Jenzminc Adventures

Red Sea Passage, Aden & Salalah
by SV Jenzminc VI

From Port Ghalib we had northerlies to start with. Mixture of reasonable downwind sailing and seas as flat as a rumpled doona cover. Got our first southerly about 600 miles from Bab el Mandab but only slight winds.
Got hit with one storm 15 miles SE of Elba Reef off the border between Egypt and Sudan. Winds to 35 kts. Lots of lightning directly overhead. Took a couple of days dodging various storm cells (plural) with winds up to around 25 kts coming from various quarters.
As you would expect, shipping activity starts to increase the further south you go. They normally give you a wide berth although a couple came within about 400 metres of us so it pays to watch them. Had to move out of the way of one of them just to be on the safe side.
First hit the transitional zone doldrums around 450 miles from Bab el Mandab. Lots of motoring through this stage. Southerlies started once we’d reached around 300 miles from Bab el Mandab. Just variable up to around 6 kts or so to start with but gradually increasing, alternating at first between no wind and headwinds. By the time you get to 16 degrees 45 minutes North latitude you should be seeing ships most of the time.
By the time we were adjacent to Yemen we got a visitor one night. A boat pulled up behind us with no lights except for a faintly visible blue light. After about half an hour Andy put the spotty on him. It was enough to identify it as a Patrol Boat, probably Yemeni. About 5 minutes later they peeled off to starboard and disappeared. We did see another navy boat in the distance one other time.
From about 200 miles to Bab el Mandeb the seas had become rumpled, short and jerky slowing us down as they successively thumped into us. By 120 miles to Bab el Mandeb the headwinds had increased to 20 kts. Seas were rising up to 2 metres, some bigger and all coming from the front. Hard going here and promising to get harder.
The Hanish Group

Anchored in the northern bay of the northernmost island of Jabal Zuqar late in the afternoon to wait for a weather window. A navy boat was anchored over to the western side of the island. Within a couple of hours an army detachment of four Army guys came out on a small fishing boat. Two climbed aboard, a Lieutenant and an interpreter who was better at comprehending English rather than speaking it. They passed a loaded automatic rifle about rather casually between them. All that stood between oblivion and us was a safety catch, an unknown maintenance standard on the weapon and undisciplined, sloppy weapon handling practices. We know it was loaded because at the conclusion of the visit the weapon was uncocked.
These guys don’t seem to understand the problems facing a sailing boat with strong headwinds. Very polite and friendly but it takes some explaining. It may take more explaining about how long you want to stay there. It was obvious to us that the sooner we left the area the happier they’d be. However they were entirely friendly towards us and quite professional in their attitude.
We stayed four days with wind gusts up to 40 kts. We found the long range grib file forecasts only reliable in as far as wind direction. We only relied on the latest grib file i.e. within the next 24 hours only, and even then the wind speed will probably not be correct. However they do provide an indication of relative strengths of winds.
We decided to try and make some ground to the south so moved around to East Bay on Jabal Zuqar 14 deg 01 mins North, 42 deg 48 mins East. There is nothing here except wrecks and a collection of rocks thrown together in the form of what appears to be abandoned huts. Army guys appeared on the foreshore at about 500 metres waving. Given our earlier impressions we thought they were telling us to move on. So we did.
Several shots were fired as we turned away. These were not measured warning shots fired into the air. These shots were definitely fired in our direction. The first one passed in front of the mast between Roger and I and maybe a bit high. I definitely heard the low whip noise that tells you something just zipped by you. I’ve heard the sound many times whilst serving in the Australia Army. The other rounds passed either to the front or rear of the boat. I have made a complete journal entry of this incident should anyone be interested to receive it.
The bottom line is to stay clear of the Hanish Group of islands if seeking shelter from southerly winds.
We spent the rest of that day and night head-butting rough seas and 20 plus kt winds. The next day the motor conked out and the wind dropped right off becalming us. It took quite a while to track down the blockage and when we did, the wind and seas rose again. They lasted until we reached Small Strait at Bab el Mandeb. Never got our northerly as predicted by the SailMail grib file.
From here to Aden be careful of fishermen and their fishing nets. They sometimes only turn their light on at night as you get near them. You’re more likely to see the floats of the net first if you’re running with a steaming light, when you’re almost on top of them. They do use white floats but some are just old dark gray or green plastic oil containers. In Aden we cut away about a half bucket of net and several of those small brown floats from the propeller and rudder.
Aden

