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Position Report 33 |
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Date: |
6th January 2008 |
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Location: |
Alongside in Hudaydah, Yemen |
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Message: |
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The latest news it that we hope to be on our way tonight or failing
that tomorrow morning. We are waiting for the diesel for which we
have spent hours trying to organise. This involves dealing with the
Yemen National Petroleum Company and paying the central bank for it.
Now working on the delivery and the final hurdle of getting the
diesel into the port! Otherwise we are fully stocked and ready to go
to Aden. In the mean time you might like to see our recent blog
called:
"The Phoenician Diet Plan"
Now you
may well be thinking about how to shed those extra few pounds that
may have been added over the festive season and seeing in the New
Year. The Phoenicians had their roots in a successful economy,
culture and no doubt diet. Archaeologists will continue to discover
more about the Phoenician’s diet as more and more detailed
excavations are undertaken along the Levant coast. Some things are
already clear however and that includes the significant trade and
use of olive oil, wheat and wine. Coupled with the fertile plains,
water resources and opportunities to trade goods, we can be sure
that the Phoenicians enjoyed a relatively good and healthy diet for
their time. They are after all credited with introducing wine to
Europe for which we should no doubt be grateful.
Diets on board ships have had a mixed press over the ages and it was
not until it was clear that fresh fruit was a critical component of
diet, that the skin disease scurvy was removed from the afflictions
of those who went to sea on voyages of exploration. In today’s
Phoenicia expedition we enjoy a generally good diet. We have plenty
of fresh fruit like bananas, mangoes, apples, limes, oranges,
vegetables such as onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, green peppers,
egg plant, marrow backed up by rice, noodles, pasta and quite a
range of dried beans, lentils and tinned foods. So we are certainly
not starving! Of course the other aspect of our Phoenicia diet is
that it excludes all those things that make you put on weight, such
as too many dairy products, naughty snacks, confectionary, alcohol
and soft drinks. Add this to an active time on deck pulling ropes
and the occasional anchor chain and relatively little sleep and you
have a recipe for losing weight without any difficulty at all. All
of us have lost weight and in some cases this amounts to a stone or
two (14-28 pounds) in just 4-5 months.
So if you are looking for a weight loss programme for the New Year,
then sign up for the Phoenicia diet plan and become a member of the
crew! You do need to have at least an average level of fitness and
be comfortable being at sea, i.e. you do not get sea sick as a
minimum requirement. So if that sounds like you then do have a look
at the crew applications section at:
http://www.phoenicia.org.uk/inspiring-the-crew.htm
So no doubt the Phoenicia’s have a lot to teach us in getting a
balanced diet whilst Phoenicia seems to be providing a weight loss
programme all of its own.
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Position Report 32 |
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Date: |
3rd January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 14º50.14N, Longitude: 42º
56.2E |
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Message: |
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Position: alongside in Hudaydah, Republic of Yemen
Speed: 2 knots
Wind direction and force: SE
No of Crew & Status: 8
Commentary/issues:
We have had a much better last 24 hours and due to lightish winds
and even more modest inshore seas. We managed to economise on
the fuel and still managed speeds of around 3 knots, leaving just a
few litres of diesel to spare before arriving here in Hudaydah,
under our own steam which was a relief. We have now done the port
clearance with immigration and will order as few critical spares,
food and diesel and be on our way to Aden in a couple of days, some
230 miles along the coast.
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Position Report 31 |
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Date: |
2nd January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 15º47.4N, Longitude: 42º
11.98E |
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Message: |
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Course: 170
Speed: 2 knots
Wind direction and force: SE
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 4
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8
Commentary/issues:
We have had a better than expected 24 hours and due to lightish
winds and more modest inshore seas we decided to press on down the
coast. And as a result we covered some 60 miles in that
period. Engine problems have receded for the time being
although we have had two shaft bolts breaking 48 hours but at
nothing like the frequency of the rate at which the smaller bolts
snapped.
Our big issue is whether we will have enough diesel to make it to
Hudaydah. We have some 140 litres left and 70 miles still to
cover. We will certainly get close but it may not be enough.
So we are hoping for calm seas, light westerly winds and kind Yemeni
fishermen.
