Sunny, 24 C, wind NW 10 knots
12/17/2008, Gulf of Aqaba

With piracy reports increasing each month, many boats in the Indian Ocean are reconsidering cruising itineraries and giving the Red Sea a pass this winter. Yet, some boats in the Mediterranean looking for a place to winter will still consider exploring the northern reaches of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. For first time visitors to the area this decision often takes more than a little courage. They will be faced with third world hygiene, coral reefs and vague weather reports. One can easily understand their trepidation. Yet those that do choose to face the challenges are rewarded with quiet anchorages, fantastic snorkeling and diving and the chance to explore some fascinating countries.

Just think in a matter of a couple of hundred sea miles one can tie up at a different marina and explore the Egyptian pyramids, spend Christmas in Jerusalem and visit Dead Sea in Israel or the wander through the spectacular ruins at Petra in Jordan. With a little planning they can have the winter of a lifetime.

Normally these boats leave from either Greece or Turkey in October and sail to Port Said, Egypt. In a matter of a day or two they will leave behind the facilities of western marinas, familiar languages and cultures and brace themselves for their first big hurdle the Suez Canal. While there are good pilot books and fairly up to date information on canal procedures a first transit can be a little mind boggling. So let me get down to some of the unsaid basics.

Baksheesh. Where I come from this is called a bribe and many sailors get downright furious at the outright normalcy of baksheesh in Egypt. Our advice is to be prepared in advance. Egypt is a third world country and poverty is extreme. People who work in the canal are very privileged to have the job, but they still earn less a month than what many westerns earn in a day. Anybody who approaches your boat for even the smallest request, like a bread delivery, will demand baksheesh and you may run into baksheesh outside of the canal too.



Mostly the Egyptians want cocoa cola, Marlboro cigarettes and American dollars, but you can be creative too. Manny and I have a locker that we keep for baksheesh. We toss in cheap baseball caps and T-shirts that we get as free handouts from supermarkets or tool manufacturers. One local skipper carried a dozen cheap baseball caps with him and was the hit of year with canal workers. Other skippers have given cheap individually wrapped chocolates and wafers. Whatever else you carry, you will have to carry American dollars for your pilot. Look for one dollar denominations and carry a wad of them. A bundle of dollars will be more impressive than a ten dollar bill. Prepare your baksheesh in advance. Pre-bag chocolates, cola cans etc for each person. Pre-count your dollars and keep them in your hand moments before the pilot is due to depart. Give baksheesh over at the very last minute or you will be asked for more.

Try to go with the flow. Time takes on a whole new meaning in Egypt and Jordan. Your canal transit may be slowed down by a local holiday that you are totally unprepared for. Big ships will take precedent and any warships passing through the canal will close the canal for up to a day or more. Arrangements you have made by email may go unheeded. Your cruising itinerary needs to be flexible.

While it is a good idea to send an email in advance to your canal agency of choice with ETA and a request for a pilot, you probably won't get a reply. This is true for any emails you will send through your cruise in the Red Sea. It doesn't mean that your email wasn't received, more likely there isn't anybody on hand with the English skills to answer you.

Remember that all vegetables must be bleach washed in Egypt and be careful eating out. Provisioning is possible, but we generally try to stock up well in advance.

Once through the Suez Canal, you enter the Gulf of Suez where strong northerlies are the norm. Chances are you will have an exhilarating run down to the strait of Suez and won't need to anchor along the way. Those that do choose to anchor must remember that they are now in reef strewn waters. Entering an anchorage for the first time at night is not recommended and no matter how good your depth sounder and chart plotter a sharp lookout is important. We know of several boats that have gone aground on coral heads on this passage.