Call Aden Port Control when you enter the main shipping channel. We were treated like long lost brothers not seen for the last 20 years. They’ll tell you to call again when you get near the breakwater. Keep heading along the eastern side of the harbour. You’ll pass by a sunken wreck to starboard. You’ll see a distinctive tower clock up on the hill. Below that is a multi story pinkish building and an old brick colonial building on a pier to its right. Anchor just short of the pier. The big building is empty. The brick building is the Port Control Office, (not the Harbour Masters Office). Immigration is also on the Prince of Wales pier around to the left. It’s a little shed of a building. Take photocopies of your documents. Your passports will be taken and you’ll get a little card which you can show to the guards at the front gate in the old brick building. You won’t need a visa if you’re only going to stay within the Aden areas. If you do manage to buy alcohol or tobacco you’ll have to be pretty cagey getting it out to your boat. Decanting white rum into a clear plastic water bottle doesn’t work.
We had a guide named Wal-Id (Wally for short). Found his English not all that good but his enthusiasm more than made up for it. Was a BIG help to us but maybe he’s still fairly new to the “agent” business. Don’t worry about the standard of his beaten up car. It goes all right. Be more concerned at his driving. It’s pretty much the same as the rest of the Yemen population. Abominable. No car over a few years old is without severe dents all over it.
The Harbour Master wasn’t much help with information about current pirate activities. Either he knows or won’t tell, or simply doesn’t know. He says the pirates will “take what they can get” when asked whether they were targeting larger ships as opposed to yachts. Also said they have rifles and RPG’s. Suggest checking with the Coast Guard who might be conducting escorts.
This wasn’t the case. They don’t do escorts per se. They will supply a minimum armed party of 5 to 10 men to travel on your yacht. We were quoted US $10,000. They will supply another boat to pick the men up to return them to Aden.
Pirate Alley

Our biggest concern was fishermen and their nets. As a rule of thumb only, if you stay outside the 30 metre depth line you’ll probably avoid the worst of the nets, but that’s not a solid rule. As you get closer to the eastern end of Yemen and Oman waters you’ll start to see small groups of floats marking a fish trap or pots. We had a mixture of sailing conditions. Usually headwinds at first but once past El Mukalla some of the winds were gusting around 30 to 35 kts. Sometimes the wind would veer around from NE to West in a short space of time and really blow hard. Very uncomfortable night on the last left into Salalah.
Salalah

When you get towards the end of the breakwater call Salalah Port Control on Channel 12. They will ask the usual questions then direct you to proceed into the harbour. Proceed along the main shipping channel keeping to the left channel. There are only about 3 or 4 pairs of red and green flashing channel lights and they can be hard to pick up against the background of lights. Watch your charts. Keep the main container terminal with all the huge cranes on your right. There’ll undoubtedly be large container ships being loaded or offloaded.
Keep going right to the end where there’s a dog-leg area off to the left. It’s sort of like a blind turn until you get near it at night. Turn down there. You’ll anchor at the end over on the right hand side. There’s a rock seawall and a concrete ramp on the right. You’ll probably see some Police boats and maybe a Navy boat down there. Don’t anchor out in the middle. It will obstruct the official boats. Drop your anchor and reverse towards the rock wall on the right hand side and run a rope to a bollard, if you can find one, or tie up around one of the bigger rocks. You’ll have about 2-3 metres under you.
Climb the thousands of steps up the hill to the building at the top. The Harbour Master and Port Control Office is up there. The Port Control Office will give you a stamped form. It’s a long hike to pay your port fees and to get your immigration and customs done. Head off to the right along the road towards the main gate. Just before the main gate and pretty much opposite the quarantine station (see the yellow flag?) is a road leading down to your right. Hike down there. You’ll see a big brick building in the distance. That’s the Administration Building. Around the other side you’ll find a little office on the ground floor with a window to left and right. On the right hand side you can get your Immigration and Customs done. There should be a mixture of Police and civilian workers in there. You may have to wait for the civilian Immigration blokes to decide to come to work. Took about an hour and a half of waiting for us. You can pay your port fees in the office at the top of the stairs just out the front.
The Oasis Club is outside the gate. Turn left and hike up the hill. Wear good hiking shoes. Maybe someone will give you a lift. Otherwise take a water bottle and a cut lunch to get there. They have excellent and clean facilities and a variety of international beers. Food is excellent. You can also get some money changed but at a rate slightly higher than the banks. US$20 will get you 7.2 Oman Rials.
You should be able to get a taxi from outside the front gate if you want one. There’s a big sign nearby which lists the standard taxi fees so you shouldn’t get ripped off – but they will try.
Regarding getting an agent. You don’t need one if you are prepared to bungle around going completely back to front doing everything. Get an agent and make it easier for yourself. Our agent’s name is ... (wait for it) ... Mohammed. If you want to take on water you’ll need the Harbour Masters approval to motor your boat over to the relevant tap. You’ll have to pay for the water by the ton at 1.8 Oman Rials per ton. Quite awkward to get fuel because it’s sold in bulk. You’re not allowed to bring out fuel to your boat in jerry cans. There’s a minimum fee of 50 Rials just to access the fuel dock.
Like we said, talk to Mohammed. You will be able to fill up jerry cans with him.

Andy, Russ and Roger
Jenzminc VI
Australia