2008-Apr-03 Noon Position

Straits of Bab el Mandeb
Djibouti Coast
Red Sea
12'40.8N/43'16.9E

• 100 nm since 1:30pm
• 100 nm from Aden
• Winds SE 15-20 knots
• Seas 2-3 feet SE

As of 1200 hours we have crossed the Straits of Bab el Mandeb that separates Yemen from the country of Djibouti on the east coast of Africa on the southern end of the Red Sea. We are officially in the Red Sea!!

We left Aden yesterday at 2pm after spending the morning getting Sandpiper ready to go. We pulling up to the dock and topped off Sandpiper's water tanks after giving her a much needed scrub down. The water was USD$3 for as much as we wanted. We ran fresh water all over the place as we have not seen a fresh water hose since being in Malaysia!

The winds were still blowing from the SE and we were able to sail out of the harbor for a 24 hour run. There was much shipping traffic overnight to dodge. S/V Shiraz would call both us and the S/V My Chance (another boat from Turkey that we are traveling with) with information about any shipping that was going to be near us. They would read us the ships' names and courses off their AIS receiver that displays on their C-Map charts.

The goal for the next 24 hours is to sail overnight and see what anchorage is near us in the morning where we will drop the hook. Sailmail is still having issues. So we will try to connect whenever it decides to let us.

More in 24,
Tom and Amy