Khor Shinab, Sudan

Anchored at Khor Shinab
Sudan
Africa
21'21.0N/37'00.6E

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

Sandpiper left Sha'ab Rumi at 3pm along with S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. After getting our fill of snorkeling, we left for an overnight motor sail to where we are currently anchored, Khor Shinab.

There was no traffic overnight except for one dive charter boat that passed us in the middle of the night. There were few reefs to dodge.

One reason we are pressing north is that the normal northerly winds have dropped down due to a low pressure system in the Med that has blocked the normal winds for this area. So all night the winds were light or nonexistent. Also, all of the other boats in this area that we hear on the morning radio net are pressing north as fast as possible before the northerlies return in force.

This anchorage is another good place to view on the Google Earth Program. You will see how far back this anchorage goes. It is very well protected and goes back a long way, with bays heading off in all directions. This is a very remote area along the Sudan Coast, only sandy desert with a few large hills around us.

Yesterday, late in the afternoon once it cooled off enough, all hands went ashore to explore the desert and surrounding hills. The area here is quite strange. There is not a another person anywhere near here. The desert here used to be the ocean floor. So everywhere we walked was full of old seashells and fossils. It look much like what the surface of the moon looks like, except for the seashells. [Note from Ron: Here is a photo of that beach and hills]

We are getting a late start today as we are unsure of our next stop, It all depends on the weather. We have 180 miles to the next reef anchorage located on Egypt's southern border. We have to stay offshore a bit to clear the reefs. Our guide book suggests that we stay well offshore in this area because Egypt and Sudan have been in a border dispute for some years. If we have good winds, or no wind, we are going as far as we can get. If the northerly winds return, then we will find the closest anchorage to hide in.

More when we are north...

Tom and Amy

Sha'ab Rumi, Sudan

Mooring Ball
Sha'ab Rumi
Sudan
Africa
19'56.8N/37'24.1E

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

We left at 8am this morning for a short 10 mile trip north to where we are presently anchored at another reef anchorage called Sha'ab Rumi. This was where Jacques Cousteau spent some time doing some filming in an underwater habitat called Conshelf II. One of his divers died here and is reportedly buried here somewhere. But I can not see how as there is no land here, just reef.

To enter this circular reef there is a very narrow pass, about 100 feet wide. that 'ol Cousteau blasted through the reef with dynamite. He probably left that detail out of his show. Once we were inside the reef we headed to the north end where there are mooring buoys. We grabbed ourselves one. It would be very hard to anchor in here as it is very deep, and all coral.

As soon as we got secured we all jumped in the water for some spectacular snorkeling. There are many different brightly colored corals and reef fish here. We were a bit intimidated to get in at first as just after we arrived a large barracuda was hanging out off Sandpiper's port side. We also crossed the reef and explored a wrecked sailboat that looks like it might have gone up on the reef this year. Its keel is ripped off and its laying on its starboard side. Everything that can be removed has been stripped off.

Our plans are to leave here at 3pm for an overnight 90 mile jump north. The northerly winds have dropped down to almost nothing, and we are hoping it lasts through tomorrow so we can eat up some miles.

More from somewhere else...
Tom and Amy

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.

Marsa Ata, Sudan

Anchored at Marsa Ata
Sudan
Africa
19'17.3N/37'19.6E

684 Miles to the Suez Canal!!

Our small fleet (Sandpiper, Shiraz, My Chance) left Suakin at 8am for a short trip 10 miles north to where we are currently anchored inside a protective reef along Sudan's shoreline. Onshore is sand, with small brush, and we can see the heat shimmering off the sand. In the distance we can see large trucks driving along the same road that we took on our bus ride into Port Sudan yesterday. And off in the far distance are mountains.

From here until we reach the Suez Canal we will have northerly winds that we will be motoring against. The winds drop down at sunset and at sunrise the winds start blowing from the north lightly. Later in the day, around 1pm, the winds are blowing up to 25 knots at times.

The charts for the northern part of the Red Sea are reported to be off. So we will not be traveling at night unless we are in an open stretch of sea. So far our electronic charts have been pretty close, considering where we are. This means that for most of our trips headed north we will be leaving early in the morning, and hope to be at anchor by early afternoon, before the northerly winds and seas start to beat us. So we should be jumping north at about 30 miles a day.

We tried fishing today, but no luck. There are many fishermen along Sudan's coast, unlike Eritrea. This might explain our lack of fish.

