Cairo, Egypt

Med Moored (bow in) at Ismalia Yacht Club
Suez Canal
Egypt
30'35.1N/32'16'3E

Our trip to Cairo began with a pick up at the yacht club at 7am. Our driver Mohammad drove us all weekend and did a great job getting us in and out of all the downtown traffic with only one payoff to the police while we were working on our passports. While in Cairo we needed to make a quick pop-in stop to the US Embassy to have pages added to our passport. While the van was waiting in a non-designated area Mohammad received a ticket that we quickly took care of with baksheesh (bribe)with the police officer.

We then, along with our guide Gabble, were dropped off at the famous Egyptian Museum. We got a quick history lesson on the past kings and queens, learned how to read a cartouche, saw several mummy burial sarcophagi (coffins), and the grand-daddy of them all, King Tutankhamen elaborate burial room treasures.

King Tut's tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 by English archaeologist Howard Carter. With over 1700 items found in the tomb, they gave a great insight into the pharaoh's short life. The big attraction is his death mask, made of solid gold. The mask is an ideal portrait of the pharaoh and an awe inspiring sight.

Next stop... the markets, where we haggled over a few small souvenirs. We checked into our hotel, Hotel Longchamps on Zamalek Island, where we instantly cranked up the air conditioning and hid from the heat for a few hours before exploring the neighborhood.

The next morning was spent at the Great Pyramids of Giza, and the Sphinx. I knew little of the history of the pyramids before going. But now I feel confident I could answer any Trivial Pursuit question thrown my way. It is quite a magical place and there is more being discovered on a daily basis.

That evening we took in the sound and light show at the pyramids. This was my favorite part of the trip. A bit cheesy, but worth it. The Grateful Dead played here many years ago, so we were hoping to hear a Dead tune mixed into the show. But that didn't happen.

Seeing the sliver of the moon hang over these magical wonders and to just sit and take it all in was epic. A trip of a lifetime!

One Love,
Amy

Lake Timsah, Egypt

Med Moored (bow in) at the Ismalia Yacht Club
Lake Timsah
Suez Canal
Egypt
Africa
30'35.1N/32'16'3E

We are now dead center in the middle of the Suez Canal, Med moored, with the Sandpiper's bow tied off to a concrete patio area of the Ismalia Yacht Club. We plan to be here for a few days while we travel inland to Cairo to see the Pyramids.

The Suez Canal is a series of canals connected by large lakes. Construction of the canal started in 1859 and was completed 10 years later. The canal is some 90 miles long. Some of the canal areas are quite narrow and only has enough room for shipping traffic to pass in one direction at a time. So canal transit times are staggered for the ships so that they pass each other in the lakes.

We received our pilot at 10am the morning of our transit after paying our canal transit fee, a total of $271 U.S. dollars. We were very happy with this amount because we had been expecting a much higher fee as we had read about other boats transits in the past. But they had all been larger than the 'Piper.

We also paid our bill for the 268 liters of diesel that we squeezed into everything that would hold fuel since this will be the last chance for cheap fuel for a long time. We paid 70 cents a liter, and we hear that prices in Europe are $2.80 a liter and rising. In Egypt, fuel is subsidized by the government and the locals pay only 18 cents a liter at the pump. That's something like 75 cents a gallon!

The reason we could not leave Port Suez earlier then 10am is because we had to wait until all the northbound shipping had passed so we would not be blocking their passage. After we received out pilot, Sandpiper was off heading northbound at a fast clip in a following current. Our pilot hand steered for most the passage when passing other boats and shipping. But when all was clear, he sat up on the bow to relax, letting us steer by auto pilot. Our pilot was very friendly, but spoke limited English, so there was not a whole lot of in-depth conversations between us.

Our passage to Ismalia was 38 miles, and the initial excitement of being in the canal wears off quickly as it is just a long ditch in the sand. All along the way we were passed by shipping, tug boats, and fishing boats. Also. all along the way are Egyptian army troops manning solitary gun posts. They seemed quite bored and were just happy that we waved to them. By the time we made it half way we were starting to get passed by shipping heading southbound, quite close at times.

We made it to the town of Ismalia by 6pm, which is on Lake Timsah, and moored bow to at the Ismalia Yacht Club, then said goodbye to our pilot. The yacht club is not really a yacht club much like the one in Port Suez, but more of a canal authority facility where yachts stop during canal transits. There is no bar. But there is a small kitchen where one can order a pizza and have a coke.

One cool thing about mooring here is that Sandpiper is hooked up to power and we can use all the fresh water we want. We hosed down the 'Piper and considering the bashing we took coming up here that had the bow submerged for most the time there was still dust all over the boat from our last 2 months in the Red Sea. The higher we scrubbed, the dirtier she was.

The Yacht Club is closed off to the public with military guards at the entrance that only allow members in to use the facilities. The only other boat to transit the canal with us was S/V Shiraz who had caught up with us. S/V My Chance had hoped to transit with us, but could not get measured in time.

Just our luck... once Sandpiper was secured, we discovered that there was a wedding reception setting up, complete with a DJ, right were we were moored. Around 10pm things were getting into full swing with the bride and groom up on a platform while the DJ played music. Luckily, Sandpiper was a little farther away from the party and the speakers than S/V Shiraz who was about 10 feet away. We decided that since it was so loud, and there was no way we were going to be able to sleep though the noise, that we would all gather on S/V Shiraz for drinks and watch the fun.

Being a Muslim wedding most the women wore head coverings. And the ones that didn't, wore black coverings where only their eyes showed. Also, being a Muslim wedding, there was no alcohol being served. So once the reception was over everyone left at once. Quite strange watching someone's wedding reception just feet away from them.

S/V My Chance has caught up with us this afternoon and current plans are to leave early am tomorrow morning in a van for a few days to see the pyramids in Cairo.

