with main only.  The radio was active with Israeli navy calling vessels asking their intentions, and the winds starting picking up to 16-18 knots NW with a small current behind us.  Our course to Marmaris was 298-300 degrees, and by 2300 on our first night in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, we heard warnings again for “live fire exercises” on VHF Channel 16.  The swells were bouncy and UN Warships were active on the radio.  Between sailing Sea Child, dodging Suez-bound ships and monitoring radio calls, the first 24 hours into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea was busy.

Our second day at sea was again active, this time with more unusual happenings on board Sea Child.  The winds had turned north, though light at 12 and with them a chill in the air.  We resorted to light sweatshirts as a light rain fell through high clouds.  A small bird actually flew into the master stateroom of Sea Child, a first for our world journey.  We had a blue-footed booby catch a ride with us as we sailed from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas Islands back in 2009, and random insects held on to our life lines throughout our various passages, along with a net full of flying fish on our trampolines.  The sight of a bird flying around my sheets and pillows was so unusual! How was I to catch this bird and set it free, without it making a mess all around us?

At noon, we put more oil in our starboard engine and Eric again made adjustments to that troublesome Harken roller furler system on our jib.  Winds became more variable, seas still bouncy, and by 1400 the winds were all over the horizon.  We had the forecast, a western system was rolling east, bringing with it good winds (as in 18-25, gusts to 40) but also, big seas.  I can take the wind, just reef the sails and sail the boat.  Its the seas that get me.  Their size, especially with this system they became 8-10’ on the beam and even larger, with wind gusts to 40.  We triple reefed the main and hanked the staysail in preparation for the winds a few hours prior, but as the winds increased, we ended up dropping the staysail and sailing with triple reefed main alone.  The use of Otto, the infamous auto-pilot, was barely possible, as each wave had to be approached by steering to port as we went up one side of the wave, then steering starboard as we went down the backside.  Each wave hit Sea Child with a vengeance, and at 2315, our metal coffee pot flew off the stove and crashed into the floor.  This loud racket had Eric fly up from his sleep, sure that the mast had just come down.  At this point, I recommended we slow Sea Child way down, 5.5 knots was just too fast over these building seas, now at +10’.  

We dropped the staysail again, slowing Sea Child down to about 2-3 knots.  While slow, we were more comfortable in a strong Eastern Mediterranean gale. The dark night brought more high winds, steady at 36 knots, and by dawn, the winds were steady at 40.  Our log is filled with notes such as “this is not fun” and “slow but steady sail to Marmaris” and “crashed by big wave’.  We were 100 NM from Turunc, Marmaris, Turkey, so close yet so far in these storm conditions, so uncomfortable was our final passage of this marathon journey.  Our friends on Laragh and Taimada experienced much of the same weather as we did, and our other friends on Cool Running II had set a course to Cyprus instead of Turkey to wait out the system we decided to sail through.  During my night watch, I considered changing course and steering more east, to go with the winds and seas.  But due east of our position was the coast of Syria with the UN Warships and that just did not seem to be a good option.  

At 10:00am on our third day, our SUP boards which were lashed onto the center beam on our starboard trampoline came loose, jerking their way to freedom in the thrashing waves.  Eric, while in his life harness and tether hooked to the jack stays, went forward to re-tie the boards down.  I steered the most comfortable course I could, all the while watching him retie our boards. After further inspection, Eric found that one of our trampoline leads had broken through the support rod that the trampoline is threaded through, causing the boards to shake loose.   The break even ripped up a small bit of the fiberglass that holds the trampoline rod itself.  The power of those waves left a lasting impression on both of us, as we have such respect for mother nature and are thankful to have been able to sail through the most powerful system we’d seen since the nasty sail north from New Zealand to Fiji back in 2011.

By noon on our third day, we had shaken out the 3rd reef, now sailing along with a double reef main and staysail.  We were picking up speed again, the winds backing down to 21-25 apparent with the wind angle at 40-60 degrees.  Turkish weather forecasts were now heard on VHF Channel 16, and the skies cleared.  We sailed through the lee of Rhodes, Greece, which tamed the seas enough to pick up more speed, now averaging 11 knots boat speed.  Our ETA to Marmaris was midnight.

The sun set on our last night at sea, the silhouette of  Rhodes shadowing the orange sky.  At 2251, on Wednesday 4 May 2016, Sea Child dropped anchor at Turunc Buku, Marmaris, Turkey.  The lights high above us suggested that the terrain was mountainous, as Turkish music floated over our empty anchorage.  We were exhausted from our crossing, but ecstatic all the same.  We made two beverages to enjoy as we sat in the cockpit and took in our surroundings.  We made it, we were in Turkey, our anchor was down, Sea Child was quiet.  Tears of relief slowly ran down my cheeks as another new country lay ahead of us.

