I’d been warned that the Sudanese do not like having their photograph taken and wandering around this battered old town with my massive Canon lens attached to my expensive camera certainly raised some eyebrows.
Welcome To The Culture Shock – Suakin, Sudan Read Post »
Sudan is the gem of Africa and the Sudanese people are as beautiful as the land they inhabit.
Photographing Port Sudan Read Post »
Can you think of the best day of your life? You’ve probably got a few, or perhaps you hadn’t given it much thought. It’s rare that a day happens and then lie in bed on the same evening concluding that it must be one of the best days of your life, but that’s what happened today. Today goes down as one of the most idyllic, perfect days I have ever experienced.
Best Day of Your Life? Read Post »
We’d spent the last week holed up in Luli and although good deeds were done it was time to get the hell out of Dodge and go discover some Sudanese nature. What better place than Marob?
I won’t bore you with the sail to this wonderful marsa but the log book does mention that we caught a 3kg tuna, saw lots of dolphins and sighted a strange, unidentifiable flashing object. One night sail later and we were quickly approaching a very tricky entrance to Marob via many hidden reefs. No wonder this coast is littered with wrecks.
This last week has been dramatic to say the least. You’ll find out more in the coming weeks when the podcasts and photographs of our progress are published. Bear in mind we now have to be mindful of what we make public knowledge and what we hold back, so there will be a delay in what we report on. In the meantime we’ve been sitting out some nasty southerlies in this safe little anchorage and yesterday we had some fun. Our tender, which is a British-built Tinker, doubles up as a sailing dinghy so Cillian of ‘Cobble’ and myself put a bit of effort into rigging her up and taking her for her maiden sail! Is this the first ever Tinker to sail in the Red Sea? Maybe, maybe not, but what is impressive is that I’ve successfully managed to upload a video clip of said maiden voyage. Listen out for the gay Egyptian soundtrack!
First Tinker To Sail The Red Sea? Read Post »
One of the greatest things about being in the Red Sea is, of course, the snorkeling and diving. Imagine, then, having the freedom to sail to a suitable location, drop the hook, hop in the dinghy, pick a dive spot and drop over the side with your gear on, ready for a dive! Of course this helps if you have Graham of ‘Eeyore’ with you. He’s a qualified dive master and a passion for diving that is matched only by his passion for sailing and making the best mango chutney this side of Africa. We were also joined by Mick, who was out visiting Pat and Tony on ‘Full Flight’. Mick kindly donated some underwater pictures for you…
Scuba Diving And Snorkeling In The Red Sea Read Post »
To all our friends, family and readers who continue to followtheboat, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2010. We kinda pine for the snow you guys are having back in the UK but then shorts and t-shirts for Christmas day is appealing too!
A Very Merry Christmas From Egypt! Read Post »
Until I was 33 I never had any heroes. I’ll admit I did idolise The Six Million Dollar Man when I was seven, but that was because he looked like my dad, or so I thought. Apart from The Bionic Man I was never one for hero-worship.
In 2003 I set sail across The Bay of Biscay. I began the journey armed with horror stories of this treacherous sea and so to ease my way across this 300 mile stretch of water I began reading Ellen MacArthur’s autobiography, “Taking On The World”. Reading about the fastest woman ever to circumnavigate the globe, on her own, whilst I motored across what turned out to be a flat calm mill-pond made for very inspirational reading…
Ellen and Hilary: 21st Century Heroines Read Post »
the fact that there were some wonderful memories taking Dad snorkeling in the Red Sea is a bonus! This was a simple downwind sail of around 12 miles due south of Hurghada, a case of dropping the hook and spending a very memorable few days at anchor.
Snorkeling With Me Dad Read Post »
Riding waves between three to four metres high, passing under the boat from right to left, watching them roll on down hill…
Passing Over To The Other Side – Red Sea Cruising Read Post »
After a great sail we found ourselves in a little natural harbour and, as a reward for conning us in to the tricky entrance, we invited ourselves on board Roam II to finish off the tuna. I diced it and Terry and Liz knocked up a real treat using a secret, magic ingredient of ginger and…well, I can’t tell you otherwise it wouldn’t be a secret, magic ingredient. Believe me though, it was the best tuna dinner and satisfied six very hungry tums. Millie still had a head and a tail to work her way through too.
Cruising Chute Chaos Read Post »
This is a quickie, just a new photograph we received of Esper under sail with cruising chute, running downwind along the Sinai, Red Sea. Just look at those deep, rich red mountains! A stunning photograph, even if I say so myself!
Best Photo of Esper…Ever! Read Post »
Well, bloody well! Our best sail yet. In the world. Ever.
A cursory glance at the log book gives it away:
On this trip we learned a very important lesson: that the best bit of equipment on the boat is ones eyes. Twice we were passed by local fishing vessels that did not appear on the AIS system, something that we had almost started taking for granted. Whilst they passed we were also navigating our way past coral on our starboard side (we were sailing in just 10m of water) and oil platforms on our port. The scary thing is that this was just a taster of what is to come. I’ve just planned our passage for tomorrow and it takes us into an oilfield. This oilfield…
Our First Anchorage In The Red Sea! Read Post »