More Later,
Tom and Amy

Note From Ron: Lake Timsah is believed to be where the Jewish exodus from Egypt crossed the Red Sea, and where Moses parted the sea. The exact crossing spot is debatable since there are a series of lakes and marshes in the area that could fit the descriptions in the ancient legends.

Port of Suez

On Mooring Ball at Suez Yacht Club
Port of Suez
Suez Canal
Egypt
29'56.8N/32'34.36E

0 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
(Check out where we are on Google Earth)

WE MADE IT !!! After a 36 hour bash through 20-30 knot winds and waves breaking over Sandpiper's bow, we've made it to the Suez Canal where Sandpiper is now peacefully secured.

We had a false start the day before leaving el-Tur. We had planned on leaving early in the morning at 5am. But the winds were blowing over 20 knots in the direction that we needed to go. Before pulling up the anchor, we waited to watch one of the other boats in the anchorage leave ahead of us. As soon as they got out of the harbor, waves were smashing into them, slowing them down to less then 2 knots. They made a quick u-turn back into the anchorage and said that they were going back to bed. So we gave up and went back to bed as well, with our new plan of leaving at midnight when the winds were lighter.

There were 7 other boats anchored at el-Tur waiting for the winds to break. They must have heard of our plan because when we got up at midnight, 3 other boats were heading out as well. I have to say it is a very hard decision to leave when you know that the winds will go up to 30 knots and that you will have to power through them to keep your speed up. Not fun. Normally if the winds were predicted to be up to 30 knots, and we were sailing downwind, then we would be reluctant to leave the harbor. But to leave a harbor planning on motoring INTO 30 knots of wind and waves is a hard call to make.

We finally quit hoping for the wind to drop because every time we had a weather prediction, it was always wrong. We just decided that we would put ourselves 'out there' and bash through this stuff all the way to the Suez.

After we left the anchorage at midnight and got offshore the winds and seas started picking up, blowing over 25 knots. Soon we had waves coming over the bow slowing, us down to 1-2 knots for lengths of time. We kept at it and never stopped. All the other boats that left the same day we did only made it up the coast 30 miles before pulling into the next anchorage to wait yet again for a wind drop. Not Team Sandpiper! We were the only boat to go on overnight, and by morning the winds had dropped considerably giving us speeds up to 4 knots at times. Then before we knew it at sunrise we were only 20 miles from the Suez Canal and making 5 knots.

Also, at sunrise, we listened to the boats that had stopped to anchor overnight and heard them all complaining about how bad it was where they were anchored and that they already had winds over 25 knots. So the best that they could do is 10 miles north to the next anchorage.

What does this all mean? Well, we are the only boat moored here in front of the Suez Yacht Club, and all the other boats behind us are still stuck at anchor until who knows when. Our 36 hour bash paid off huge, and we are extremely pleased to be here. Sandpiper performed like a champ!! We had to keep the engine running at much higher RPM then normal. But she never gave in, even when the large waves tried to stop her.

We found leaks below we never knew about from all the water coming over the bow. But it is so hot here in Egypt that as soon as we opened up all the portholes after arriving, the boat dried out in minutes.

Also, on this last passage, we had to maneuver just outside the shipping lanes where many ships were transiting to and from the Suez Cancel, and through all kinds of oil rigs and their support vessels. I am rambling a bit about this passage, but this last 36 hours has been the hardest passage since leaving the States. We have never had to motor into winds/seas as intense as this last stretch of the Red Sea. When we got closer to the Suez Canal the amount of shipping traffic increased. There are many ships at anchor and others arriving from the south, and maneuvering around.

When we got outside the Suez Canal entrance, we called our agent Felix who is going to process us thru the canal. He told us to come on in and tie up in front of the Suez Yacht Club. We then proceeded right into the southern end of the Suez Canal where the Yacht Club is located and secured Sandpiper's bow and stern to mooring buoys. Felex was there in a dingy to help us when we arrived. He has taken our paperwork in to get us ready for our transit through the Suez Canal, possibly the day after tomorrow. He is also our contact for any fuel, beer, and other necessities before we move on.

As I type away we are awaiting the Canal's measuring man who is coming over to check out Sandpipers curves. Then he will work out some kind of crazy Egyptian formula (our guide book says it's from 1866) that will compute how much this will all cost us.

Once again, we are hugely excited to be here and our transit up the Red Sea is compete.

"If you ain't first, you're last"
- Ricky Bobby

Tom and Amy

Notes From Ron: Here is a link to the catamaran "Exit Only" blog where they describe their Suez Canal transit, with their humorous interpretation of the fee formula, and their experience with their assigned pilot who demanded a little extra "gift" on top of his fees.

El-Tor, Egypt

Anchored at Tor Harbor
El-Tor
South Sinai
Egypt
Gulf of Suez
Red Sea
28'14.0N/33'36'6E

112 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
Too rough to fish. So now we catch flies. 9 flies detained...

Broke FREE!!! Woke up this morning to the anchorage a little quieter than normal and realized the wind was not screeching. After an hour of watching the wind, checking out the swells through the binoculars, and a light breakfast, we decided to make a break for it. We had been stuck at anchor for 6 LONG DAYS with ants in our pants really wanting to continue on. It is only 130 miles to the Suez, a trip that should normally take us overnight. So far we are on week two.

We ended up leaving around 9am. Once on track we were able to have a little wind in the double reefed main and off we went across the Gulf of Suez. We made it across the south bound shipping lane no worries. Everything seemed OK. Then through the north bound lane and the winds started to pick up, along with the swells. This made the ride a bit more uncomfortable than we like. Beating into 30 knots of wind and 6 foot seas sucks to say the least. With my white knuckle grip on to the sides of the dodger, I tried to stay hidden behind most of the trip, sticking my head out every now and then for some fresh air. Things were OK. We were going to make it across.