Tomorrow's plans are to get a move on at first light and make the next anchorage.

Tom and Amy

Port of Suakin, Sudan

Anchored at the Port of Suakin, Sudan, Red Sea, Africa.
19'06.4/37'20.3E

695 Miles to the Suez Canal!!

Where in the world is 'Team Sandpiper?'

Bleached camel bones on the sides of the roads. Donkey carts delivering water. Houses that look like a fort I built out of sheets as a child. Crazy hot and intense sun. Buildings made out of stone and coral. And the largest country in Africa. Yes, we have made it to Sudan.

I had originally not felt comfortable stopping in Sudan due to the violence in the Darfur region, not because I don't feel safe but because I don't want to support the violence. Then I thought about the 28 murders that occurred over the weekend in Chicago. And as we don't plan to visit Chicago anytime soon, we are planning a trip back to the USA. So... here we are anchored in Suakin, Sudan.

We arrived yesterday afternoon along with S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance and were immediately greeted by Mohammad, who handled our check-in process, filled our jerry cans of diesel and water, and exchange $50US for 100 Sudanese pounds. The town of Suakin is small and surrounded by crumbled stone and coral buildings. When we asked Mohammad about them, he told us that "They fell down from just being old."

This area has had a checkered history as a trading center since the 10th century BCE. It was actually the last slave trading post in the world and used as such until the end of WWII. The people are EXTREMELY poor. Poor like I have never seen, and will most likely never see again, but also very friendly. A big smile goes a long way. I got many "Hello my sister" with a smile and wave. I love my African brothers.

Today we went to the big city (pop: 3 million) of Port Sudan. They have an excellent market where we were quite the freak show. We were told that taking photos is frowned upon and we may even need special permission. In years previous, 'cruisers' have spent the night in jail for taking photos. But we were able to take a few photos with the locals blessings and sneak a few more.

We went to the Palace Hotel for a surprisingly fast internet connection and nice lunch. Then back to the market before going back to Suakin on the bus. Once back in Suakin we turned in our shore passes to Mohammad, who returned our passports and granted us our cruising permit for Sudan.

We are off tomorrow to the next anchorage only 12 miles away. We hear a southerly is blowing so we need to continue to make tracks while we can.

One Love
Amy and Tom

Marsa Esh Sheikh, Sudan

Anchored at Marsa Esh Sheikh
Shubuk Channel
Sudan
Africa

18'50.0/37'26.6E

712 Miles to the Suez Canal!

The sun is just about to set over the African savanna with some people living in small tents along the shore line. A road is off in the distance where an occasional truck passes by. And there is a thick haze from all the sand in the air.

We left Long Island this morning after deciding that we would move up through the Shubuk Channel so when we leave tomorrow morning for the Port of Suakin we will be 10 miles closer. This was a transit was through many, many reefs. This is another anchorage the should show up on the Google Earth program and you should be able to get a really good view of the reefs that we passed and are those that we are presently anchored amongst.

We all jumped in the water after anchoring in hopes of spearing some delicious grouper. But visibility was low, so it is chicken tonight.

The winds seem to die down overnight. Then around 10am they start to pick up, and by noon its blowing 25 knots. So tomorrow we are going to leave at 6am for our 15 mile trip, hopefully arriving before noon when the winds start to kick up from the north.

We are still traveling with S/V Shiraz and S/V My Chance. We will all probably all be together until we get through the Suez Canal. We met Kian and Alim (from S/V My Chance) while we were in Aden, and they asked if they could sail along with us, and we have all been together since. The funny part is that the other night Alim was telling us how great their trip in to inland Yemen was from Aden, and how much they had enjoyed themselves. We asked him why he did not recommend this trip to us. He said that they were ready to leave Aden and did not want to sail up the Red Sea by themselves. And if we had gone inland, then they would have to wait until we got back. Thats funny!

Alim and Kian are from Turkey and are one of the very few Turkish boats sailing around the world. There trip is completed when they get back. There will be a big reception for them when they arrive because they have been writing for a sailing magazine in Turkey and have a big following.

More when it happens,
Tom and Amy

Long Island, Sudan

Anchored Long Island
Shubuk Channel
Sudan
Africa
18'46.3N/37'39.4E

720 Miles to the Suez Canal!!

We left Khor Nawarat at 7am yesterday. After transiting through the reefs we were able to sail until about noon when the winds picked up to 25 knots off the starboard bow. Both S/V My Chance and S/V Shiraz had to motor this whole stretch because they are not able to point as close to the wind as well as the 'Piper can. This is one of the rare chances where we are able to out perform a catamaran.

