We had an even earlier start this morning . In fact, we were woken up before our alarm went off at 0515; our pilot was clearly eager to get going for the day. By 0530, we’d cast off the dock and we were leaving Ismailia in the distance, with Sans Peur, Kandiba and La Maria in hot pursuit.
We had the canal all to ourselves for a brief period before we encountered the southbound traffic and, at one point, it was a rather tight squeeze with four vessels abreast; a tug, a cargo ship, a yacht and a fishing boat.
Everything was progressing well, though, until we received a VHF radio call from Sans Peur explaining that Kandiba had engine problems. After a few WhatsApp messages it was confirmed to be a fouled propeller, which appeared to have been resolved. Regardless, our agent, Captain Heebi informed us that, under no circumstances were we allowed to stop or wait for Kandiba to check their propeller in the waiting area. With that, we had no choice, but to continue on. However, a little while later we heard from Kandiba that they did not think it was necessary to stop in the waiting area after all and would be continuing on as planned.
Our transit today was another day of unexpected sights; this time a very impressive bridge, two-way car ferries criss-crossing us at various intervals and a train running along the west bank.
The unpleasant surprise of the day ended up being the pilot, to the extent that Elaine lost her temper; a rare event these days. Although Captain Heebi had indicated that $25USD was a sufficient amount of baksheesh, we concluded that this pilot was also deserving of a bit extra. So, after providing a substantial increase over the suggested amount, given his apparent friendliness and appreciation for our hospitality, including steering Paw Paw all morning, he then had the cheek to ask for more. When Roy came into the saloon to inform Elaine of this request, her reaction was one of complete disbelief and told Roy to tell him that she’ll take the lot of him and give him only the $25USD suggested by the agent. She was furious that we’d been slapped in the face for our kindness and generosity. Roy, of course, being far more diplomatic, didn’t relay that message, but simply told him he was not going to receive anymore money. He pushed Roy a second time, telling Roy that he wanted $10USD to give to the pilot boat. With this latest insistence, although, at this point Roy decided not to reveal the full extent of the conversation to Elaine, knowing better, Elaine was now spitting mad and the agent was informed.
To say Captain Heebi was exasperated, was an understatement, apologising profusely and vowing to call the pilot’s manager, as this was considered unacceptable behaviour. A few minutes later the pilot received a phone call from his manager, resulting in the pilot apologising and wanting to return the money. What we hadn’t realised at that point, was the pilot had been ordered to return the money and Elaine was then only supposed to give him $25USD as a lesson. We didn’t do this of course, since she’d received the message too late and, after all, a gift was a gift. It was, however, all too little too late; the damage had been done and Elaine requested that he be removed from Paw Paw immediately, a request that was granted within a few minutes. It definitely was a good job the pilot boat arrived when it did, because Roy then revealed the full conversation associated with the second demand; one which essentially amounted to nothing less than a threat. The pilot had told Roy that if he didn’t get the extra $10USD, “the pilot boat will scratch your boat”.
Needless to say, that didn’t happen and, by the panic in his face when he received the phone call from his manager, it was apparent he risked loosing his job, but at the very least, he would no longer be piloting for transiting yachts.
This was the second individual within 24 hours that had to be told in no uncertain terms, that they were getting not one penny more. The entire experience has left us with such a bad taste in our mouths, concluding that the vast majority of this nation suffers from pleonexia and certainly put a damper on our visit to Egypt after being shown such kindness in Port Suez.
That said, though, research revealed that the Suez Canal divides Africa and Asia and serves as a trade route between Europe and Asia. Construction of the canal took place from 1859 to 1869 and officially opened on 17th November 1869. It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez, a total length of 193.30 Km / 120.11 miles, including its northern and southern access channels. Seawater flows freely through it, where the water north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer, and south of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.
Although European shareholders, mostly British and French, owned the concessionary company which operated the canal until July 1956, it was nationalised by the Egyptian government; an event which led to the Suez Crisis of October–November 1956. However, under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag."
After Egypt closed the Suez canal at the beginning of the Six-Day War on 5th June 1967, the canal remained closed for eight years, reopening on 5th June 1975, following which the Egyptian government launched a construction project in 2014 to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass to speed up the canal's transit time. The expansion was opened in a ceremony on 6 August 2015, but officially opened for use in 2016.
Tonight we soldier on to our next port of call, which we hope will be in Turkey. However, the Mediterranean Sea, thus far, has just been an extension of the terrible conditions we had in the Red Sea as we pound to weather. The only difference being is that we’re sailing, not motoring. This was, however, not what we expected based on the forecasts. Oh surprise, surprise! And it was most certainly not what we wanted after two very long days getting through the Suez Canal, but onward we go!