Salty Tom thought he would try the captain's chair and quickly realized this wasn't a kind position on the tummy with the 'Piper rockin' and rollin'.

Once through the shipping lanes we only then needed to make it past the oil rigs and then we were home free to the other side. Just as we were approaching the anchorage the winds felt as if they were picking back up. But we are now safe and secure for the evening with a cold one in hand and a nice warm shower too. We have our fingers crossed, along with about 12 other boats, that the winds let up even more tomorrow and we can continue on our bash up the Gulf.

Thinking positively
Amy and Tom

Marsa Zeitya, Gulf of Suez

Anchored at Marsa Zeitya
Gulf of Suez
Red Sea
Egypt
Africa
27'49'8N/33'34'9E

134 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
0 fish caught...

Right now as I type away the wind is screaming through the rigging over 30. We are securely anchored right up along the beach here at Marsa Zeitya at the south western entrance to the Gulf of Suez. The day before yesterday, while anchored at Endeavour Harbor, Team Sandpiper noticed a drop in the winds (anything below 20 knots is considered calm in the Red Sea). So we sprung into action to make some miles to the north and left the harbor as soon as possible. S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance decided to wait it out till we could give them a weather brief once we left the harbor.

As usual, as soon as we got out the winds picked back up over 20 knots right off the bow. But we stayed as close to the reefs and islands as possible to get whatever lee that we could. We made it north our daily 7 miles to a lee at Bluff Point. S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance declined to follow us once we gave them the weather report outside the anchorage. This is where they still remain back there.

We had hoped to make it farther. But the seas outside Bluff Point we could see and were quite large and breaking. So we opted to call it quits and pull into Bluff Point (27'40.6N/33'48.4E). We were followed in by a huge dive charter boat that came quite close to us. We grabbed one of the free moorings along the windward reef. The moorings here are not attached to the bottom, but instead are tied off directly to the reefs. You bow up, and once secured, the wind blows you off the reef. We had no way to grab the moorings as they are floating ON the reef. But the dive boat had a dingy in the water that had used to tie their lines to the mooring. So they came over and hooked us up by tying off our long bow line to the moorings. Then the 30-40 knot winds blew us back off the reef.

Since the winds in this part of the Red Sea are always from the north, you do not have to worry about swinging around on a mooring. If there was a wind direction change, we would have all been blown on to the reef.

By sunset we were surrounded by 3 large dive charter boats that had divers jumping off their sterns and swimming right under the 'Piper. There were bubbles all around us, like a large jacuzzi. After sunset they all jumped back into the water for a night dive. But we were not so sure how safe this was as it was blowing over 30 knots and pitch black. If one of the divers had surfaced and had trouble getting back to their boat, no one would have never known.

We had thought that we would be stuck here for a few days. But at 5am we both woke up wondering what was wrong. It was the fact that the winds had dropped below 15 knots. So once again we sprung into action before sunrise and took off. And once again as soon as we got outside the protection of land, the waves from the previous days' winds were quite huge, burying Sandpipers bow at times with water right over the boat. Our goal was to make the 4 miles north of Bluff Point to where we could turn west to get the wind off the bow and head for our current anchorage. Luckily, for some unknown reason, as we turned west the winds dropped down below 15 knots and we made progress north the 13 miles thru the reefs to where we are currently anchored.

Just before we arrived the winds kicked back up to over 30 knots off the bow. We slowly powered into the small bay were we motored as close to the beach as possible to drop the hook, then backed off 200 feet of chain. This is another spot where if the wind was to change direction, then we would be right on the beach. But if we were lucky enough to have a wind change, then we would be out of here in an instant.

There is a French boat next to us, and another boat from Turkey that we know, the S/V Yosun (Turkish for "Seaweed"). They said that the short passage we had just made was one of the worst passages that they had ever made. They experienced huge waves, and thought for a short period that they were going to capsize.

We had an interesting conversation at sunset tonight with our Turkish and French neighbors in English as their English is quite limited. They asked us to talk to them like one would talk to a baby so we could all understand each other.

For some reason, ever since leaving the U.S., everyone pronounces Sandpiper's name as "Sandpaper". So tonight I had to explain that we were not named after a piece of sandpaper, but a majestic shoreline seabird.

The anchorage here does not have much to offer. All around us are oil pumping facilities, and the harbor is where all the oil rig supply vessels pull into. Also there are helicopters landing and taking off, hauling personnel out to the drilling platforms that are all along the horizon with their bright flames burning everywhere we look. There is also an Egyptian military base here with large bunkers and lookout posts all over the place. So no shore leave for Team Sandpiper.

Our current plan is to wake up early in the am and check out the winds. If they drop down tomorrow below 20 knots, then we are going to motorsail across the Gulf of Suez 25 miles to the next anchorage. If the winds do not come down, then this will be our new home for a 'few' days.

Hopefully next entry is not from here...

Tom and Amy

Endeavour Harbor

Team Sandpiper Update 22 May 2008

Anchored Endeavour Harbor
Tawila Island
Strait of Gubal
Egypt
Africa
27'30.0N/33'56.5E

153 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
0 fish caught...

Team Sandpiper got a late start this morning as we were not sure what the winds were going to be doing. But at 9am the northerly winds had dropped down below 20 knots and we took off hoping to eat up some miles to the north. No such luck. We got 7 miles out just outside the anchorage we were trying to get to yesterday when the winds picked up to over 30 knots. They buried Sandpiper's bow under the waves and slowed us down to one knot. We decided that the 'smart' thing to do was to pull into where we are presently anchored, in Edeavour Harbor on Tawila Island.

The anchorage here is very protected with a nice sand bottom. Good thing because as soon as we got the hook dropped, along with S/V Shiraz (who caught up with us) and S/V My Chance the winds were up to the high 30's all afternoon.

