Hello dear friends
We are now about to leave Aden and the Indian Ocean and enter the Red Sea to make our way up to Egypt.
This first major ocean crossing is now well and truly behind us. The fir
st leg from Phuket to Maldives was a dream run with indeed fair winds and following seas; we even managed our maximum miles in 24 hours which is a record of 200 nautical miles in ideal conditions that will be very difficult to repeat. As we came round the Nicobars, in the lee of the islands, we had 15-20 knots on a broad reach and MISCHIEF just took off, surfing at 8-9 knots!!!The Maldives were very peaceful and provided a good rest between ocean crossings. We were very impressed by the good local organisation on the islands: very clean, no corruption and really helpful locals. They are somewhat protective of the locals and we were not allowed ashore after 10.oopm, but the local community did organise a buffet dinner one night (of course, no alcohol, but they did provide fresh coconut juice and tea.
There are no paved roads, but there was no rubbish and the buildings are of a high standard. They were very proud to show us their local schools, health and family centres which were well equipped and very clean – we were all very impressed!!
The crossing to Oman was shorter but took as long as the first crossing as we ran out of wind to begin with. On the last day we then ran into a sand storm, and then flew in to
Salalah, with incredibly poor visibility! We only saw the port properly after three days when the dust storm finally cleared. We could almost build sand castles in our cockpit with the sand that had blown in.Oman was indeed a good surprise and a great introduction into Arabia.
Salalah was very clean, very friendly and helpful people, but very desert! Shopping for provisions was excellent and the fruit and veg were first class. It is obviously a wealthy place with many modern buildings, and the Frankinsence museum outside town was world class.
I have started to write an article on our crossing across pirate waters to Aden for the Fremantle Sailing Club and will send this to you with my next newsletter.
The approach to Aden is very impressive with high mountains and cliffs all around. Aden itself is a very ramshackle town, abit dingy and dirty but with really friendly locals. You can tell that Yemen is very much a poor neighbour to Oman, but we still have been able to find good quality provisions.
We took a bus trip to the ancient capital of Sana’a for four days and flew
back last night. It was certainly worthwhile: This must be one of the most unexpected and incredible experiences of our trip so far. The old city of Sana’a dates from around the 10C. The hotel building we stayed in, Arabia Felix, was 500 years old, and reminded me of the fortifications back in Malta. The architecture was quite unique and the style of the new buildings continues the local architectural theme which is quite attractive and shows that this must have been quite an important Mecca in its days. From Sana’a we took another tour to the outskirts and the outlying towns, some of which are quite historic. Photos will be on our site as soon as we get to somewhere with decent internet.
We are now preparing for our next leg up the Red Sea. We hope to do day hops to anchorages along the south Yemen coast then through Bab al Mandeb, the entrance to the Red Sea, and cross to the east coast and cruise up the Eritrean and Sudanese coasts to Egypt.
That’s it for now from us. Thanks once again for your wonderful emails and messages which keep us going and also keep us in touch with the rest of the world.
