When the wind completely died down last night, it brought with it seas so flat we didn’t even feel like we were moving as Paw Paw glided through the water. Additionally, the temperatures dropped so significantly we were forced to haul out our blankets and close the saloon doors in order to stay warm during our early morning watches. We hadn’t felt that kind of cold since our New Zealand to Fiji passage in 2017; talk about going from one extreme to the next in every which way!
We also knew we’d reached the congestion area of the Suez Canal traffic with the constant chatter on the VHF radio, including hearing calls made to Talulah Ruby III and Golden Spirit, who were a good few miles in front of us by then.
By 0400 we started our turn to port with our COG (Course Over Ground) set for Soma Bay. We had four hours to go on what was one of our most uncomfortable passages, which seemed endless, never mind the amount of diesel we’d burnt through.
By 0830 we were delighted to be anchored off the myriad of resorts lining the coast. While on the morning net chatting to Talulah Ruby III and Golden Spirit, Kandiba (Hasan and Zehra) came over the horizon and anchored to our stern; at least we still had company.
Then while Elaine went for her morning nap, after notifying our shore contacts, the UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation) and the MSCHOA (Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa) of our safe arrival, Roy started the watermaker, replaced the oil and filters on both engines, started polishing the diesel in the jerry cans, filled the diesel tanks, stowed all the sheets and, for good measure, baked bread! The man had gone mad!
When Elaine surfaced after a fitful nap, she discovered we were surrounded by holidaymakers out on the water kitesurfing, windsurfing and dinghy sailing, causing the poor lifeguards to fly around in their dinghies to tow people back to shore, as the forecast winds started to pick up.
On the evening net we could hardly hear Michael off Golden Spirit or Paul off Talulah Ruby III, which was a tad sad, since we had wanted to say our goodbyes, albeit over the radio, after realising we wouldn’t be seeing either yacht again. Had we known prior to departing Suakin, Sudan, we definitely would have said our goodbyes then, but such is the transient nature of the cruising lifestyle. Who knows when our paths may cross again; hopefully as unexpectedly as they did for this passage, something we remain very grateful for and wish both yachts a safe onward journey, especially given the howling 20-25 Kts of wind we experienced here in a protected anchorage last night.
Regardless, since we’re not clearing into Egypt and, therefore, not permitted to go ashore, we are thoroughly enjoying our rest; we have the perfect weather to just stay in bed! Simply having a break for a few days from all the sailing to weather, or rather motoring, will be R&R enough for us before completing the last 200NM to Port Suez!
Today has basically been a repeat of yesterday in terms of the weather; bright, sunny skies, but, although the wind eventually abated during the night to between 10 - 15 Kts and by midday was trying to get below 10 Kts, we still had the residual short, steep waves, keeping our speed at a crawl, averaging 3.9 to 4.5 Kts; painful and extremely tiring to say the least. We both definitely needed a break from all of this and the engines certainly did too.
The good news is that we’re still on track to reach Soma Bay as planned and, being in contact with Mai Tai (Kay and Lane), as well as Dr No (Erik), two yachts ahead of us, but whose crew we have never met in person, has been extremely helpful in providing details of various anchorages they have used and will definitely allow us to day hop to Port Suez after Soma Bay, thereby avoiding the scenario we’ve endured for the few days of bashing to weather and crawling along at a snail’s pace.
The morning and evening nets with Talulah Ruby III, Golden Spirit and Kandiba are also still a pleasant source of “company” as we all soldier on.
By this afternoon, we had a favourable current again and enjoyed a SOG (Speed Over Ground) above 5 Kts; definitely a cause for celebrations! We’ll take what we can get!
By tonight, we were “flying”, or so it seemed, enjoying a SOG of 6.2 Kts; it wasn’t just the both of us that was looking forward to our arrival, Paw Paw was too!
It was another very dark night, although the waxing gibbous shone for Roy’s first watch before setting and daybreak arrived a little earlier than yesterday during Elaine’s second watch, albeit by a few minutes.
We also spent most of the night in our own company and expect to do so for the remainder of this delivery passage to Europe, given that we haven’t seen Golden Spirit since they pressed on at speed soon after we all departed Suakin, Sudan, on Saturday and we may have seen the last of Talulah Ruby III too as they disappeared over the horizon to our starboard side last night, given that both yachts are now attempting to make Port Suez directly. As for us, we are still hoping to skip Port Ghalib and make it to Soma Bay as planned and, although our SOG (Speed Over Ground) had dropped significantly this morning to around 5.2 to 5.5 Kts, due to a counter current and winds on the nose, we were still on track to meet our objective.