Late afternoon a powerboat full of kite surfers pulled in along the shoreling and have been entertaining us. Since the winds are so strong they can go quite fast. They like to do tricks right by the 'Piper, jumping about 30 feet up into the air while waving at us. Actually, they seem to do more tricks when it is only Amy in the cockpit. Hmmmm....

It is 153 miles to the Suez, normally an easy overnight sail with following winds. But we made a total of 7 miles today. At this rate to make the it will take us weeks. This last stretch of the Red Sea is going to be our hardest. There are limited safe anchorages and the winds are not predicted to let up.

More later from somewhere hopefully more than 7 miles north of here,

Tom and Amy

A Trip down the Nile

Our trip begins with a 5pm taxi pick-up from the Hurghada Marina along with our friends from S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. We were taken to the downtown area of Hurghada from where we embarked on 3-hour van ride to Luxor.

No matter if you travel by bus, van, or rental car, it is mandatory to travel in a police-escorted convoy in certain areas of Egypt. The convoy is a legacy of the Islamic insurgence of the 1990’s when several thousands of people were killed, mainly locals. In 1997 a large group of tourists were killed at a temple in Luxor, which is why the convoy still remains today. It can be a bit of a hassle, and I don’t see how this will detour any attacks. It just rounds all of us tourists up in to one big easy target. But I digress.

Upon our arrival to Luxor we check into our hotel for the evening. Thanks to the air conditioner never coming on, it made the night's sleep hotter than on the ‘Piper. Morning came where we were planning on seeing the sites of Luxor. But when our guide showed up, he asked us "Where is your luggage?" We were swept up into a taxi and taken to the train station for a 3-hour ride to Aswan.

The guide in Aswan didn’t know we were booked for a tour to Abu Simbel and at one point it looked like we might not be making the voyage on the Nile at all. It was all very confusing and a bit unnerving. But luckily, we are flexible with our days and travel. From what I gathered from other travelers, this is just the Egyptian way of doing things.

We finally got it all together and checked into our room on the ship. But it was not the original boat we thought we were going to be on. But it was still OK with us. It was even better after we changed rooms since being above the engines with diesel fumes filling the air wasn’t our cup of tea. Our new room sported a bigger window and a refrigerator.

So now we are introduced to our guide Imed, or "Ed". A very pleasant, knowledgeable, easy going young Egyptian with perfect English. Ed takes us to the site of the ‘Unfinished Obelisk’. This area of Aswan is Egypt’s only source of granite where several obelisk’s have been hacked out, including the one that stands in Hyde Park in NYC. This unfinished obelisk was to be the single heaviest (1100 tons) piece of stone ever completed. But a flaw appeared, and so it lies unfinished.

Next stop... the Aswan Dam. The old dam, built by the British, was once the largest of its kind. But now the new dam built with assistance from the Russians stands higher, longer, and wider.

Once back to our ship we were given the wonderful news that Ed was staying with us the rest of our trip down the Nile. That evening we engaged in a sunset Felucca ride with a quick stop through a Nubian village. Felucca’s are a traditional canvas sailed boat, much smaller than the ‘Piper.

Our next morning we were up and out the door by 3:30am and in a convoy to Abu Simbel, home to the Great Temple of Ramsses II and Temple of Hathor and Nefertari (Ramses' wife). Besides these temples being awe inspiring sites on there own, the amazing part of this places is that they were taken apart and moved to their current location. With the building of the Aswan High Dam, these two temples would have been submerged. So they just moved them here. An engineering masterpiece.

The Cliff Note version of the history of these two temples goes like this: Ramses II loved himself and loved power. So he built this temple for himself to make his enemies shake in their boots. The temple of Hathor was built for Queen Nefertari, Ramses’ favorite wife. And this all happened between 1274 and 1244 BC.

Once back to the ship we hit the lunch buffet and shoved off for the town of Kom Ombo. We arrived late afternoon and jumped ship to visit the Temple of Kom Ombo. During ancient times this area of the Nile was filled with crocodiles, so this temple is dedicated to Sobek (croc god) and Horus. Cliff Notes on Kom Ombo: This temple shows remains of a small mammisi (or birth house), reliefs of first recorded medical surgical instruments, a Nilemeter, and the first recorded calendar. One other quick note this temple took over 400 years to be built. Way cool.

Back on the boat once again and this time we do an over night motor down the Nile to the town of Edfu. Traveling down the Nile just before sunset and watching the green of the fertile riverbanks float by from our comfy double bed was a beautiful way to experience so many awesome sites. The tranquility of the river and the magical sites of the winter white Herons dotted amongst the fertile landscape of corn, cotton, and sugarcane was not a bad way to unwind after the day.

Next morning we fill up our bellies once again at a buffet and meet our guide Ed in the lobby where he has a horse drawn carriage waiting for us to take us to the Temple of Horus. This temple is the most completely preserved Egyptian temple and helps to fill in a lot of historical gaps, a 2000-year-old history lesson. Part of the inner hall is host to the laboratory. Here all the necessary perfumes and incense recipes were brewed and stored, and the ingredients are listed on the walls. Beautiful to see in person. [more links]

For the rest of the afternoon we are free to enjoy the amenities of our ship the M/S L’aube Du Nil. The 4-story ship included a sun deck on top complete with a pool, lounge chairs and disco area. We wasted the day away with a few beers and making new friends on the ship. Every morning when our room was cleaned up the towel guy would arrange our towels in all sorts of exciting animals. Be sure to check out the photos on Flicker. Overall, the ship was super chill and an excellent way to experience the magic of the Nile River.

