Sanganeb Reef, Sudan

Anchored at Sanganeb Reef
Sudan
Africa
19'43.9N/37'26.7E

662 Miles to the Suez Canal!!
0 fish caught today...

We left Marsa Ata at soon as the sun shone enough to light up the reefs. Sandpiper loves electronic charting and one of the best features of electronic charting is that when we arrive at an anchorage, our track line is saved. So when we get a an early start when it is still dark all we have to do is follow our inbound track line out since this is the exact course that we steered in.

So far our guide book says that the charts are off. But our C-map charts have been really close so far. When I say close, I mean that it gets you to where you need to look over the side and guide your way through the reefs visually.

We arrived where we are currently anchored at 1pm. The normal afternoon winds from the north never arrived. We are anchored inside a protective reef along with S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. Once secure, we all jumped into the water and snorkeled around. There is a sunken boat with fish living all over it on the reef. My Chance speared several fish that was shared with all us boats anchored.

Sanganeb Reef has a large modern lighthouse on its southern end. Our guide book says that you can go ashore to meet the lighthouse keeper. But from our observations, the lighthouse has been automated, and there is no one around.

Since entering the Red Sea, this is the first aids-to-navigation that works as advertised. At night we have not seen any lighted aids-to-navigation so far. As this is being typed... it is 9pm and the light house's light is beaming on Sandpiper every 15 seconds. The non-working lights are also a reason most boats only sail during daylight hours in the Red Sea. But like I said before, C-Map charts have been right on so far.

Tomorrow's plans are to leave whenever we decide to wake up for a short 10 mile trip north to another reef anchorage named Sha'ab Rumi. It is where Jacques Cousteau lived back in the day in a habitat called Conshelf II where he feed and observed sharks.

More when it happens,
Tom and Amy

Notes From Ron:

• Cousteau created the film documentery "World Without Sun" about their time on Conshelf II. You can rent it from Netflix.
• Here is an excellent article from Saudi Aramco about diving on the reefs of the southern Red Sea.