We were up with the alarm at sunrise this morning and by 0600 the pilot was onboard and we were underway; the first leg of our Suez Canal transit had begun.

Before we left the Port Suez Yacht Club, though, we hadn’t even castoff the mooring lines, when the marina “manager“ had the audacity to ask for something more; “more money or something small”. He had absolutely no shame and there was simply no end to his begging! Needless to say, he was given his walking papers by Roy in no uncertain terms.

We were last off our mooring, with Sans Peur and Wind Hog the first to depart respectively, but, since we were flying along at 8 to 10 Kts with the current, we ended up overtaking both yachts. This proved to be to our advantage, given the somewhat limited space at the Ismailia Yacht Club for all five yachts to berth side-to.

Regardless, we were delighted to arrive soon after midday and had the afternoon to ourselves, or so we thought. While Elaine decided she wasn’t doing one more thing and went to bed for an afternoon nap, Roy topped up the diesel tanks and dealt with the never-ending trickle of various officials, all wanting something that seemed so superfluous; first it was someone to check our passports, this after we’d already cleared out of Egypt in Port Suez and couldn’t go anywhere anyway, even if we wanted to, since we weren’t allowed to leave the premises of the yacht club and there was no way to actually do so. Then someone wanted a Crew List and had difficulty figuring out where Ireland was, following which another official arrived to clarify our nationality. Another wanted a copy of our Yacht Registration. Last was the yacht “manager “ requiring payment for our one night stay and was surprised to learn we actually had the exact amount $21 USD; no baksheesh this time because of the lack of change! The only important visitor was our agent around 1600, confirming our transit for tomorrow and providing our Port Clearance; there were no warships transiting, so we were scheduled to depart as planned.

As for the transit itself, we had a very polite and respectful pilot, who did a sterling job of steering Paw Paw all morning in the freezing wind, but with Roy sitting with him to keep a watchful eye. We had been pre-warned that some pilots would attempt to crank the engines at full speed, but we weren’t having any of that; 1500RPM was the maximum we allowed. We weren’t in any hurry!

At around 1000 we had reached the first lake, after which the canal split and we were progressing against the southbound traffic. It was definitely a tad disconcerting to be that close to these monstrosities passing us in the opposite direction.

Besides enjoying the “scenery” along the way, Elaine spent her morning playing host to the pilot, so that Roy could remain at the helmstation. This meant cooking a slightly different breakfast to what we would normally eat in order to accommodate the pilot. Fortunately the little old man had helped us with this. So, after an initial coffee first thing, fresh fruit, a small tossed side salad, a warmed pita bread and scrambled eggs, accompanied by fruit juice, went down like a treat. Elaine had definitely excelled by the large smile on the pilot’s face afterwards.

While the men ate in the cockpit, Elaine steered, before preparing her own, far simpler breakfast.

Mid-morning tea was served with the Egyptian rusks. Our pilot left happy with a substantial baksheesh, given how well-mannered and friendly he was.

For whatever reason, we only expected to see vessels transiting the canal, but seeing fishing boats bobbing around in the middle of the canal between the transiting vessels, was definitely not something we expected to see. Additionally, on more than one occasion, we had to slow down a little for the car ferries crossing back and forth. This was obviously in lieu of bridges to connect both sections of Egypt after it was split by the canal.

Lunch was another pleasant surprise when Zehra, off Kandiba, presented us with another delicious meal. We were definitely getting spoilt!

Our day ended with a get-together on the dock with Kandiba and Sans Peur to discuss the latest weather updates and to enjoy a chat over coffee, as well as seeing a beautiful bride and her groom. This was also our first opportunity to enjoy a walk too since leaving Suakin, Sudan, on the 5th March. Our bodies were most grateful!

All in all, it was a pleasant experience, far simpler than our Panama Canal transit, since there were no line-handlers and numerous locks to deal with, not to mention the fact that the transit fees were definitely cheaper than we expected, given Paw Paw’s volume, being a rather beamy, spacious catamaran.

Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to all those mom’s celebrating in the UK, including Elaine’s mom and sister. We hope you all had a wonderful day.