The Red Sea Trip

Finike, Turkey to Ismailia, Suez Canal, Egypt.

Well I am well and truly on the Vasco da Gama rally now. I left Marmaris with one of my intended crew, Carole, and went straight to a wonderful inland stretch of water known as Kekova Roads to meet up with some of the rally participants before going the final short distance to Finike where the rally starts.

The marina provided two free nights in the marina and a free party with wonderful food where we all had a chance to get to know each other. A local winery provided the wine.

I met up with my other two crew here, a lovely French couple, Francoise and Jean-Jacques. They were leaving there yacht in Finike while away with me. Unfortunately Carole got a sms from her sister in Canada saying her mother was in imminent danger of dying so she had to get back to her home to get some warm cloths suitable for Canada.

Bad weather caused us to delay the departure by one day. We got all the paperwork to exit turkey done in bulk so it was much easier although it is not usually a problem to do.

First stop Port Said, 320 nautical miles straight across and two and a half days. It was all very exciting.

It was a wonderful passage over. We arranged watches with 4 hours on and two off for a sleep at night. Catching up with sleep during the day where only one needed to be on watch.

The skyline of port Said was very low with a silhouette of minaret’s and cranes. Many cargo ships were at anchor waiting to go into the canal.

It is necessary to have a pilot to go anywhere in the canal so a pilot was duly taken on board. It is also necessary to have an agent to organise everything. There are two, the Prince of The Red Sea and Felix. The rally leader had chosen Felix so we radioed him for instructions about procedures. We were the second boat to arrive and were moored stern to in the Arsenal basin which was a secure area with guards. This was very comforting.

The paperwork round started again with having to hand over passports and ships papers for visas and permits. Without a visa you could not go outside the gates. This was eventually all accomplished easily with no problems and we were free.

It takes a few hours to get used to the dirt and then you start to see the real Egyptian people. They are all friendly and welcoming with everyone giving a wave as you pass and all wanting to practice there English. There seems to be two distinct classes. The scruffy workers and the well dressed.  At night the town comes to life with lights, street sellers, food stalls and everyone walking around in there finery. They are very well dressed and the teenagers seem to be able to walk in groups on their own and wear very stylish brightly coloured cloths.

On the Saturday we were asked to dress the yachts overall for a visit by the governor of Port-Said whom we all met.

Between the agent and Port Said authorities we were invited to a banquet with the governor in one of the best hotels. To get there we went by coach complete with a police motor cycle and car and with lights flashing and sirens blaring. As we got out of the coach there was a group of musicians playing to welcome us and who also entertained us in the hotel lobby and again after the meal outside the hotel. It was a really grand affair.

We left Port Said for the canal trip to Ismailia which is a big lake about half way down the canal. We are here for four days with visits to Cairo if wanted. The canal was as expected with desert either side but with army posts every few kilometres. The soldiers all waved as we went passed.

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