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Position Report 30 |
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Date: |
1st January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 16º30.7N, Longitude: 41º
28.2E |
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Message: |
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Course: 120
Speed: 2 knots
Wind direction and force: SE
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 4
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8
Commentary/issues:
We have not managed to sail down the coast as expected and
experienced 20-25 knot winds and 1.5 knots of current against us. We
have therefore made little progress other than to use up fuel. We
have therefore decided to anchor at Pearly Gates, just off the Saudi
Yemen boarder, and wait for more moderate weather which we
understand from Reg Hill is due late today or PM Friday. In the
meantime Happy New Year to all. Sadly we were a little too occupied
to celebrate it.
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Position Report 29 |
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Date: |
31st December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 16º50.2 N, Longitude: 41º
14.3E |
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Message: |
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Course: 120
Speed: 2 knots
Wind direction and force: SE
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 4
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8
Commentary/issues:
Have had difficult 24 hours since fixing prop shaft which has
given no further problems. We have had continued problems with the
fuel supply to the engine, which we hopefully have just fixed by
shortening the supply route and cutting out an additional fuel
filter. Also had a problem with the case to the flywheel which has
also now been repaired. As a result have made little progress
in terms of miles covered. Sailing in land to take advantage of
hopefully more moderate seas which are hampering our efforts to get
south.
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Position Report 28 |
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Date: |
30th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 17º005.55 N, Longitude: 41º
15.6E |
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Message: |
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Course: At Anchor
Speed: n/a
Wind direction and force: SE
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 2
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8
Commentary/issues:
Delighted to say we have succeeded in drilling the 12mm hole for
the shaft and now have fitted a 12mm stainless steel bolt. A tense
one hour or so, fortunately the drill bit didn't break and
only jammed from time to time. Had we failed to drill the hole it
would have meant waiting for help from the Saudi authorities some
100 miles away or err sailing back to Port Sudan! So we are all
extremely relieved to have sorted the problem. We are having a quick
well deserved break for an hour or so and we will be on our way by
lunchtime. I will not be doing another report today but thanks to
all for the help given yesterday to contact the Saudi's who were
fine about it. Blog: Leaving Port Sudan in our wake-some
reflections.
If you have been thinking about going for a holiday in Sudan these
last few weeks then don't. Apart from the fact that it involves a
lot of difficulties
the authorities don't really want you to come anyway because some of
them think you will want to go to Darfour!. The Ministry of Tourism
might do many
things but it certainly doesn't promote tourism. So during our two
and half month stay in Port Sudan we never got close to getting a
permit to visit Khartoum for instance, even though our agent made
representations to the authorities for over three weeks. We talked
to the Tourism Ministry who were polite enough but it was all too
difficult for them to arrange because it was up to Immigration and
they had to write to them about our case and we never heard back.
None of them really seem to understand what tourism is about and
only see westerners as an opportunity to make a fast buck. The only
bit of tourism that appears to work well is the small dive industry
that is based in Port Sudan and has access to some of the best reef
diving in the world. There are a handful of dive boats that operate
from the port but it only seems to work because they avoid Khartoum
and the guests fly in from Cairo direct to Port Sudan avoiding visa
and documentation hassles from the capital. So it is fair to
conclude that as far as tourism goes the authorities just don't "get
it", their priorities (rightly or wrongly) are elsewhere, So you can
cross Sudan (and Port Sudon't) off your list as there are a lot
better places to visit. We stayed in Port Sudan for two and half
months as we were not allowed out of the area and apart from one day
pretty much worked and lived on the ship continuously.. So you will
not be surprised that we didn't exactly enjoy the experience.
If you must go then now may be a good time as any it is likely that
Sudan will divide into north and south after the referendum in 2010.
Worse still it could deteriorate into a nasty civil war as the south
are already building up their defence forces, as evidenced by the 30
odd tanks that were aboard the Ukrainian vessel bound for Mombassa
and hijacked by Somali pirates a few months back. It could all go
from bad to worse which would be a pity as many of the ordinary
Sudanese people you meet are kind enough and happy to help. Just
that the day to day circumstances are so difficult that it leads to
corruption and inefficiency. So don't expect to see Sudan heading
any of the positive league tables any time soon - it is just not
going to happen even if they are Africa's largest country.