As the sun rose on Sea Child, we peeked out of our stateroom windows at a new landscape.  Turkey, Turunc, this quiet little bay surrounded by the highest peaks dotted with little hamlets high above us.  We were reminded of the Pacific North West, with tall pine trees crowding the steep terrain.  Little coffee shops were open and a few people were visible on shore.  Rows and rows of closed umbrellas dotted the sand, and a little footbridge was shadowed by a red ice cream boat.  Civilization was all around us, Western Civilization. We were in a whole new world.  

To be continued in the next post: Turkey and the Failed Coup

Notes:  

Turunc, Marmaris, Turkey

36 degrees, 46 min N, 28 degrees, 15 E

Total miles sailed from Port Said:  391 Nautical Miles

Average Boat Speed:  6.5 knots

Total miles sailed from Langkawi, Malaysia to Marmaris, Turkey:  5,697 NM broken down as follows:

Langkawi, Malaysia to Similan Islands, Thailand: 200 NM

Similan Islands to Uligan, Maldives: 1,760.2 NM

Uligan, Maldives to Socotra, Yemen: 1,248 NM

Socotra, Yemen to Bab-el-Mandeb (Mouth of Red Sea) 651.9 NM

Bab-el-Mandeb to Massawa, Eritrea: 311.8 NM

Massawa, Eritrea to Suakin, Sudan: 278.5 NM 

Suakin, Sudan to Port Ghalib, Egypt: 483.5 NM

Port Ghalib to Suez Yacht Club (southern entrance to Suez Canal) : 300.8 NM

Suez Canal: 71.4 NM

Port Said to Marmaris, Turkey: 391 NM

We left Similan Islands, Thailand on 16 Feb 2016, arriving in Uligan, Maldives 24 Feb 2016.  We made a quick trip back to the USA to meet our 3rd grandchild in Newport Beach California, and were away from Sea Child in the Maldives for 7 days. We then set sail from Uligan, Maldives to Socotra Yemen on 20 March 2016.  From then onwards to Turkey, our adventures through the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Sea (the Muslim world) left indelible memories we will cherish for our lifetime.  

Please come back for more Sea Child Adventures.

EGYPT: Sailing to Suez Yacht Club and the Suez Canal Transit

Approaching the Gulf of Suez

Up to Suez

We left Port Ghalib on Friday afternoon, after an amazing side trip to Luxor.  We had 300NM to sail up to Suez Yacht Club, at the northern tip of the Red Sea and southern entrance to the Suez Canal.  The winds were light offshore as we headed north again, cruising up the coast past the Port of Hurghada where cruise ships used to call prior to the piracy issues of the Gulf of Aden.  The facilities at Hurghada were large and impressive, visible from several miles away.  Our friends, Dave and Katrina on Laragh, were there at Hurghada and as we continued on, we sailed past the amazingly beautiful reefs off the northern Red Sea coast of Egypt.  

Sunrise over Sinai, Gulf of Suez

By nightfall on our second night, the northerlies returned with a vengeance.  They arrived as a slight bump from the north and as night fell, the bump turned into a steep wind chop.  For the last 150 NM up the Gulf of Suez, aware that the Gulf of Suez is only approximately 25 NM wide, we sailed up wind against the current in an uphill battle.  The sides of the Gulf are lined with oil rigs that light up the night sky, Sinai Peninsula to our starboard and the coast of Egypt to our port.  The last line of the log entry that was written at Port Tewfik, Suez states, “ROUGH PASSAGE Sat 10pm-Sun 8am.  I hate gulfs :(  29 degrees 56.8N, 32 degrees 34.3 E”.  Whats interesting to note is before that line, the previous log entry was more than 24 hours earlier.  

The passage was too rough to make log entries and the many obstacles along the shores kept us busy at the helm.  Gulf waters behave in a unique way, different from oceans or the waters of the Red Sea.  The current of the Gulf of Suez was opposing the north winds, so the chop was much steeper than expected.  Also, the chop is close together, given that the waterway is so narrow.  Most of the gulf passages that we experienced on Sea Child were quite noteworthy, with the exception being the Gulf of Aden.  On our GOA passage, we were with the winds and the currents, bringing different challenges but a more smoother ride than the Gulf of Suez. We had sailed 1,653 NM up the Red Sea from Bab-el-Mandeb, and a total of 5,035 NM from Langkawi, Malaysia. Once in Suez, we would begin to plan our final stop of this leg in Marmaris, Turkey.