Our last morning we checked out of our rooms and hoped on a bus to visit our last two stops, the Valley of the Kings and Temple of Karnak. The Valley of the Kings was amazing, a high point for me on our trip. I’m just amazed at the age of these temples and how they did all of this building so long ago and it still looks good. We visited three of these royal burial sites and each one more impressive, not at all what we pictured. The Karnak Temple was our last tour of the trip. It is a huge complex of obelisks, pylons, and sphinx some as old as 1000 years.

I could go on with more details of all the sites. But I don’t want to bore you too much. All in all I think you can tell buy our entry we had a really great time and were completely impressed with everything we saw. We are looking forward to Cairo and the Pyramids.

More later.

Love to all,
Amy and Tom

---

Notes From Ron:

1. There is no Hyde Park in New York City. However, there is Hyde Park with a obelisk in Sydney Australia. But it is made of sandstone, functions as a sewer vent, and is not from Aswan. Perhaps the guide was thinking of Cleopatra's Needle, an authentic ancient Egyptian obelisk from this area that is now in NYC's Central Park.
2. There is an island in the Nile River at Aswan named "Elephantine Island" that has Nubian villages. It has no bridges, so it must be reached by ferry or on a Felucca. The Nubians have built a museum to their culture and history.
3. Here is an excellent page about the Temple at Kom Ombo and the treasures within. Here is a good one that explains how the ancient Egyptian Calendar at Kom Ombo is read.

Shadwan Island, Egypt

Anchored Shaker (Shadwan Island)
Egypt
Africa
27'30.0N/33'56.5E

159 Miles to the Suez Canal!
0 fish caught

We broke free from our luxurious living in Hurghada Marina with one last taste of America = McDonalds, then got underway at 2pm hoping that the predicted wind drop would let us make some miles north. No such luck. The north winds held at 15 to 20 knots. So we were only able to make 15 miles before we had to find safe anchorage here at Shaker Island.

This is a very picturesque anchorage with high hills on the island. Off in the distance we can see the high mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. Supposedly this is where Moses came down with the 10 commandments. There is a nice beach along the shoreline here that is tempting to visit. But our Red Sea Guide warns:

"The island is a prohibited area and is still mined. A solder was recently killed or wounded by one as he came to warn some yachties, who'd been ashore walking. They left apparently without noticing his fate, or if they did, they didn't care."

Nice.....

We are anchored here with S/V My Chance. S/V Shiraz is still living large back in Hurghada, promising to catch up with us tomorrow. We are hoping to leave in the AM to see how much progress north we can make if the winds are below 20 knots. If not we will be staying here or making for another anchorage close to here.

Don't forget to read Amy's entry about our inland trip to the Nile!!

More later from somewhere north,
Tom and Amy

Extra - Somolia Pirates

This evening we leave Sandpiper secure in her slip while we head inland to Luxor. And then we head down the Nile on a river boat cruise. I am posting a link to "Report from 'Pirate Alley ' (Gulf of Aden)", an article that was passed off by email to us by a boat named s/y Dolphin that traveled with us right through the middle of the Gulf of Aden in April. They write of their experience, something to read while we are gone…

Disclaimer:
When I first received an email from another boat that was in the area, I was very skeptical of this story. I could not understand why they were transiting in this area right between Yemen and Somalia. We purposely hugged the coast of Yemen when we transited the Gulf of Aden to avoid this area. Since then I have had this story verified by another boat that was in the area on delivery with limited stops.

We send this out because we have written before about Somalian piracy. We also linked to some BBC broadcasts about the subject. Piracy in the Gulf of Aden gets very little publicity, mostly because there are no reporters in this area or in Somalia. For one contemplating a Red Sea passage, this area can be avoided by hugging the coast of Yemen, like we did.

When we passed through the Gulf of Aden in April, reports of piracy incidents in the area had been just about nil. I say "JUST about nil" as there may have been an incident that was never passed along. However, cruisers being a tight knit group, always seem to get this information out.

See you when we get back!!

Tom and Amy

Hurghada Marina

Med Moored at the Hurghada Marina
Hurghada
Egypt
Africa
27'13.5N/33'50.4E

172 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
0 fish caught...

We Made It!! We got an early start at sunrise and broke free from were we had been anchored motor sailing straight into the wind/seas making it into Hurghada Marina yesterday at 3pm. Wow! What a contrast Hurghada is from the rest of Africa we have experienced so far! Major building all along the coast line, with new hotels and resorts everywhere we looked. We passed dive charter boats at all the reefs we passed. Hurghada boasts having over 1200 dive boats. We also passed many tour boats, glass bottom boats, and other boats all over the place. We even had large airplanes overhead coming in for a landing at the airport and bringing in plane loads of more tourists. We have not seen a commercial airliner since being in Thailand. We are now back in civilization.

As soon as we arrived outside Hurghada Marina we were met by their dinghy that escorted us in to where we are presently Med moored, with Sandpiper's bow against the dock. There are many other boats here that we know who are all northbound for the Suez.

As soon as we got checked into the marina we got Sandpiper plugged into power. That is also something we have not done for a long time, since Malaysia last December... So Sandpiper is pretty happy here in calm waters, securely moored, and her batteries are fully topped off. We can turn on everything we want, all at once, without having to worry about how many amps everything is drawing down. Even better the marina has free WiFi that has the fastest connection we have ever had on the boat. Check out our photos and videos as they are now all caught up.

We went into town this evening for dinner with the crews from S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. We had a really great seafood dinner where all the fresh fish is on ice in the front of the restaurant. We just pointed to what we wanted them to cook up, and minutes later it was on our table, and quite cheap!

There are tourists all over the world here, and shops all over the place selling stuff for them to lug home. Most the tourists are from Russia and Europe, but mostly Russia, with the Russian ladies wearing all kinds of gaudy freaky gear. We are most likely the only Americans in town as talking to the store owners they say very few Americans come to Egypt.