So it was perhaps not surprising that our attempts to fit a second
hand engine in Phoenicia would prove difficult and so it did. Such
things are rarely done in Port Sudan and certainly not with a wooden
replica ship and certainly not too western standards. Amongst most
proposals was an ulterior motive or simply a cartel was created to
raise the price so that they could jointly share the proceeds and
even when a craftsman with a better price was chosen, he was visited
by the "chosen" craftsmen to attempt to get him to withdraw from the
business.
Agents and intermediaries rarely showed themselves to be independent
from these conflicts although they always claimed such things. And
even when jobs were completed for generous rates the Sudanese have a
well known habit of coming back and asking for more funds. They
always try it on and of course if you don't pay up to some degree
the next time you need them they aren't going to come running, as we
found to our cost in the last few days as we were trying to get away
but needed some alterations made. The guy in question just never
turned up even though he was going to be there in "five minutes" and
then disappeared home "off sick". So we are not going to miss Port
Sudan.
In spite of this we did achieve many things during our stay not
least sorting out the traditional rudders, which were re-arranged by
Sulhan and Suhra. They are now supported by three thwarts and
Spanish winlasses around the two lower thwarts and a peg system on
the upper thwart. They are by general consensus "rock solid" and
will hopefully not cause us any further problems. We have also added
the engine and a carefully concealed central rudder so as not to
detract from the shape of Phoenicia. The central rudder was made
from scrap pieces as was many of the pieces supporting the engine
such as the exhaust, air and gear and clutch controls. So if you
think all these bit and pieces resemble something from Willy
Wonker's chocolate factory you'd be right. The engine pieces
demonstrate African creativity at it best although the central
rudder was made by the crew and in part welded by Niklas.
We have also learnt how to make pine tar from the raw tree resin (by
boiling it for several hours and mixing it with vegetable oil) and
painted the hull of the ship, as well as re - caulking it in the dry
dock and undertaking a coat of anti-fouling. We made a new storm
sail in the form of a gyb but only the crew of Phoenicia would have
employed a partially blind man to sew it together. If the
measurements didn't work out at the first attempt then that was
probably to be expected! It has since proved to be a useful addition
to our capabilities. We also bought some heavier weight anchor chain
and now have two anchors on deck should they be needed and one aft.
At the same time we made three anchor rollers to reduce the friction
of pulling in the anchor chain over the wood gunwale which was
becoming a problem. The sea anchor is also stowed forward and now
has some chain as well as rope and an additional float attached. So
it should work perfectly the next time we have to use it should that
be necessary. And Eric completely rewired the electric bilge pump
leads which means that the Whale pumps are now just managing the
constant ingress of water that permeates Phoenicia's wooden hull.
On the domestic front the crew built two new bunks in the centre of
the ship just forward of the mast. We have also added (I should say
more accurately, that Suhra made) a wooden Zuli- a traditional Arab
toilet that hangs over the port-side bow which doubles up as a "mandi"
(Indonesian for shower/facility). So Phoenicia is looking a little
more traditional in this respect. Below deck a whole new shelving
and storage system has been put in place on the aft starboard side,
as space has become something of an issue with the engine taking the
place of our storage area.
So whilst many things were achieved during our stay in Port Sudan,
our stay was dominated by trying to get the engine fitted and to
work.
The last 48 hours were dominated by discovering new things that
didn't work or hadn't been done as expected such as incorrectly
bolted engine mounts, fuel leaks and pipes and incorrectly made
shaft and gearbox attachments, a cotter pin that broke just as we
were attempting to leave, necessitating another day's delay as did a
worry over the working of the alternator. There was an argument for
saying we should have stayed a couple more days in Port Sudan which
would have included Christmas and had a bigger hole drilled for the
shaft pins and got some larger ones. In the end we could stand it no
longer and got 20 spares of the size specified by the dockyard and
set off on our way. We may yet pay the price for that decision as we
have already gone through about 10 pins as we are having to motor to
confront the south easterly winds now facing us as we are so late in
terms of the wind patterns*. However once we get to Oman we will be
able to pick up the north east trade winds down to Zanzibar we will
be back on track as far as sailing Phoenicia is concerned. In the
meantime we are just trying to get to the Yemen before too many
shaft pins break!
Wishing everyone a successful and peaceful 2009.
*We did pay the price and have had to anchor in Saudi waters to
drill a
larger hole for 12mm steel stock which fortunately we have ample
supplies on board. By the time you read this we will be on our way
again.