While anchoring in Egypt one faces another challenge. For reasons not made clear, Egyptian authorities cannot seem to agree on anchoring regulations. One week it is permissible to anchor in El Tor and the next you are being chased out as soon as your hook goes down. When you moor at Dahab, sometimes you can go ashore, while at other times this is strictly forbidden. We have learned to always have a plan B and to try and be unobtrusive. Tuck yourself away, not too close to land and keep the noise levels down and often you will be left alone. However, there is one area in Egypt where anchoring is strictly forbidden. Here is a map of the area:
nature reserve

At some point in your cruise, you will be faced with beating straight into headwinds. We know the popular adage, but when sailing the Red Sea you will not have any choice. A good rig and a strong engine is a must. We usually prefer to tack up the Gulf of Aqaba even if this means changing tack every half an hour, but on the Gulf of Suez with oil rigs and heavy ship traffic, we motor sail.

After a heavy beat most sailors are glad to pull into a marina for at least one night. Both Egypt and Jordan have built marina complexes that cater to mega yachts as well as smaller vessels. While these marinas may carry all the amenities, they are pricey. Having said that, these marinas are gaining popularity among sailors looking for a comfortable spot to spend a mild winter. Two such marinas in Egypt are
Abu Tig and further south the developing marina of Port Ghalib

While the winters in the Red Sea are normally windy, sailors who choose to tack north to the Gulf of Suez will be pleasantly surprised by moderate winds and calmer seas. In the past, sailors were required to do clearance at Travco Marina in Sharm El Sheikh but recently the Taba Heights Marina at Ras Hamira has opened and is also a port for clearance. We advise choosing the Taba Heights marina and taking time to visit the Sinai coast of Egypt along the way.

Be aware that from this point anchoring and diving from your boat are strictly forbidden. This is true for the entire Gulf of Aqaba. Moorings are available in Dahab which you can tie off for the night. Dahab has terrific dive sites, so if you do want to dive, try to go ashore to one of the many dive clubs and book a guided dive there. Nueiba, Ras Hamira, the Firord and Pharaoh's Island all have moorings as well but you will not be allowed to stay overnight. Going ashore is only permitted at Pharos Island where a mooring fee is demanded.

If you choose to clear out of Egypt at Taba Heights Marina be sure to email them in advance with your ETA or you can expect a long wait before officials show up. While your email is important, be aware that you most probably won't get a confirmation.

Now you will have a choice. From Taba Heights you can choose to visit either Jordan or Israel. Here too sending an email in advance is a good idea. In Jordan you have the choice of two good marinas. Tala Bay Marina and Resort khabujaber@talabay.jo VHF Channel 16, 88 is a fairly new marina in a development . It offers excellent facilities catering to mega yachts while still welcoming cruising sailors. The Royal Jordan Yacht Club rycj@wanadoo.jo VHF Channel 16, 67 situated in the heart of Aqaba is a moderately priced marina with good facilities and even a travel lift for hauling out smaller yachts



Manny and I visited the Royal Jordan Yacht Club last June and were truly impressed by the warm welcome and lovely atmosphere at the marina. Stay tuned for an update on this marina because you can be sure we'll be back!

Both of these marinas are safe and secure places to leave your boat to travel inland. Petra is a day trip away and all excursions can be arranged at the marina office. Day sails along the coast are possible with several mooring buoys available for a reasonable fee. Fishing and diving from your boat are forbidden. Guided dives may be arranged from one of the dive clubs.

After exploring Egypt and Jordan, cruising sailors are always astonished to arrive in Israel for the first time. Suddenly you are whisked away from the east and firmly planted in the west...sort of. Eilat's marina offers berthing for visiting yachts with electric and potable water at the dock. Shower and toilet facilities are poor. Let it just be said that we choose to use our onboard facilities. Laundromats are close by as well as good supermarkets. Marine supplies may be available in town or can be ordered from Tel Aviv. Diving and fishing from your boat are permissible in Israeli waters. Several moorings are available along the Israeli coast and it is permissible to overnight on the moorings although during the busy tourist season you may be asked to share the mooring with a charter boat.

Often cruising boats that come down to the Red Sea for the winter stay longer than intended. One such couple is Christine and Cornelius on Gymnos Nixe who have spent the last four or five years cruising around the Gulf of Aqaba. As teachers they enjoy several good vacations throughout the year which they use to stay on Gymnos Nixe and slowly explore all the region has to offer. Cornelius says it is the fantastic diving coupled with year round sailing that keeps them here.