Planning for the canal transit

Port Suez Yacht Club and side trip to Cairo

Approaching Port Tewfik and Suez City

Mosque at Suez

Once we arrived at Suez Yacht Club, we hired an agent to assist with our Suez Canal passage, Captain Heebee.  He was a kind, portly man who coordinated the measurement for our transit (which ended up costing us $320 USD) and he also arranged for the two of us to visit Cairo, as well as Giza and the Great Pyramids.  This was truly a fantastic experience.  We went to Cairo on a holiday of sorts (25 April), where Egypt celebrates the day that Israel left the Sinai Peninsula.  The streets in Cairo were empty, and as we parked at the Cairo Museum, we noticed the large Egyptian Army with tanks and soldiers with rifles standing guard just off the entrance to the Museum.  We were told that a possible demonstration would happen after the announcement in Egypt that the Tirin Islands of Egypt in the Red Sea had just been handed over to Saudi Arabia. Given that tourism was also down, the Cairo Museum and the great pyramids of Giza were mostly empty.   The drive to Cairo from Suez City was long, the desert heat almost unbearable.  

King Tut treasure at Cairo Museum

Giza side trip

While we were in Cairo, our friends on Taimada and Laragh had arrived at the Suez Yacht Club. The three of us had not been together since back in Uligan, Maldives!  Our friends on Cool Running II also arrived and we all waited for our turn to transit the canal.  We were all cleared out of Egypt as our transit of the Suez Canal was to take place on the 28th of April.  This date was cancelled and according to Captain Heebee, a USA warship was coming through the canal which always stops small vessels from transiting at the same time.  The very next day, 29th April, a large super freighter "MSC FABIOLA" ran aground inside the canal, shutting down the whole canal for two days.  Our AIS looked like a green zipper, as all the large vessels behind the FABIOLA had to tie up in the canal itself, waiting for the FABIOLA to be moved.  

The line of AIS ships stuck in the Suez Canal due to the MSC FABIOLA grounding

And to make the wait more unbearable, we were following the weather north of Port Said, Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  We were all eager to get ahead of some severe weather that was forecast to hit this sailing area within a few days time.  Yet we were trapped in Suez, without the ability to leave the marina for any reason since we were cleared out of Egypt.  We eventually had Mr. Karkar, a kind marina worker at Suez Yacht Club, order us pizza delivery so we could have a little gathering of friends aboard Sea Child just prior to our final departure. Our friend, Sandra on Cool Running II,  brought her delicious vegan cake to share as well. 

Eastern Mediterranean Weather Outlook,  1 May 2016

Reunion of friends, from left:  Dave & Katrina from Laragh, Eric, Hans & Ute from Taimada, Sandra and  Georg from CoolRunning II

Mr. Said at Suez Yacht Club

Suez Canal Transit

Laragh and CoolRunning II at Suez Canal

Early the next morning and without warning, Captain Heebee and four Suez Canal pilots came knocking on our hulls. The sun had not yet risen, and we were told that if we hurried, we could transit the Suez Canal all the way through to Port Said (120 NM north of Suez Yacht Club). We would have to change pilots at Ismailia, on the shores of Lake Al-Timsah (Bitter Lakes) in northeast Egypt.  (It's interesting to note that back in the times the pharaohs, Lake Al-Timsah actually connected to the Gulf of Suez long before the construction of the Suez Canal.)  We were thrilled to hear this, because this way we would be ahead of the bad weather that was coming into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  It was time to bid a very fond farewell to the Red Sea, to Egypt, to the land of pharaohs and pyramids and antiquities.  

MSC FABIOLA damage in the Suez Canal

Mosque in Suez Canal

Transiting the Suez Canal was amazing, wait and all.  The canal itself was opened back in 1869, and expanded in 2015.  With the expansion, 97 vessels can transit the canal in one day with ships sailing in both directions.   The "New Suez Canal" as it was called after the expansion, was built to allow vessels to sail between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea without going around the tip of South Africa (the Suez Canal cut approximately 3,700 NM off the journey).  The canal was closed for 8 years during the turbulent Middle East conflict between Egypt and Israel, 1967-1975.

Our early pre-dawn departure was calm and flat.  The four vessels (Sea Child, Laragh, Taimada and CoolRunning II) were in a line, taking pictures of each other as the sun rose over the Sinai Peninsula to our starboard.  The scenery around us was stunning in the early morning light. The sands on either side of the canal were neatly groomed with several mosques, spaced a few kilometers apart, were visible along the entire passage.  At the spot of the large container grounding, large mounds of sand gave evidence to the weight of the vessel and the speed with which it hit the embankment.  We had a favorable current running with us, and at times, Sea Child was moving along the canal at 11 knots!