That was until lunchtime, when, out of the blue, the wind speed increased to 20-25 Kts, churning up the sea and creating short, steep waves, leaving us to crawl along at 3.4 to 3.8 Kts. Unfortunately we were also transiting an area known as Foul Bay and, although Port Berenice and Ras Banas would be safe havens, yachts are not permitted to stop in either of these anchorages due to an Egyptian military presence. That meant soldiering on whether we liked it or not.
Of course, none of this was in any of the forecasts, so we have no idea how long it will last. Fortunately, by late evening the winds had started to subside, the current had become more advantageous and our SOG had increased to 5.4 Kts putting us back on track for our arrival in Soma Bay as planned, although the waves still made for a very uncomfortable night.
Regardless, we would like to wish our son, Keenan, and friends Justine and Perii a very Happy Birthday. Also to Paul, having forgot to mention his birthday a few days ago. We hope you all had a fabulous day.
Overnight the wind became more favourable to motor-sail, which definitely improved our VMG (Velocity Made Good), enjoying an average SOG (Speed Over Ground) of 6.7 Kts. Additionally, with the wind speed having dropped to around 8 to 10 Kts, making the seastate far more comfortable, the conditions of this passage had certainly improved.
A clear, moonless, starry night gave way to a bright, sunny day and, fortunately, after a pitch black night, dawn broke early at around 0500. At least we could then see what was in front of us without having to constantly check the radar; always a tad disconcerting, never mind the fact that, being our first night at sea again, we both struggled through our watches. Needless to say, most of the day was spent catching up on lost sleep.
Feeling a bit more refreshed after her morning nap, Elaine hand-washed a few items, since doing laundry in Suakin would have resulted in a rather muddy mess, given the amount of dust that had landed on Paw Paw. It is absolutely everywhere, even in the bilges and it’s caked on to every leading edge on her; hatches, stanchions, halyards, sheets, portholes, windows, nets, etc. It’s going to take a month of Sundays to clean Paw Paw; the joys of sailing through deserts!
As we progressed northwards, we started to hear the cargo ships on the VHF radio again before we started to see them; not surprising, though, given our course. What was a surprise was seeing a yacht sailing passed us, heading south.
As the day progressed, the winds turned more southerly and increased in strength, affording us the opportunity to enjoy a SOG in excess of 7 Kts for the afternoon and well into the night. Tonight we also crossed into Egypt, evident, not only by our position, but by the incessant chatter in Arabic on Channel 16, the general hauling and emergency channel on the VHF radio.
We also received lovely news from “home”. Congratulations to our eldest grandson, William, on his academic award for exceptional grades. The apple indeed doesn’t fall far from the tree!
After a good night’s sleep we were both up early to enjoy a cooked breakfast and get the final activities completed for our departure. This included Roy popping to the fresh market to get a few things, then collecting our clearance documentation from the agent. By 1100 we had weighed anchored and had made our way back out the narrow channel with Golden Spirit and Talulah Ruby III not far behind.
Unfortunately, when we first chose our departure date, the forecast had indicated the northerly winds would abate to below 10 Kts by yesterday afternoon, but, by this morning, they were still a stiff breeze at 10 to 15 Kts, making for a very uncomfortable start to our passage to Soma Bay in Egypt. It was also not a good start in that we crawled along at 4.7 Kts, pounding into wind and waves with both engines on, a double reefed mainsail and a triple reefed headsail; the latter to help give us some lift.
We’d already calculated that our average SOG (Speed Over Ground) had to be 5.2 Kts for this passage in order to make Soma Bay before the next band of strong northerly winds arrived. With this start, we were already behind, but, by the time we exited the inside channel at Port Sudan, the winds had dropped, the sea had started to settle and we’d made up our lost time, enjoying an average SOG of around 5.7 Kts.
Tonight, in deeper waters and expecting to intersect the shipping lane early tomorrow, we continue northwards.