Hurghada is our base of operations for at least the next week or more as S/V Shiraz, S/V My Chance, and S/V Sandpiper are all traveling inland for 4 days to take a river boat trip up the Nile with lots of stops along the way. We will report all about it when we get back!! While we are here look for us on Skype at "sandpipertomandamy". Or better yet call us on our cell phone, as we just got an Egyptian SIM card: +20-16-978-2082.

For an extra reading assignment check out our article in the new issue [PDF] of The Porthole. The Porthole is the newsletter from our yacht club, the Presidio Yacht Club under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Porthole is published quarterly and this is a continuation of articles that we have been writing for them.

More later from mummy land,

Tom and Amy

Ras Abu Soma, Egypt

Anchored at Ras Abu Soma
Egypt
Africa.
26'50.7N/33'58.8E

196 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
0 fish caught...

OH SNAP, stuck again! We were so close, just 30 nautical miles or less to our destination of Abu Tig Marina. The winds picked up at 3am and wouldn't let up with gusts up to 30+ knots. We weren't making any headway going 1 knot so we turned around and pulled into our current anchorage which was 6 miles south. I am using the power of 'The Secret' and thinking positively that the winds will come down this evening and we can make a break for it. I can't do another 7 days of waiting out the weather especially being so close to a marina with a swimming pool, restaurants and shopping. Until then we will fill our afternoon with movies.

Thinking positively
Amy and Tom

Port Ghalib, Egypt

Med Moored at Port Ghalib Marina
Egypt
Africa
25'32.0N/34.38.3E

282 Miles to the Suez Canal!!!
0 fish caught...

Sandpiper is presently Med Moored (bow secured to a mooring ball, stern backed against a low concrete sidewalk) in Port Ghalib Marina. The marina is part of a large dive resort/marina that has a long concrete sidewalks along a narrow waterway that boats can either side tie to, or Med Moor to. We are here along with 13 other boats that have all arrived in the last 2 days in the short weather window that let us all arrive here at the same time from several different anchorages.

If you have ever seen an African on TV with flies all over him, then this is the place. There are flies all over during the day, and they drive us quite mad. Sandpiper has flies all over her. Looking down the dock, we can see cruisers swinging their arms around trying to drive the flies away.

We reluctantly left Dolphin Reef at 10am, waving goodbye to our dolphin friends along with S/V Siraz and S/V My Chance for an overnight motor to Port Ghalib. We arrived at sunrise after a smooth, windless night of motoring. There were only a few reefs to dodge, and there was no traffic other then the other northbound sailboats.

Port Ghalib is Egypt's southern most port, and it is where northbound boats must to stop to check into the country. It is possible to skip this stop and check in father north, but it costs an extra hundred and fifty dollars. What a contrast from the rest of the ports we have stopped at in the Red Sea! The channel is very well marked with almost brand new buoys.

Once at the entrance buoy, we called Port Control to get permission to enter the harbor. It is kind of funny for this harbor is so small to have a Port Control since the only boats that use this port are sailboats and dive boats. Once we passed all Sandpiper's info to Port Control, we were giving permission to enter the harbor and to proceed to the customs dock. While inbound in the well marked channel, Port Control stays on the radio the whole time giving us helm commands, just like they were actually driving the boat. A bit of overkill and quite funny.

Port Ghalib is all very new looking with all its facilities built in the last few years with brand new concrete walls along the waterways that boats moor to. Sandpiper was the first boat to arrive, just after sunrise. By noon 7 other boats had arrived, all taking advantage of the mild winds the last couple of days to make miles north.

It took all afternoon for our agent to get our paperwork cleared and back to us. We now have a one month visa and cruising permit for Egypt. After all the boats that were at the customs dock were cleared in to customs, we were all moved at the same time in single file over to the moorings.

We are presently on down a long, narrow, winding waterway to the Port Ghalib Marina. This area is in a major state of development where all kinds of hotels and houses are being built along the winding waterways that have been dug out. Its kind of like a mini-America as we motored in we passed the restaurant chain TGI Friday's and a Baskin-Robins. Our friends on S/V Ohana Kai had dinner at TGI Friday's and said it was just like a scene from the movie 'Office Space'. All the waiters had suspenders with buttons and 'flair' all over them. They kept the kids entertained with magic tricks. It was just like the movie, except they were the only guests in the restaurant, and all the staff were Egyptian.

As soon as we got Sandpiper secured we took use of the marina's fresh water hose to wash all the desert mud that had accumulated all over Sandpiper. We also took advantage of the resort's showers, and we had dinner at the resort's all-u-could eat dinner buffet. This was followed by Egyptian belly dancing, and men doing the Whirling Dervish.

We are cleared to leave the harbor at sunrise tomorrow and will be motoring north for another overnight trip 120 miles. We are hoping to make the marina at Abu Tig if the calm weather conditions persist.

More from the north,
Tom and Amy

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Note From Ron: Australia also has heaps of flies (their dirty little secret). Especially out in the country. The Aussie cork hat was invented to help keep flies of your face. The corks hanging from strings around the brim bounce around and scare the flies away. Also, the act of waving your hand back and forth across your face is called "The Aussie Wave".

Dolphin Reef, Red Sea

Anchored at Dolphin Reef (Sha ab Sataya)
Fury Shoal
Egypt
Africa
24'10.1N/35'40.7E

380 Miles to the Suez Canal...

FREE!! We are free from the clutches of Ras Baniyas and made our escape. At 3am this morning we awoke wondering why Sandpiper was sitting so still and why we did not hear the wind screaming through the rigging. The northerly winds have finally taken a break of sorts. As soon as our heads popped out and we saw that winds had dropped to almost nothing. We sprung into action, untangled the anchor from the coral below, and cleared the anchorage by 4am heading north.