We arrived in Lake Al-Timsah in about five hours where we dropped off our first pilot along with his required bag of goodies or “baksheesh”.  Even with our "gift" to our first pilot, he asked if we had any boat parts or fishing gear or clothes.  We were not properly prepared for this, expecting that our "gift" was acceptable.  We learned that the pilots wanted more, and by saying no, we may have set ourselves up for future problems.  We were told by Captain Heebee that we would be picking up our second pilot at the Ismailia Yacht Club, and since we arrived around noon, we thought we had plenty of time to change pilots and continue up the Suez Canal.

Suez Canal Pilot

We waited and waited for the second pilot, and finally, after a couple of hours, we called Captain Heebee and found out that the commodore of the Ismailia Yacht Club, who had connections with the canal authorities, had called off the pilots until the next day.  According to our agent, the commodore did not want to see four boats go by without collecting as much money as possible.  He demanded we tie up at the sea wall of the yacht club (for a fee, of course) and spend the night. There was only one restaurant that we were allowed to order from, again at Ismailia Yacht Club, because we had already cleared out of country.  We had no other options: It is forbidden to anchor in Lake Al-Timsah and the pilots could only meet us at the Ismailia Yacht Club.  The good news is we all got together again for takeout one more night on Sea Child.

Lake Al-Timsah,  Suez Canal

Mubarak Peace Bridge, Suez Canal

The next morning, after we all paid up, sure enough four new pilots came down to the boats. This time, we were prepared for the “baksheesh” by packing a gift bag for the pilot in advance.  We gave him an old t-shirt, some grain bars, a pack of cigarettes, and a white envelope with cash ($20USD) neatly packaged in a proper gift bag.  The second half of the Suez Canal Transit was equally impressive, with several large super freighters and tankers passing by our starboard as they headed south into the Red Sea.  We even saw one of the largest superyachts we had ever seen pass us by, noting their hailing port as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  We passed under the impressive Mubarak Peace Bridge, a 2.4 mile long and 210 feet high bridge that was built in cooperation with Japan and opened in 2001.  And the tiny waves off our bow gave us notice of several more freighters and tankers that were entering the canal hundreds of yards away.  We were both in awe of such an incredible waterway ~ the Suez Canal ~ and were thankful to have had the opportunity to transit our second great canal of the world. (The first was the Panama Canal in 2009).

Ships entering Suez Canal from Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Trouble at Port Said

Yet trouble was still ahead of us, for at 1030 in Port Said, the pilot boat that came along side Sea Child also demanded “baksheesh”.  We told the pilot boat that we already gave a gift to the pilot, but they were not going away unless we gave something to them as well.  They even threatened to ram Sea Child with their pilot boat if we did not pay up!  We ran to grab some cigarette packs and threw them at the pilot boat who turned away without harming Sea Child.  We did not hear if the other boats were also harassed by their pilot boat drivers.  While the canal transit itself was an amazing experience, the pilot boat “baksheesh” and the Ismail Yacht Club hold-up  somewhat tarnished what could have been an amazing experience.  Had we been better prepared for the “baksheesh” of Egypt, we would have enjoyed the experience more (see notes, below).  However, we were finally able to set sail for Marmaris, Turkey, 462 NM North.

Remember that weather we were trying to avoid?  Luck would not be on our side and we all got smacked hard by the strong westerly gale on our sail north.

To be continued in our next entry, “The Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Turkey and the Attempted Coup”

My recommendations if you plan to visit Egypt:

1). Bring small white envelopes with you along with several ($100 or more) $1 bill (USD).  Place bills in envelopes and hand out as “gifts” for people who deserve it.  Do not open your wallet in public, do not use an ATM around your guide/agent, use caution when handling your cash.

2).  Make “gifts” ahead of your Suez Canal transit for the pilots.  You will have two pilots on board, one from Suez Yacht Club to Ismailia Yacht Club and one from the Ismailia to Port Said.  Each pilot will ask for a gift.  We put t-shirts or food items and cigarettes in each “gift”, along with a white envelope of cash.

3). Plan to possibly be harassed by the pilot boat drivers in Port Said, who pick up your last pilot.  We were asked for a “gift” or “baksheesh” by the pilot boat drivers.  I was not prepared for this as we had already given our “gift” to the pilot.  They became hostile to me and threatened to ram Sea Child if they did not get their “baksheesh”.  I ran downstairs and grabbed some extra packs of cigarettes to throw at them.  

Owning Our Story

Eric and I before the ARC2018 start
Las Palmas, Gran Canary, Spain

Thank you for visiting our blog and the story of our circumnavigation!

As of this date, 5 January 2019, we have successfully sailed 45,000 NM on our circumnavigation.  We have visited 49 countries, and many of them are featured here in previous entries.  Is is our goal to continue to share these stories and inspire many of you to pursue your own dreams, for dreams do come true!  Our dream to circumnavigate the world began a long time ago, with a yacht race from Long Beach, California to La Paz, Mexico in 1979.  We plan to share this story and many others with you over the next several posts!

