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Monthly Archives: November 2009
Ungrateful Suez Canal Pilots
He ripped open the parcel, threw aside the t-shirt, scattered the other goods across the deck and tore open the envelope containing the money. The next half an hour was spent listening to this whinging, ungrateful shit complain about his present.
Bribing The Wrong Person
A very angry Arabic marina manager started shouting in a way that only an angry Arabic-speaking official person can do. The pilot boat had to catch us up in order to drop off our pilot, Moussa, which is Egyptian for Moses. Biblical this man was not…
Who Said Port Said Is Rubbish?
Liz and I then wandered around town taking snaps and racing the ATM machines to get money. Having failed to withdraw cash from these machines in the last couple of days we were told that we had not been using the machines correctly. The trick is to be as quick as possible in pressing the buttons. Procrastinate for a split second and the machine will display a random message like “main server offline”, “unable to process your request” or “no spare cash left in Egypt”. Weird.
Get Me An English Wife
The internet cafe was nothing special but the guy in charge was. He was as camp as a lace doily and so it was with complete disbelief that I found myself in a conversation about finding him an English girl to marry! I am serious, this guy genuinely believed that I could call up an English girl who would be willing to fly over and marry him!
Stop Asking For Presents!
Today is arrival day. Our predicted landfall is 1600 and I’m writing this as we motor across flat calm water towards Port Said, so we’ll see if my ETA is correct. Although we can’t see land the depth is only 20 metres, and we’ve passed a couple of oil rigs and been overtaken by a huge cargo ship. With the hazy sun the entire experience reminds me of the east coast of the UK. On a good day. Instead of familiar Turkish banter the VHF is now choca with angry-sounding Arabic fishermen.
Turkey To Egypt Podcast: Part 2
This is the second 20 minute instalment of our 400nm crossing from Turkey to Egypt. In this episode Liz catches our first official trolled fish, Jamie proves he can’t navigate by the stars, we ride 3m waves and eventually land in Port Said. You can either listen online or you can download the mp3 file to listen to at your convenience. Enjoy!
Turkey To Egypt Podcast: Part 1
We promised you a podcast of our crossing and so here it is: this is the first of two 20 minute podcasts, documenting our 400nm crossing from Turkey to Port Said, Egypt. In this episode we break things and talk about various aspects of navigation and night sailing. This is the perfect podcast for introducing you landlubbers to the wonders of sailing, especially if you have never stepped on board a boat before. Download it to your iPod or notebook, or play it direct via the ‘play’ button. Enjoy!
Ride It Like A Bronco, Baby!
It was 0600 and I was lying in bed, vaguely aware that my body was rising, dropping, sliding and twisting like a corkscrew. Clearly there was some weather going on outside. I slid into my salopettes and stuck my head up through the companionway. There, at the helm, was Liz wearing the same grin I’d left her with the night before.
Drains, Damn Traveller and Dorado!
With these two rather important features broken we were getting a bit tetchy. Our bodies hadn’t adjusted to the night watches and we were still motoring. As the second day aboard came to a close, the entire sky bathed in a dreamy pink as the sun dipped its head, I decided to go for a nap. This was shortly broken by Liz banging on the hatch, shouting something urgent.
Knickers To You
After refueling and stowing all the crap we’ve bought over the last few months, we left Marmaris Bay one last time. ‘Roam II’ were just ahead and behind us were ‘Stormdodger’ and ‘Rhumb Do’. The four of us would make the first part of this journey as our own little flotilla with the aim of meeting up with the Vasco Da Gama rally proper in Port Said, Egypt.
Leaving The Black Hole Of Marmaris
A week ago, when we were supposed to have left for Egypt but couldn’t because of the weather, we were ready to leave. A week later we have a clear window, it’s the night before our departure and I’m running around like a loon, cursing that I need more time. Why the hell didn’t I do an engine check a week before, rather than at the 11th hour when the shops are closing and my electrician is halfway to Istanbul and therefore unable to replace my broken alternator smart charger?