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Monthly Archives: December 2009
A Festive, Possibly Sobering Message
This Christmas day the Vasco Da Gama rally participants and friends had a pontoon party in Hurghada Marina. Around 20 or so people took part in this ‘pot luck’ festive dinner. Liz and I were due to take part in the celebrations, and we did, but not without a hiccup (read a morning spent in the hospital A&E)!
A Very Merry Christmas From Egypt!
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!
You Have Church Bells, We Have Mullahs
Yesterday was Friday, holy day here in Egypt, and there is no mistaking it! All day the town reverberated with the sound of the mullah calling the men to prayer, a sound that is amplified through the many speakers adorning the minarets. Jamie jumped on his bike and recorded a little tour of these sounds, which are quite extraordinary to the western ear.
Followtheboat Now On iTunes!
It’s official: followtheboat podcasts have been accepted by iTunes! If you use Apple iTunes you can now subscribe to our podcasts for free. Just use the search facility in the iTunes Store and type in ‘follow the boat’. Subscribe to the podcasts and set iTunes to automatically download each episode as they come out. Our audio podcasts may be found in the ‘Society & Culture’ section. Even if you don’t use iTunes you can still subscribe to our podcasts. Just follow the link below.
Ellen and Hilary: 21st Century Heroines
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…
Snorkeling With Me Dad
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.
Gulf of Suez Podcast Part 2
This is the second of two 20 minute podcasts recorded as we transited out from the canal and into the Gulf of Suez. If you’ve ever wondered what a Beaufort Force Seven (gusting eight) is like, we can now tell you. We have the underpants to prove it. That cargo ship approaching the side of our boat didn’t help but we made it across from the Sinai back to the west coast of the Red Sea and eventually into Hurghada.
Gulf of Suez Podcast Part 1
This is the first of two 20 minute podcasts recorded as we transited out from the canal and into the Gulf of Suez. We finally leave the evil clutches of the Suez Authority and into open waters where we anchor for the first time in Egypt, have the best sail of our lives…ever… and catch a little fishy.