Prepping the country flags after the ARC2018 finish, St. Lucia
photo courtesy of Hugo De Pavant

It's not impossible to dream.  It's not impossible to fulfill a difficult task that is limited by pain or discomfort.  On Sea Child, Eric and I have suffered hardships and challenges in the most remote places on the planet.  We've met fantastic people in all parts of the world, with different cultures and religions and political points of view.  We will share more of these meetings and stories with you as well.

Arriving into the Yemen Port at Socotra
photo courtesy of Denis Romanov, Socotra.info

In our past posts, we only touched on some of the highlights of our destinations.  For example, on our Gulf of Aden Crossing (see story by clicking link on right under 2016),  I experienced a high level of anxiety after coming up on watch and finding that Eric had jibed Sea Child on a course of 270, taking us closer to the IRTC lanes but at the same time closer to the coast of Somalia.  This high anxiety caused a certain level of pain due to my 17 year battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  There are many other details about our world journey that you may find inspiring in overcoming personal challenges while achieving life goals.

Sea Child at Graciosa, Canary Islands, Spain

It is our hope that we can help you achieve your goals through the inspiring tales that we will keep sharing.  We will also get into more of our  own personal hardships, while at sea or on land.  We will share how I overcame a high fever for several days in Kos, Greece.  We will also share how Eric saved our torn spinnaker and how it fell back on the deck rather than into the water while sailing at 11 knots.  And we will open our picture book to give you a glimpse at our views along the way.  So stay tuned and be sure to add your name to our followers list by clicking the "follow" button on the right.

Sea Child at Tavolara, Sardinia
Summer 2018

Again, thank you for your time and interest in our Sea Child: Big Cat Sailing Around the World.  Please come back often and bookmark this page.  The story continues and we will share the challenges we have overcome along the miles at sea.  It's not the easiest thing to do, to sail the world either with a group or double handed.  But it has been worth it every nautical mile we've traveled.

Happy 2019 from Eric and I on Sea Child!

Celebrating our circumnavigation at the ARC2018  finish, St. Lucia
8 December 2018

Smooth Sailing,
Tamara Barto

Please come back for our next story: 
Eastern Mediterranean Crossing: From Port Said to Turunc, Turkey including the Suez Canal transit

EGYPT: Country Number 37

   

The Egypt Flag is hoisted, Country Number 37

The Reefs of Egypt

Beyond Sanganeb Reef

We bid farewell to Sanganeb Reef and Sudan on a brilliant afternoon, sailing a northerly course  towards Port Ghalib, Egypt, 320 NM away.  (The charts show Port Ghalib under a different name, Marsa Alam, as does our Red Sea Pilot)  The winds were light, seas flat and at 1400 hours, we figured to arrive at Port Ghalib in the daylight.  Many reefs were hidden by the late afternoon sun, so a well timed departure would ensure our arrival into Port Ghalib before the reefs disappeared in a setting sun.  Up to this point, our Red Sea sailing experience was conventional: Good southerly winds just north of the mouth of the Red Sea at Bab-el-Mandeb, light winds central Red Sea, and northerly winds from the border of Egypt and Sudan to the Suez Canal.  With Sea Child, we had no real concern with the conditions, expecting to tack upwind once the northerlies arrived.  We had practiced upwind tacking while back in Phang Nga Bay, Thailand, honing our double-handed skills.  We felt prepared and accepted the wind changes that were ahead. 

Sunset our first night out from Sanganeb

We began the journey under full main and screecher in southerly winds, and as night fell, those warm winds died and we motor-sailed north.  We had some friends sailing up the Red Sea as well, and though we were not in tandem, we often shared information via satellite texts along the way.  Taimada, a German flagged catamaran with our friends, Ute and Hans onboard, sent us a message that they saw us on AIS, as we passed their location south of the Egyptian border.  This 0200 message gave us a sense of confidence as we continued on.  Sailing on an obscure sea, where western humanity was thousands of miles away, can be disconcerting.  Just knowing that one familiar vessel was somewhat close by brought a smiley face to our log, given that earlier in the day we heard warnings for "Live Fire Exercises" with a lat/long broadcast every 15 minutes on VHF Channel 16.  We marked the Navionics with the precise location of these exercises, an area 15NM to the east of our current location, in the central Red Sea.  We had altered course to 330 degrees, towards the southern border of Egypt and well away from the firing area.  

