The Red Sea
After relaxing in Aden it was time to tackle the infamous Red Sea with its' tanker traffic, headwinds, boat breaking waves and the pirates. I was most concerned about the pirates in the first half of this 1200 mile trip and asked the harbor master in Aden which would be the preferred route. He advised me not to go near or stop at the Haddissh Islands since they were "military bases" and therefore off limits. I thanked him for the information already knowing that these islands were dangerous but not from the military. Most of the country was a military base and this area was no different but there had been many reports of pirates operating from this area and while he didn't want to admit that his country had a pirate problem he still wanted me to stay clear and hence his warning. Actually, I didn't want to get close to any island since the military, trying to fight boredom, had been reported to fire on passing boats for fun.
The first leg to Bab el Mandeb (The Gates of Hell) went very quickly with calm seas and little wind so we motor sailed and arrived 6 hours ahead of schedule which put us there in darkness, not what I had planned. The area in addition to high winds and heavy tanker traffic through a small strait also had whirlpools which could easily throw a small boat off course and into danger on either side and I preferred to make the passage in the daylight. Our luck held as there were few other ships and the moderate wind was from the South, a rare occurrence but a good one. The south wind held for several days giving us a very nice sail to Suakin, Sudan, our first stop. The old town which has a history dating back 6000 years was constantly being destroyed and subsequent towns built on top from its' rubble. The present town dates back 400 years is deserted and crumbling. The new town is right next to it and is a mixture of crumbling stone buildings and board shacks with burlap windows, most have no roofs since it seldom rains. The people were friendly and would always greet us since we were the only westerners they had seen in a while. Some of the younger boys spoke English which they learn in school; the girls as in most Mid East countries were seldom seen and never spoken too. The area had a large market which sold everything and had camels, goats and chickens roaming everywhere. This had to be one of the more interesting areas on earth and we spent six days resting and enjoying the local color. It is impossible to describe all the sights and experiences that I encountered. It will easily fill the book which I will start soon.
The Southerly winds were just a pleasant memory and we were faced with the North winds and head seas the area is famous for. The next stop was the roadside community of Marsa Alam. This town had less than Suakin but the bay provided good shelter and a three day rest. Little was purchased since there was nothing to buy.. We were now in Egypt, past the area of pirate activity and making progress. After leaving Marsa Alam and four days of constant bashing it was time to look for another stop to rest and re fuel, El Tur was in a perfect spot. This turned out to be one of the more talked about stays of the trip even though it was only three days. This is probably because we were "forcibly detained" under armed guard since we had broken some law by coming into town to clear customs, it's a long story, wait for the book. The last stop was at Telemet Egypt, a town of 20-30 buildings with no walls, doors or people. When or why it was inhabited and subsequently deserted I have no idea. We didn't even go ashore, just did some minor repairs on the boat, took a nap, had a good dinner and re fueled from the extra containers we carried on board. Leaving in early evening we hoped the wind would be a little lighter for the final push up the Gulf of Suez to our destination, the city of Suez. The wind was moderate but continued to diminish and by midnight it was gone and so were the seas; an unexpected but very welcome change. We made such good progress with the flat seas that we arrived in Suez about 5AM, very thankful to be done with the Red Sea.
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