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Position Report 27 |
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Date: |
29th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 17º005.55 N, Longitude: 41º
15.6E |
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Message: |
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Course: At Anchor
Speed: n/a
Wind direction and force: SE
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 2
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8
Situation. - We have just made it to our chosen anchorage off the
Saudi coast with two bolts to spare! We have informed the Saudi
Authorities of our request to anchor in their waters and have
approval from Port Jizan.We plan to get a good night's sleep tonight
and attempt to drill the shaft tomorrow morning. If we succeed we
will have a viable solution for getting us on our to Aden. If not we
will make another plan.
Thanks Reg for putting us in touch with RCC Jeddah.
Commentary/issues:
Wishing everyone a successful and peaceful 2009.
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Position Report 26 |
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Date: |
28th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 17º44.6 N, Longitude: 40º
14.4E |
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Message: |
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Course: 130º T
Speed:3.0 knot
Wind direction and force: S 3
Barometer: 999
Sea State: 2
Cloud 33%
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8-all fine
Next Port: Aden possibly Hudaydah
Commentary/issues:
Have continued to break shaft pins and have about 10 left. Have
increased speed this morning in order to have less vibration on the
shaft which we seem to get at lower speeds and so far not broken a
pin but early days yet. Still have an option to drill a bigger hole
and use a stainless steel bolt but there are some risks in that the
drill bit might snap but we may have to give it a go anyway if we
run out of pins.Wind has turned southerly so no help there.Apart
from that all well.
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Position Report 25 |
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Date: |
27th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 18º19.6 N, Longitude: 39º
52.0E |
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Message: |
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Course: 145º T
Speed:1.0 knot
Wind direction and force: SE 3
Barometer: 1000
Sea State: 2
Cloud 25%
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8-all fine -2 sea sick
Next Port: Aden possibly Hudaydah
Commentary/issues:
Steady progress but some issues with engine or more precisely the
number of shaft pins that have sheared off as the ones specified by
the dockyard were clearly too small. We have a number of spares but
going dead slow as we have gone through 4 already. We do as a last
resort have 2m of larger threaded steel (soft ish?) stock on board
that could be used if we drilled a larger hole for it Wind now south
easterly causing some problems as we cannot sail as we would have
liked. Where has that NE wind gone? Email working well again now and
new rudder configuration seems rock solid.
Will make a decision in next day or two about going into Hurdaydah.
Hope you all had a good Xmas.
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Position Report 24 |
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Date: |
26th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 18º39.0 N, Longitude: 39º 03.6
E |
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Message: |
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Course: 070ºT
Speed:0.5 knots
Wind direction and force: E 4
Barometer: 1003
Sea State: 3
Cloud 50%
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8-all fine -2 sea sick
Next Port: Aden possibly Hudaydah??
Commentary/issues:
Steady progress but some issues with engine. Wind now easterly
causing some problems but trying to head easterly with engine at low
speed.
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Position Report 23 |
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Date: |
25th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 19º20.5N, Longitude: 38º 29.3E |
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Message: |
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Course: 130ºT
Speed:3.5 knots
Wind direction and force: N 4
Barometer: 1003
Sea State: 4
Cloud: Full cover
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8, all fine. A few are a little sea sick.
Next Port: Aden - Possibly Hudaydah??
Commentary/issues:
Steady progress but some issues with engine. Shaft pins sheared off
twice and engine stopped. Seemed to restart ok and we have a number
of spare pins/bolts. Fortunately we had cleared reefs and coastline
and decided to continue despite other worries about gearbox. But now
enjoying good sailing conditions and will review engine options in a
day or two.
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Position Report 22 |
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Date: |
23rd December 2008 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 19º36’3N, Longitude: 37º
34’6.E |
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Message: |
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Course: 090ºT
Speed:2 knots
Wind direction and force:N 4
Barometer: 1003
Sea State: 4
Cloud:¾ cover
Visibility: Good
No of Crew & Status: 8-all fine -finding sea legs & a little sea
sick
Next Port: Aden
Commentary/issues:
We left Port Sudan at 1830hrs yesterday and have been motor sailing
into a NE headwind -hence the limited progress of less that 20
miles. Now making 2 knots and will head south once we are clear of
the reefs and coastline. Engine holding up so far. Wishing all a
good Christmas tomorrow. We will be having chicken breasts followed
by ice cream if it hasn’t melted!