AIS targets in the Red Sea

Out of the Tropics

Just on the border of Sudan, there is a tiny island called Geziret Zabargad (St. Johns Island in English), the largest island in a group of islands in Foul Bay, Egypt.  We saw the bright glow of the island well to the south on our second night at sea, a dark and starless night with intermittent rain squalls passing by.  We were just north of the Tropic of Cancer, sailing out of the tropics for the first time in over 4 years.  The rains brought a welcome chill to the night air, and again, exhaustion was beginning to set in after 36 hours sailing. This exhaustion was compounded by the uncertainty we felt at even sailing near this military outpost lighting up St. Johns Island.  We sailed past at 0200, ignoring the urge to stop and rest up just until dawn, pushing onwards towards Port Ghalib.  While in Sudan, we heard about the appeal of St. John, the beauty of the island group at Foul Bay and the spectacular snorkel sites.  But stopping there was highly discouraged, and given that the winds were still favorable, we continued onward.

After sunrise, we found a heavy dew had covered Sea Child in a fine red dust, so wet that we needed to close up ports and doors to keep the water out of the cabin.  Every surface of Sea Child, every winch, every line, every countertop, every cushion, the solar panels and the rigging, all were covered with a dust so fine it took hours to clean.  (It was as if the sands of the Sahara desert wished to join us on our world journey, and even two years later, we are still finding the fine red dust in the most obscure places!)  A hot, humid hair hung thick over Sea Child, and the seas had a flat bump from the north, maybe a foot.  We were sailing along nicely at 7.9 knots.

Dinner at the reef

The battle with the red dust was overshadowed by our arrival into Egyptian waters. As we sailed along the Red Sea coast, we were fascinated by all we saw:  The looming sand dunes rolling over the hills on shore, the scatted shells of once busy building sites.  There was the source of the red dust, so fine as not to be seen in the air, just felt under foot.  The Eastern Desert, between the Nile River and the Red Sea, tumbled to the shore, isolated and dry and harsh.  There, for the first time, our eyes fell upon sights we had dreamed of for years.  The skies were clear and the many reefs of Egypt very easy to see as was their brilliant blue green turquoise waters.  

Eastern Sahara Desert on the shores of Egypt

By late morning, the north winds filled in strong at 19-20 knots, bringing a steep, rough wind chop on the nose.  We had expected that the journey up from Sanganeb Reef to Port Ghalib would be easy, textbook sailing.  But once we faced the Northerlies combined with the steep N chop, slamming hard at Sea Child, we decided to stop, sleep, eat, and swim.  After 45 hours of sailing up the Red Sea, under clear blue skies, Sea Child dropped anchor at Dolphin Reef, +125 NM to Port Ghalib.

Sailing into the North Winds

Our overnighters took a back seat to day hops up the coast, sailing approximately 55 NM a day or less, all while avoiding numerous Egyptian dive boats.  We had gone from absolute serenity in the beautiful Sudanese waters to a fleet of behemoths surrounding most of the Southern Egyptian  reefs.  As Sea Child sailed around one of these reefs, the dive boat RAMADAN V came powering into us from behind as if we were a scooter on a crowded Asian street, pushing us away from a nearby reef.  Welcome to Egypt!

Trouble at the Reefs

Egyptian Dive Boats

From Dolphin Reef we sailed up to Gezirat Siyal Reef, Samadai Reef/Dolphin House, and Ernestos Reef before arriving in Port Ghalib 6 days after our departure from Sanganeb Reef.  Our guide book, Red Sea Pilot by Elaine Morgan & Stephen Davies, 2nd Edition described Samadai/Dolphin House: “…..shelter is adequate even in strong N’lies and you can be comfortable here overnight,…..with 10 HEPCA/USAID* moorings laid….Diving is reported to be excellent on barrier reefs in NW and SE corners” (page 199, Red Sea Pilot, 2nd Edition, 2002).  It was true that the reef provided excellent protection, and our arrival into this reef was around 0800.  The reef was deserted, with the exception of a huge pod of dolphins, leisurely swimming in the reef.  We searched with our binoculars for the aforementioned orange buoys, spotting some very near the shore of the reef.  And while we quietly and slowly worked our way into the pristine reef, many of the dolphin came up to us, curious and playful as well.  We grabbed one of the orange buoys, truly believing these were the mooring buoys that the pilot book had mentioned.  

Approaching Samadai/Dolphin House

During our stop at Samadai Reef/Dolphin House, we loaded our dinghy with dive gear, tied up to large buoys at the edge of the reef, and set out to take in our first (and sadly, only) dive in Egypt.  As we hit the water, a spectacular underwater world opened up before us.  Tall pinnacles covered in giant coral and groups of colorful fish hid the bubbles of approaching divers, about 20 minutes into our dive. The writeup in our 2002 copy of the Red Sea Pilot and its  description of Dolphin House was incorrect.  Our dive was interrupted by HEPCA, the governing body of the Egyptian National Park.