As we mentioned in our blog yesterday, we enjoyed a trip ashore soon after we were cleared in to Suakin, Sudan, and what an amazing treat it was. Today we returned again, but this time to explore Suakin Island, were the “old city” was first built before being extended over the causeway. Both outings had us shaking our heads in wonderment, but it was a real shame that these beautiful coral-stone buildings, apparently garnished in seashells during their hay day, were not preserved or indeed that the area has never been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site, given the incredible history of this city. We were, however, pleasantly surprised to learn that restoration work has commenced through private foreign investment, evident in some of the buildings we saw today.
Suakin was first mentioned by name in the 10th century by al-Hamdani, who indicated it was already an ancient town at that time. Starting out as a small Beja settlement, it began to expand after the abandonment of the port of Badi to the south. The Crusade and Mongol invasions are believed to have driven more trade into the region, supported by a number of references to Venetian merchants residing in Suakin as early as the 14th century and the city was considered the height of medieval luxury on the Red Sea. Looking at the “old city” today, although in ruins now, it was easy to imagine just how beautiful it must have been.
As we wondered through the streets, we encountered the carpenter and his shop, the sandal maker, the sabre sword craftsman, the various shop keepers, the charcoal maker, the tailor, the greengrocer, the water delivery service by donkey, the baker; all we needed was the candlestick maker.
As Roy indicated, apart from the evidence of plastic and cardboard lying around in some areas, one would never have known we were wondering through this city in the 21st century. It truly felt like we had been transported back to biblical times.
Today’s outing was just as special as yesterday, since, being a Friday and a non-work day, we encounter people out enjoying their weekend, in particular, a lovely group of ladies, who invited us all to join them for their picnic lunch. Not wanting to be rude, we declined gracefully, but “the boys” off Talulah Ruby III were well settled into the warmth of the welcome when we returned to Paw Paw for an early night.
A most fascinating destination and we trust the photographs provide a sense of what we have had the privilege of seeing during this short stopover.
After worming our way through all the scattered reefs on our approach to Suakin, Sudan, the darkness of the night gave way to an overcast, dull morning and, although we were only 5NM from the Sudanese coastline, we couldn’t see land at all.
Fortunately as we approached the entrance to the harbour the low cloud burnt off, revealing a bright sunny day and the sight before us was nothing like we’d ever seen before. Besides the exposed reefs everywhere, the landscape was completely devoid of any greenery; just flat desert sand as far as the eye could see, with the exception of the usual sights of a harbour and fishermen to greet us. The best was yet to come, though. As we motored further down the channel, the ruins of the historic city came into view.
While Djibouti was definitely the worst destination we’ve ever stopped at, Suakin is definitely the most fascinating - it was like going back to biblical times, literally, and the people were so friendly, shy, but very sweet really.
With Talulah Ruby III and Golden Spirit of Islay following close behind us, we entered the very protected anchorage and had dropped anchor by 0830 local time, having gained an hour with another timezone change.
Thankfully too, since we were both exhausted, the officialdom process was more efficient than any of the French islands we visited in the Caribbean, not to mention, the most professional and friendly service we had ever experience; impeccable actually, and by 1100 we were cleared in, diesel had been arranged, we had our SIM cards and everything was paid for, including our clearing out fees, with shore passes and $100 of local currency to be collected from shore in the afternoon.
Then, while listening to the sounds of children’s laughter, all swimming not far from Paw Paw, Elaine returned to her nap, which had been interrupted by the arrival of the officials. Roy was definitely more energetic, removing the mainsheet, washing it and replacing the broken block, before re-installing the sheet. Next up was the repairs to the lazy-jack, which had chafed against the main halyard, unsecured in a hasty lowering of the sail during the night.
By the afternoon we had enjoyed a lovely walk around this fascinating city to stretch our legs, Elaine’s first in weeks, following which our diesel had been delivered.
After dinner onboard, Roy enjoyed drinks on Talulah Ruby III on Elaine’s urging, while she rested and enjoyed some time to herself; heaven! Roy had no sooner returned, though, when the strong northerly winds arrived on cue. We were definitely glad to be tucked away in this secure anchorage, as the winds reached 25 to 30 Kts; the sole reason for stopping in Suakin, but we’re glad we did!
It’s fair to say, though, this entire experience has been surreal. It was over a cup of coffee that Roy stated: “Never in all my life did I think I would be having a coffee in Sudan!”.