After the winds went over 25 knots and waves were coming over the bow we decided in might be a good decision to roll in the jib. But this slowed us down below 4 knots. So we motorsailed for the last 10 miles to where we are currently anchored on the south end of Long Island. During that last 10 miles we took a real thrashing, with waves pounding us, and water all over the place.

We are anchored in a large area of reefs called Shubuk Channel. You should be able to get a good view of using the Google Earth program. You can also see all of the reefs that we have to transit through as we head north.

All us boats fished yesterday, and we all hooked a delicious Spanish Mackerel that we BBQ'ed last night. We also hooked several large barracuda whom we released as soon as we got our lure back. We also lost 2 lures to something really large that chomped right through the steel leaders. One barracuda hit our lure so hard that it straightened out the hook before spitting it out.

It was way too rough to clean our fish. So we ended up dragging him behind the boat till we could get anchored, pull him aboard, and clean him up for dinner.

Current plans are to possibly move to another anchorage 10 miles from here up the Shubuk Channel to shorten our next jump north to the Port of Suakin where are going to officially check into Sudan.

Tom & Amy

Khor Nawarat, Sudan

Anchored at Shatira Inlet
Khor Nawarat
Sudan
Africa.
18'14.8N/38'20.0E

764 Miles to the Suez Canal!!

Camels off the bow!! We just arrived to where we are currently anchored just before sunset at our first stop in Sudan after an overnight 150 mile passage. And there is a camel standing on a sand dune on the beach right in front of Sandpiper.

As we arrived in the channel, Sandpiper was surrounded by bottle nose dolphins who escorted us into the anchorage. We left Sheikh el Abu Island at 8am yesterday along with our small sailing fleet of SV My Chance and SV Shiraz. We all attempted to sail this passage, but winds were very light, and we had to maintain 5 knots or we would not make this anchorage where are currently anchored before sunset. So there was much motoring by all.

We are all trying to conserve as much fuel as possible. So all boats motor sailed with low engine RPM's in order to maintain at least 5 knots. We did get a 30 knot following wind this afternoon that had the 'Piper racing along at 8 knots right into the anchorage.

There were many reefs, shoals, and islands along this 150 mile route with many course changes along the way making for a interesting passage. One thing about the waters in the Red Sea is there is tons of sea life everywhere. We and the other boats have been fishing most the time we are sailing, and we have all been catching fish. Yesterday, I threw a hook out at soon as Sandpiper's anchor was up, and we hooked a Travaili. I threw back as I did not want it to die. Then I looked it up in our fish book only to find out that it was a 3 out of 4 stars eating fish. After that we hooked a Bonito (yuk), a 4-foot Barracuda (yuk), 3-foot shark (yuk), 2 small barracuda (yuk x 2) which we threw back, and one large Spanish Mackerel. That was the one fish we wanted to keep, but he spit out the hook as soon as we got him alongside.

In all the poor countries we have sailed, they all have all types of fishing boats all over the place. But as poor as Eritrea is, and with fish all over the place just waiting to be caught, there is nobody to come out and catch them. I do not know why this is, but all they would need is a small sailing craft like the locals use in Indonesia use. Then they would have boat loads of fish.

Check out where the Piper is anchored using the Google Earth program and you should be able to get a good look at all the reefs surrounding us and what we had to pass through to get into this bay. Maybe you will get lucky and see a camel as well.

I once again praise our C-Map world charts that we have been using for the last 2 years. They have been dead on accurate. These charts even had a detailed harbor chart of this very remote bay in Sudan, I would have second thoughts about entering this anchorage without them as there as many reefs to pass through. C-map world charts are what 100% of the boats out here are using, and I am always amazed that for a DVD with all the charts of the world, that even the most remote stops that we go to are accurately charted.

Tomorrow's plan is to get to leave at first light, along with SV Shiraz and SV My Chance for a 50 mile hop up the coast to our next anchorage. We are hoping to arrive at before sunset. We are now at a point in the Red Sea where the southerly winds fade away and we start bucking the northerly winds all the way to the Suez Canal. So any day from now on that we are not motoring against the wind is a huge bonus for us.

More in 24,
Tom and Amy