Dive references

What is HEPCA, you ask?  HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation) is an international NGO working in marine and land conservation in Egypt.  According to our guidebook, HEPCA, together with funds from USAID (United States Government Aid Agency), had laid numerous moorings (up to 570!) along the Red Sea reefs, from the border of Sudan up to the Sinai Peninsula.  These orange buoys were designed to protect the reefs from careless anchoring, and while our book mentioned them, the only place we saw them was at Samadai Reef/Dolphin House. Or at least we thought these orange buoys were those referenced in the Red Sea Pilot.   The buoys were orange, but they did not say HEPCA/USAID.*

While we were diving at Dolphin House, we left Sea Child on one of these orange buoys.  However, as the guide book also states, “You cannot leave your boat unattended. ……local dive boats protecting their turf can and will make your life difficult if you break the law.”  Turns out that the law changed between the time of writing our guide book, Second Edition 2002, and our visit to the Red Sea, 2016.  Before our passage from Malaysia several months back, we searched for the best resources to give guidance up the Red Sea, and our options were limited.  While most details about reefs and for the most part clearance procedures were accurate in the guide book, this detail about laws and HEPCA and Dolphin House did indeed make our life difficult.

HEPCA Officials at the Reef

As we surfaced from our dive, we were met by the giant metal siding of a behemoth Egyptian dive boat.  A man onboard was calling us to him, motioning for us to board his boat.  He had a phone in his ear and was talking very broken English, impossible for us to truly understand what were his intentions.  We decided to grab our dingy and remove our dive gear as we returned to Sea Child.  We were followed by their RIB, and while I was in the dinghy taking gear apart, Eric was followed on board by 3 very rough Egyptians, one talking on the phone for a translator.  Eric listened to the phone, and as I continued to unload, I could tell that we were indeed in big trouble.  Turns out that grabbing the orange buoys were illegal, they were not for yachts they were markers for tourist swimming areas.  Eric was grilled about when we cleared into Egypt (we hadn’t yet) and when was our ETA to Port Ghalib.  Eric showed these burly men the entry in the pilot about Dolphin House buoys, diving, etc. but these details were brushed aside.  Samadai is now available only to boats purchased in Egypt and with special permits.  We were asked to leave immediately.  The log notes for that day, 15 April 2016 read, “Kicked out of Egyptian National Park.  Oops.”

Port Ghalib, Egypt

Approaching Port Ghalib

Port Ghalib

We finally arrived at Port Ghalib Sunday, 17 April 2016.  An oasis on the shore, Port Ghalib is a new port, on the charts as Marsa Alam.  Back in 2001, Port Ghalib was non-existent and Marsa Alam had just a few small hotels.  Today, a thriving tourist community, market, shopping center and bank are all at Port Ghalib, the southernmost port of entry in Egypt.   Palm trees lined the pristine port entrance, thatched umbrella shaded lounging sun bathers, and the oasis of Port Ghalib looked fresh and new with restaurants lining the Mediterranean-type tie ups in the marina. Hotels were everywhere, in a neat development similar to Wailea in Maui, Hawaii. 

Our entry into Egypt was easy.   The authorities met Sea Child at the arrival dock, and asked for our passports while we waited for entry.  They took our passports, and while we were filling out forms, a man ran to the nearby airport to obtain visas to enter the country.  Within an hour or so he returned and we were welcomed into the oasis of Port Ghalib.  We now had one month to explore Egypt (though in reality we had 13 days since we needed to be in Marmaris, Turkey by the first week of May).  After we exchanged currency and greeted fellow cruisers on TekaNova, who last we saw in Fiji back in 2011, we settled into a dinner at a nearby restaurant.  The stars were bright in the Egyptian sky, and the food delicious!  During dinner, my cell phone rang, and the number was unknown, except that it said “Egypt”.  As I answered it, the authorities from HEPCA walked up to our table and proceeded to ask Eric to join them.  I thought, ‘wait, where are they taking him?”, and while they were pleasant enough, they made sure that we understood the rules we broke at Samadai Reef/Dolphin House.  They took Eric off to a secluded area of the marina, and proceeded to scold him for over an hour.  While we had a good argument about our interpretation of the guidebook, we had no excuse for not having the most up-to-date info on Egyptian rules and regulations around the reefs.  They gave us a detailed packet of information about HEPCA and Samadai Reef/Dolphin House.  Lesson learned:  If you sail up the Red Sea and plan to stop on the Egyptian Coast, be sure to have the most up-to-date info as possible.  If ever there was an argument to have satellite internet installed on Sea Child, this would be it.