We thought we were the first boat to get going. But as soon as we left we had a boat on radar just ahead of us. We thought at first was a fishing boat. But its range from us never changed. We found out that it was our friends Kelly & Kelly on S/V Moorea who had gotten a 30 minute head start on us. We left all the other boats at anchor wondering where we had gone too when the sun came up.

The winds stayed from the north, but under 10 knots. We arrived at the west anchorage at Dolphin Reef by 9am and anchored alongside our friends S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. As soon as we got the hook set, Rene from Shiraz called on the VHF saying she had dolphins off the bow and it was time to get into the water. We were still backing down on the anchor when Steve came alongside in their dinghy and frisked us away with our snorkeling gear for our first dolphin swim.

Every day here at Dolphin Reef (hence the name) there is a pod of about 50 dolphins that swim inside the reef in the shallow water. They play around till they get tired, then they head back out to sea for the day. As soon as Steve got his dingy properly positioned in front of the dolphins we jumped right in the middle of the dolphin pod. This is the first time we have every have swam with dolphins, and I have never really seen them in shallow water before. There were dolphins of every sex and age. Once in the water with them we could hear them squeaking at each other while they swam around us.

The rest of the morning had us jumping back into the dinghy in order to get in front of them again. It is quite hard to swim faster then a dolphin. Amy made her first mother and baby dolphin eye contact as they swam by each other each giving each other a head nod hello.

Since anchoring here at Dolphin Reef at 9 am the northerly winds have come back. Our current plans are to keep playing with the dolphins until we get a break in the wind. Then we are hoping to make Port Ghalib in order to officially clear into Egypt.

OK. I have not been on a rant for awhile. So here I go: Sailing here in the Red Sea is a bit of an extreme adventure that is not for the faint of heart. The boats that we have been traveling with have all been traveling for some years just to get here. This means that each boat's owners know their boats very well. They intimately know all their boat's systems. And we all travel in the same weather windows. This is a dangerous area to sail because there are many unforgiving reefs the navigate through and the weather can be very extreme. And there are no rescue assets available if you get into trouble.

Usually, in every anchorage we pull in to, we know the boats there. We have seen them before in other ports. Or we have heard about them from other boats they have traveled with. Or we have heard them on the radio net. Lately we have come across several boats that are sailing in this area we have not seen before. At first they seem to doing the same thing we are, until we hear more from them.

My case in point: At our last anchorage when we were holed up in 30 knot northerly winds, we would assume that every boat on the coast is doing the same thing we are... waiting for good weather. But to our surprise a boat arrived from the south after motoring into the wind for the last 2 days, and taking a serious beating. When they arrived in the anchorage, they seemed to be having problems getting their anchor dropped. They kept drifting back out of the anchorage. One of the boats next to us called them on the VHF to see in they were having problems and needed help. There were 2 people on board, a man and woman, and they asked for help. They said they could not get their anchor to drop. Three of us from different boats jumped into dinghies and went to assist.

After getting on board the man told us that he was not really familiar with his anchor windless . He used to have a crew before that he had just let go, and they used to do everything for him. It turned out, after we examined his anchor windless, that it could drop it fine when under power if he just hit the lower button. So within seconds after his second arrival he was securely anchored.

After he was secured he showed us the damage his aluminum sloop has sustained while bashing through the large seas. Several stanchions on the bow had been broken off and large areas of paint in the bow had been peeled off. He also had broken some of his electrical equipment and could not get his generator to start.

Second case in point: Another boat arrived at our last anchorage sailing south bound from the Med in the 30 knot winds making great time. When they arrived into the anchorage everyone assumed that they were just stopping for the night and continuing on the next morning. One of the other boats dinghied over to say "Hello". They asked if this is where they needed to be to check out of Egypt. The only port they can check out of Egypt is Port Ghalib, 100 miles to the north where they had just sailed by. The next morning they were gone and everyone in the anchorage assumed they had left to continue on south. Wrong. They actually left to head back north, straight in to the 30 knot headwinds, hoping to get back north 100 miles so they can check out. When we called Shiraz that evening they told us that when this had came motoring by, smashing through the head seas, they called on VHF asking for directions to Port Ghalib.

I am not aware of any boats NOT having guide books for this area. Nor do I know of any boats not using electronic charts. How does someone get here and not know where they need to go? Or know where they are going?

More when the winds let up,
Tom and Amy

Ras Baniyas... still here

Team Sandpiper Update 3 May 2008

Still Anchored Ras Baniyas
Egypt
Africa
23'53.6N/35'46.8E

397 Miles to the Suez Canal...

Day 7. Can you believe it? I know I can't! I keep reminding myself that people pay a lot of money to sit around for 7 days and watch movies, eat, bake, read, fish, play scrabble and enjoy daily sun-downers, but I'm ready to move on.

Surprisingly the days have gone by rather fast. Yesterday was my first day ashore. The first time to feel Egyptian sand in my toes and score some decent Egyptian seashells. Each morning we tune into a frequency on our single sideband radio, and we cross our fingers and hope to hear good news about the weather.

This morning was the most promising forecast yet. Sounds like the winds should let up tomorrow for a brief period. Today they are averaging around 20 knots and still from the north. Keep your fingers crossed that we wake up tomorrow with only 10 knots or less blowing from the northeast. We have all the anchorages marked on our electronic charts all the way up the coast, so we are prepared to pull in at anytime. I'm hoping we can go the 100 miles to Port Ghalib, an official point-of-entry in Egypt.

The provisions are getting low and the laundry in staking up. A few days in a new marina or port is just what we need. If you don't hear from us tomorrow it means we have broke free. Then we will check back in ASAP.

More Later,
Amy

Still at Ras Baniyas

Still anchored at Ras Baniyas
Egypt
Africa.
23'53.6N/35'46.8E
397 Miles to the Suez Canal

Stuck! 4 days and counting...