Whatever the reason, the northern reaches of the Red Sea are an increasingly popular cruising destination.



Whether you are on the water or armchair cruising this winter, we wish you a wonderful holiday season. May this be a time of peace, joy and goodwill to all people.
Robyn and Manny

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Sunny, 30 C wind NW 12 knots
11/09/2008, Gulf of Aqaba

I first arrived in Eilat in October and every year at this time I am reminded why I chose to stay. October is the month when the summer heat finally abates and the cool fall breezes blow. Local holiday crowds start to thin and here and there we begin to hear other languages as the winter tourist season sets in. Within weeks the town takes on a whole new personality.

October also is a month for passage making on the Red Sea. Some yachts that have spent the summer months in the Mediterranean now head towards the warmer winter climate and cheaper marinas of Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Others begin a slow meander down the Red Sea in October taking time to gunk hole along the way with plans to reach the Indian Ocean in spring. Sometimes a boat will come through that is actually on its way back north. One such boat sailed into Eilat this week with Yaron, her proud new owner on his way back to Ashkelon marina in Israel to do a refit.



All of these sailors have many challenges before them, but surely the one that that has received much publicity of late is piracy. While piracy only affects yachts transiting the lower reaches of the Red Sea, lately we have been contacted by a few yachts planning passages in the region. They have posed questions about piracy, weather and general passage planning. While I would like to make it clear up front that Manny and I are not experts on the subject by any stretch of the imagination and that we have no personal experience of transiting Bab el Mandeb, we are living and sailing in the region of the Red Sea and therefore privy to ongoing reports from yachts who have made the transit and to local news on the subject. For sailors choosing to stay in the northern reaches of the Red Sea we both have transited the Suez Canal, and sailed in the area, so we can speak to that experience personally.

In that light, I am dedicating the next two month's blogs to posting whatever information and links we have on the subject.

Many people seem confused about exactly where the piracy is taking place. I have read more than one post on a major sailing forum that refers to the Red Sea in general as being a dangerous place. Actually the piracy is concentrated in a relatively small area at the very bottom of the Red Sea where it meets the Indian Ocean. This map provided by UNOSAT shows the positions of piracy attacks in the first half of the year 2008.



For a look at the map in PDF format go to the UNOSAT website
here

Boats choosing to sail in the northern reaches of the Red Sea along the coasts of Egypt, Jordan and Israel will be quite removed from this region and need not be concerned with piracy.

Between the boats that will choose to sail through the Red Sea on their way to the Indian Ocean some will choose to join the Vasco da Gamma Yatch Rally. This is a non profit rally for cruisers that leaves Turkey and sails via the Red Sea to India every two years. This year rally organizer Lo Brust is also arranging a rally that will leave India and head back north to Turkey, thereby helping out cruisers making the north bound passage. In December 2005, the first Vasco da Gamma Yacht Rally came through the Eilat marina. We had a chance to meet Lo personally and to chat with many of rally members. Later we followed several members' passages by email and through their blogs. From everything we have seen and heard we feel that this rally is a good choice for cruisers. It offers the opportunity to safely sail the Red Sea in company and avoid piracy, while still allowing time and space for getting away on your own.

You can read for yourself about past rallies or collect information about passages through Bab el Mandeb and current rallies on their website here

Sailors wishing to travel on their own might be well advised to keep a good eye on Noonsite
This site was started by Jimmy Cornell and is now managed by The World Cruising Club. They offer regular updates to piracy in the area as well as general information and news from the countries bordering the Red Sea. Noonsite also offers a Red Sea page where cruisers heading this way and looking to team up with other boats can post a message.



Over the last few years, we have seen more boats choosing to explore to the northern reaches of the Red Sea. Those coming from the Mediterranean will be faced with some adjustments as they enter an area of poor or non existent weather reports. Getting a good reliable weather report on the Red Sea is almost impossible. While several internet sites do give reports, it is our experience that they are often wrong. This is due to a lack of accurate data collection in most countries along the Red Sea. Both The Red Sea Pilot by Stephen Davies and Elaine Morgan and Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes are good books for general weather advice.

