PORT SUEZ
It is lovely to be welcomed by the agent and then tied up safely. We get ourselves organized to check that the rotating arm on the scanner is not just stuck.
The agent is Captain Heebie. He is very helpful and puts us in touch with the Raymarine people in Port Said. There is a yacht tied up on the other side of the jetty which has had a terrible experience. It had engine problems and asked if somebody might give it a tow to Port Suez. The Egyptian navy turned up and towed it instead to Shamel Sheik. This was unnecessary because they could have sailed there. They were then presented with a bill for US$15,000 and told if it was not paid the boat would be impounded.
There is a bad forecast according to Captain Heebie so we will stay until Sunday. We have to get the boat measured to go through the Suez Canal. We are actually pleased to stay put and organize the boat. There is not much to do so we enjoy just being on the boat. The Raymarine people from Port Said (the same ones that came to Hurghada) arrived this evening. Ross has to go up the mast again to the scanner.
This involves some danger because he has to give the Raymarine man the bosun’s chair and ends up standing on the spreader, not tied on, for quite a long time in a cold wind. The fault is in the installation. It is not wired correctly and an earth wire is exposed and makes contact with a metal part in the scanner causing it to short out.
This involves some danger because he has to give the Raymarine man the bosun’s chair and ends up standing on the spreader, not tied on, for quite a long time in a cold wind. The fault is in the installation. It is not wired correctly and an earth wire is exposed and makes contact with a metal part in the scanner causing it to short out.
Phil calls. They have just arrived in Turkey. He says the forecast up through the Mediterranean is good. This is different from what the agent says (all very strange). So we decide to go tomorrow morning. We have to move Impulsive early because of the tide.
We have computer problems in that the 12 volt adaptor is not working. Luckily Captain Heebie has a car going to Cairo and thinks he can find a replacement.
We watch huge cargo ships go past. They are said to pay up to US$1 million to go through the Canal.
The new adaptor arrives at the last minute. The pilot is happy to wait for a few minutes. This makes our departure a little late and so the pilot asks for top speed from Impulsive in order to get past a point in the Canal where the army wants to put a bridge across the river. Luckily we make it before the Canal is blocked.
Chart plotter displaying our route through the Suez Canal
The pilot taking us through the canal
The army´s mobile bridge
The pilot taking us through the canal
The army´s mobile bridge
ISMAILIA
We arrive here at about 5.00 pm. Five years ago it is apparently not worth stopping. The marina is now up to international standard and the city is very attractive. Our pilot helps us tie up (bow to) and then we head into the town. A man we meet in the street generously drives us to the Internet Café. We have success there and then a memorable meal of calamari on a hotplate at Melanie’s. We get back to the boat and Ross checks the belts, only to find that the lug on the main alternator that receives the bolt which goes through the tensioning device for the belts has broken off. Yet another problem to fix.
SUNDAY, 11 MAY 2008
We have an extra day in Ismailia because coalition warships are using the Canal to the exclusion of small boats. We are actually quite pleased because we find Ismailia attractive. We walk about the town. There are wide streets with trees and palms. There is also a pleasant promenade along the canal. In addition, Ross comes up with a solution to the belt tensioning problem which he is quite pleased about. (It survives the subsequent voyage to Cyrprus which he is even more pleased about).
Jury-rigged alternator belt
MONDAY, 12 MAY 2008
The pilot comes on board at 5.45pm and we set off at a good speed with a favourable current. We pass sand dunes, palm trees, bridges, army lookouts and service canal stations. The pilot wants us to call into the stations. We decline. The Red Sea pilot warns that the purpose is likely to be to provide baksheesh opportunity for the friends of the pilot at the station. Baksheesh is a major cultural problem here we think. In fact, we have an unpleasant finale with the pilot who wants to be paid far more than the going rate, claims a further present of cigarettes for the pilot boat that picks him up and claims he needs extra because he will have to return to the stations and supply them with cigarettes.
This all leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The handout mentality so seems so ingrained and pervasive that one is tempted to say that the society has lost any sense of pride.
Port Said is large and busy with cargo ships and ferries everywhere. A number of yachts comes in from the north as we leave. We “pop out” into the Mediterranean Sea. It is actually an unpleasant sea initially. The waves are short and steep and confused and we bang and slap into them. The forecast is off the mark. Making an omelet is a challenge. From midnight on the conditions are more like the forecast and an early morning things have calmed down. We enjoy a good sail and then a shower looking out the porthole to the blue Mediterranean Sea.
Just when it is time to prepare dinner the wind drops off, the swell comes up on the beam and we roll all over the place. But we enjoy dinner watching our first Mediterranean sunset.
We arrive in Larnaca too late to go to the marina, so we anchor just outside. There is only about a quarter of a moon coming in but it is still helpful seeing where to go. It is calm here so we look forward to a good night’s sleep. We sit up and have a glass of Pinot and a plate of cheese to celebrate arriving at Cyprus. It is very exciting to be in the Mediterranean and we are looking forward to our adventures and experiences here.
There are problems in Lebanon and on the way in to Larnaca we hear many radio calls between coalition warships and other boats. Also, there is a constant stream of helicopters flying into and out of Larnaca airport, presumably stocking coalition warships. We discover the next day that there is a problem with refugees being brought into the Larnaca marina. We also discover that reporters are apparently prepared to pay yachties US$10,000 to take them to Lebanon because they can’t otherwise get access to the country.
WEDNESDAY, 14 MAY 2008
After coming into the marina this morning we have a surprise visit from another couple, Jill and David Henry, sailing on their Buizen. We look forward to having a drink on their boat tonight. We end up in a wonderful café full of atmosphere, the art gallery and Café 1900.
We immediately notice the change in dress. For example, the young women walking around in bathers, scantily dressed and we also notice the easy availability of alcohol. This is an expensive place. A cup of coffee/tea, 2 rolls and salad cost US$20. However, there is no baksheesh.
This is a busy marina, short of space partly because a dozen boats in a Levant rally have over-stayed their intended time because of the problems in Lebanon. We move from the outside basin section (which is exposed to the east) and tie up at a pontoon. There is no power or water here but it is more secure. Andreus agrees to come on board and start the generator to keep the fridges going.
The weather has become cooler on the crossing to Cyprus. We needed wind-proof jackets to keep warm (as well as dry). Here we have to get a blanket out for the first time since we left Australia. This makes for good sleeping.
I am interested in an article in the Cyprus paper concerning women in Saudi Arabia beginning to question the limits placed upon them. We have both just read “Infidel” and I am looking forward to the book review discussion on it when we get back to Melbourne.