We are still anchored here at Ras Baniyas awaiting a break in the northerly winds and now have been here 4 days with no break. We got very lucky on our last passage as we were in a perfect position along with S/V My Chance. Then the northerlies came off our bow and diverted to this anchorage. We were the first 2 boats to drop the hook here. Since then, 9 other boats have arrived here seeking protection. We were lucky because if we had to turned around, the closest anchorage behind us was 100 miles away, the one we had just come from.

Because S/V Shiraz was 6 miles north of us when the northerlies hit, they were able to beat into the winds and have been anchored at Dolphin Reef, the place we all were trying to get to.

S/V My Chance decided to take a chance our 2nd day here. They left at 7am in 20-25 knot north winds. They planned to motor sail while tacking back and forth to make forward progress. They finally made the 17 miles north, anchoring at Dolphin Reef alongside S/V Shiraz 11 hours later. After arriving, Alim (from S/V My Chance) suggested that it might not be a good idea for us to try what they just did since they took such a beating motor sailing to windward. The funniest part was they were the only boat to try this from our anchorage, yet they only have a 29-foot catamaran, leaving all of us on larger boats to consider leaving with them.

This is the hardest 17 miles I have ever heard of. They ended up covering 40 miles by tacking around and beating into the wind and waves. The trip should only take about 3 hours in good conditions. But it took 11 hours for S/V My Chance.

Since entering the Red Sea we have been wondering where the legendary northerly winds where. Now we know. Since anchoring here 4 days ago the wind has been relentless, not letting up or going below 20 knots. It mostly blows in the high 20's.

Several nights ago a line of squalls blew through, with intense lighting all over the sky. One bolt filled the whole sky off the starboard side, going off in hundreds of directions with many hitting the water a mile away. Then the wind picked up to 37 knots.

Not much to do here at anchor. It is so windy that we have not inflated the dingy because we are afraid it will blow away while we try to inflate it. So we have not been ashore. Another reason is that our guide book says "If you go ashore, ask if the beach is still mined."

Sandpiper is anchored just off a sand spit that comes out from the mainland and we are anchored just behind a reef. There is a small Egyptian military outpost farther up the beach. Every morning we wake up hoping that we can leave, only to see the winds still honking. Then it is a day full of movies and Scrabble.

There are several boats anchored behind us that we know from when we were in Mexico in 2006, the S/V Ohani Kai and the S/V Moorea. With all this wind they have been entertaining the anchorage every day with their kite-boards, shredding through all the anchored boats. Last night we were invited over for Sundowner's on S/V Gone With the Wind, a 50-foot Australian catamaran. We even got a ride over in S/V Balvenie's dinghy. Its funny when they tell us about their brand new catamaran and all its features. Then ask us about Sandpiper. I just have to shake my head laughing telling them Sandpiper was built in 1976.

Tonight boy Kelly and girl Kelly from S/V Moorea are coming over for a game of Scrabble that they have challenged us to. Then tomorrow we have been offered a ride ashore by S/V Ohani Kai's dinghy. As long as the winds are blowing like this, then we are all stuck here together.

Yesterday a mega yacht named m/y Sea Dream anchored behind us after taking a beating offshore while heading north. We called them on the radio after noticing that they have satellite dishes all over the place. They have been really cool by giving us the weather reports they are getting off their satellite internet connection. We are still working on them over the radio in hopes for an invite over for a cocktail, lots of ice, and hot showers. They are anchored just behind us.

Hmmmm... current plans are: As soon as the winds drop, or change direction, we leave and try to get to Port Ghalib where we need to officially get checked into Egypt. As of today (Wednesday) the north winds are predicted to hold to at least Saturday. At least we not out of beer yet!

More, if it ever happens.
Tom and Amy

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Note From Ron: The m/y Sea Dream is a 141-foot luxury charter yacht based out of Monaco that cruises the Med, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean. Here is she is at the Monaco Yacht Show. Here is a profile of their private chef Scott Dickson.

Ras Baniyas, Egypt

Anchored at Ras Baniyas
Egypt
Africa
23'53.6N/35'46.8E

397 Miles to the Suez Canal!!
0 fish caught last 2 days.

A busy 24 hours for Team Sandpiper. We had great south winds where we kept our speed up and over 5 knots. Up until yesterday evening we were thinking we were going to arrive at our next anchorage a wee bit early. We were even planning on heaving-to until the sun came up. However, just as with most evenings in the Red Sea, the wind just vanished. Then over the evening slowly picked up from the north. Around 4am, when we rotated watches, the wind started to honk and we were going less than one knot. Not cool. At this rate it would take until tonight 'till we made the last 20 miles to the anchorage.

So Captain Tom sprang into action and scouted us out a closer anchorage, where we currently are. Tom kept his cool all throughout the evening. Even with the winds picking up, our refrigeration pooping out on us, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge, and now snorkeling on the chain in 25 knots of wind. Three cheers for Captain Tom!

As it turned out we weren't the only boat needing a safe refuge. We are joined by 5 other boats, including S/V My Chance and S/V Ohana Kai, whom we haven't see since Phuket. S/V Shiraz was going to continue the beat up to the next anchorage. We hope to break away and catch up with them ASAP.

Cheers,
Amy

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Note From Ron: I found this little blurb about Ras Baniyas from the Red Sea cruising guide "Red Sea Pilot".

Ras Baniyas: The military presence here is usually quite friendly but they will want to check your papers. If you go ashore ask them whether the beach is still mined beyond the compound. There is excellent diving here but the bottom is all coral and you may spend some time getting your anchor back. The wind always honks hereabouts and isn't always indicative of how hard it is blowing at sea or further N.

Mines on the beach... nice. Don't go ashore Tom & Amy!