We have found sea conditions to be very local. On one passage up the Gulf of Suez we battled forty knots of wind, while only 350 kilometers away in Eilat the sea was flat calm. During winter, weather systems seem to pass through this area very quickly. Winds and sea conditions can change without much warning and sailors are advised to heed local advice. Perhaps the best weather advice we ever received was to prepare for lots of wind and to be pleasantly surprised when you don't get it. Adversely, some of our nicest sailing on the Red Sea is done during the winter months. The summer calms and intense heat are gone and we often have anchorages to ourselves.

Boats equipped with SSB radios may be able to tune into cruiser nets or pick up weather information from sailors further south. Noonsite generally gives a yearly update as to who is running a weather net during the popular months for a northbound transit (February/ March/ April).

Next blog, I'll be giving tips and information on transiting the Suez Canal and exploring the Red Sea coastlines of Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

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09/30/2008, Gulf of Aqaba

Now that summer is over we are exchanging summer news with family and friends. Everyone is asking us what we have been up to and inevitably "Why aren't you sailing?". We patiently explain that replacing a diesel engine in a sail boat is no small task, especially when you live aboard.

Projects on boats are never simple. So, when it came to replacing our diesel engine, Manny had a plan. As he had already begun to take apart the Ruggerini, why not save ourselves a few hundred dollars on a crane and haul the engine out ourselves? Of course this idea required some minor engineering. A metal stand which would serve as a temporary engine rest had to be welded and fitted in place at the bottom of the companionway. Angles and weight loads needed to be checked for the viability of using the main sheet tackle to lift the old engine out. Then a cart had to be found that could wait dockside for the engine to be lowered onto. Finally Manny had to wait for high tide as our marina berth isn't on a floating dock.

My job in the plan was to prepare access in Yofy's main cabin. Within days I had disassembled all our creature comforts and stripped Yofy's main cabin down to bare walls. Along the way, I rummaged through lockers tossing aside anything we hadn't used for a couple of years. Everything else was wedged in the forward cabin and covered with an old sheet against grease.



Once the temporary engine stand was in place, Manny got to work stripping everything he could off the engine to reduce as much weight as possible. Then he jacked up the Ruggerini and pulled it forward on to the stand. There it stood for a week or more while he found someone with a pickup who could help truck the engine and its parts to a new temporary home.

Around this time we got a call that our new Nanni engine was arriving in Eilat and Manny quickly welded together a cart for it. Along came Shlomi a neighbouring skipper with his pickup and within two days both engines were sitting in our friend Amnon's shop. Now Manny could have a good look at the Ruggerini and begin to fit a new transmission for the Nanni.

One day he came home with pictures and the news that our old Ruggerini actually had a broken crank shaft. It was past repair and we would have to sell it for scrap metal. On hearing this, my first thoughts were how fortunate we were that we never headed south on the Red Sea with our old engine. As often as Eilat feels like the outback, it is still much better to replace an engine here than in some far off Egyptian village.

THE BROKEN CRANKSHAFT


Back aboard Yofy, we took the opportunity to give our engine compartment a thorough cleaning. Along the way, Manny found an electric junction box that would need moving and began to think about installing an air conditioner. This would be a once in a lifetime chance to get to all those corners that will become inaccessible once the new engine is installed.

Throughout the month, we shuffled back and forth between Yofy, our temporary land based accommodation and work. Inevitably whatever we needed had been left at the last place. A simple enquiry such as "Have you seen my keys?" or "Where did you put the eggs?" was bound to set off a display of exaggerated eye rolling and more than once Manny hopped into the car, to drive back to wherever and pick up some forgotten item.

Then last week, I got a call. Even before he said hello I knew who it was. "I STARTED the engine! And it runs like a dream - so quiet! ". .

THE NEW NANNI DIESEL


This year the holy days of Ramadan and the Jewish New Year both fall in the month of September. May we wish all our friends and neighbours in the region Shana Tova and Ramadan Mubarak. May many good new things come to us this year and may we all live in peace.

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