Luxor Side Trip

Proper female attire

Luxor Giant Pillars

Tourism Police

Aside from this first hiccup, Egypt turned out to be everything we had hoped for.  From Port Ghalib we hired a driver to take us across the Eastern Desert to the Nile River and Valley of the Kings at Luxor, staying in a luxury riverfront hotel for only $41 per night.  The drive alone was worth a whole chapter to explain, but suffice it to say there are roads for the local Egyptians and roads for foreigners.  The foreigner road was twice as long, and there were two check points that had been set up at various spots across the Eastern Desert.  At each checkpoint, uniformed officers spoke to the driver in Arabic and asked questions about their passengers.  At the first checkpoint our driver told the officers that we were Canadian, and at the second stop the driver told the officers we were Austrian.  At the monument entry checkpoint we were another nationality.  We were never American.  We asked our drivers why they didn’t say we were American?  Because, they said, if they say our true nationality, there are more questions and we were on a schedule.  The drive took almost 5 hours, and while eventful, we were thrilled to have arrived in Luxor safe and sound.  

Felucca feast

Traditional Felucca

Our timing was perfect, there were no lines at any of the historical attractions and antiquities.  The ruins were set up for large crowds of visitors but they were in fact next to empty.  I actually thought it a bit sad for Egypt, as world headlines must be scaring the visitors away, and to be honest, the “baksheesh” or asking for a tip (read bribe) got overwhelming.  Everywhere we turned ashore, we were asked for money.  But still, Luxor was practically empty of foreign visitors.  It was a surreal experience.

Ali, the horse cart driver at Luxor

Still, Luxor is spectacular.  The views at night are as lit up and colorful as the incredible sites are by day.  The Valley of the Kings must be seen to understand the level of knowledge and sophistication held by the early Egyptians.  Karnak, near Valley of the Kings and as giant in scale as the huge statues in Luxor, held a bright and colorful evening laser show in English which we were thrilled to have seen.  We met up with our friends, Dave and Katrina on Laragh, and celebrated Dave’s birthday drinking wine until the wee hours of the morning at our Iberhotel Nile River.  It was fantastic to see them again!  We met local Egyptian horse drivers and felucca captains and visited the parchment stores for local art.  Our drive back across the desert to Port Ghalib was as exciting as our drive out, with camels and sand “green doors” and more baksheesh.  Enough tales to fill a whole novel!

Beautiful Nile River and Valley of the Kings from Iberotel

Captive camel on drive back to Port Ghalib

After returning to Sea Child, we provisioned up as best we could, preparing for the final push up the Red Sea to Suez. Walking around the shops at Port Ghalib, we met an Egyptian man from Aswan who sold natural oils and aloe, Mohammed, who spoke great Enghlish.  He was as persistent as a Turkish carpet salesman, but truly kind and helpful.  And on our last night in Port Ghalib, We had dinner with our friends on Taimada, Hans and Ute, who tied up next to Sea Child while we were in Luxor.  It was great to meet up with friends, laugh and share shisha (hooka) together.   We again laughed until early in the morning hours, and though a bit exhausted, we would set sail for Suez the next day.

To be continued on the next post, "Sailing Egypt and the Gulf of Suez"

*Note:  HEPCA/USAID is only mentioned in the 2002 Imray Red Sea Pilot.  The literature given to Sea Child in Port Ghalib is detailed about Samadai Reef and HEPCA’s mission to promote understanding about the dolphins that visit there.  The HEPCA information does not mention USAID in any of its literature as of 2016.

Authors Note:  

As I sit here in Mallorca, Spain (Country Number 47) and reflect back on our visit to Egypt over two years ago, I find myself beguiled by the scenery that surrounds me.  Eric and I notice our overcrowded anchorage at Playa de Palma Nova Mallorca, where hotels with names like "HONOLULU" and "ALUAHAWAII" tower over the multitudinous posadas nearby.  Boat watching is akin to people watching, anchors dropping all around while swells from lively super yachts roll by.  The beaches shimmer with a rainbow of umbrellas sheltering thousands of tanning bodies.  Banner planes fly low and slow overhead, advertising power drinks or nightlife activity.  All distractions of a western world. 

We anchored up here to do boat projects and write another entry to our blog.  Egypt was 10 countries ago, and I can't help but compare our current locale to the one exceptional Red Sea Country that we both had eagerly awaited to visit.  The contrast of the culture here in Mallorca to the absolute serenity of the shores of Red Sea Egypt could not be more striking.   

I hope you enjoyed this new post, EGYPT: Country Number 37.  Please come back again.

Written aboard S/Y Sea Child, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

39 degrees 30.861 North, 002 degrees 32.494 East