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Position Report 21 |
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Date: |
18th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Port Sudan |
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Message: |
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A brief update from Port Sudan.
Since the last blog we have made good
(ish) progress -never fast enough but not bad either.
We have run the engine for 3 hours today and engaged the
prop/shaft/gears etc. Delighted to say there appear to be no major
issues with it. We have a few minor issues like an exhaust leak,
fuel leak, oil leak which will be fixed tomorrow. We will also do a
small engine trial tomorrow and a longer one Saturday before leaving
later Saturday assuming all well with the sea trial. The ship is
ready to sail and we have all supplies (other than fresh fruit and
vegetables which we will pick up last minute) on board. We have started
saying our goodbyes and look forwards to the next passage and the
continuation of the voyage.
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Position Report 20 |
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Date: |
12th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Port Sudan |
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Message: |
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Lost in Translation
One month ago we were moored within fifty metres of the dry dock
lifting cradle waiting to be taken out of the water. Eventually,
after a five day delay that nobody could seem to justify, the staff
here finally oversaw a smooth and relatively eventless lifting of
Phoenicia. So far so good. Once out of the water we were keen to
press on and make up for lost time but our engineer, Mohammad, was
still not finished preparing the engine and we found ourselves
scraping and anti-fouling the hull. As it happened the delays with
the engine did not set us back too much. Ironically this was due to
another delay stemming from a misunderstanding with Abdul Hardie –
our carpenter. Upon removing the lower deck at the aft of the ship
Abdul and his men were faced with the prospect of removing two tons
of steel ballast in order to fit the frame for the engine. We had
understood that this had been part and parcel of the job and that he
had agreed to do it from the word go. Clearly this was not the case
as the carpenters made a swift exit upon sighting what lay beneath
the decking. Maybe it was simply lost in translation at the
beginning, or maybe, out of sheer disgust at the scale of the task,
the term lost in translation became the perfect get-out
clause. Personally I would lean towards the latter option as more
realistic assessment of events. But then I guess I would as the
following day we pushed, pulled and dragged the steel out of the
bilge and off the ship. Sweaty, dirty and unpleasant – yes. Bitter?
Never.
After this our
favourite carpenters returned to fit the frame. The DAF truck
engine, with a modified gear box and external sea water cooling
system, was finally finished and could be craned up and through the
front hatch to the lower crew deck. With what would prove to be a
rare example of forward planning Mohammad then produced a custom
made trolley so the engine could be wheeled through the lower deck,
down through the food storage bins and into the engine room. Things
were shaping up and spirits were high - we had the engine on the
boat and were sure that within a few days Mohammad would bring the
shaft and propeller so that we could progress with aligning and
fitting it. This was not to be the case as apparently; “Yes I
have the shaft and propeller” actually means “Yes I know
where you can buy them - if they have them in stock and if they are
the right size.” Lost in translation again?
After much
persistence from Philip the consequential search for a prop and
shaft did eventually succeed. With Mohammad making progress on the
engine, Eric got underway figuring out the angle at which the shaft
had to exit through the stern post - all the time having to account
for the degree at which the boat was sat in the frame compared to
the boats natural lie within the water. Our carpenters returned to
drill the hole and although it took them seven hours to complete, we
didn’t mind just as long as they got it right. After all, this was a
one shot deal – get it wrong and your left with a pretty obvious
problem. On first assessment it seemed as though they had done a
reasonable job. However, after closer inspection it transpired that
their earlier attempts had resulted in them drilling four smaller
holes right through the stern post – a detail that they had
conveniently forgotten to tell us about!
After this the
carpenters had one more job to complete and we were determined that
they would deliver it on time and to standard. We were in a race
against time to get off the dry dock before the Islamic holiday of
Eid and the closure of the dry dock for 10 days. We needed them to
make and fit a block that would attach onto the keel at the stern to
support the protruding shaft and prop (see picture section). They
informed us that they would make this in their workshop and deliver
it to us at 10am on Friday 5th December – one day before
our Eid deadline! Sensing it was going to be a close run race,
Philip asked me to go to Abdul Hardies workshop for 9am and apply
some gentle pressure. At 8pm that night, after spending 11 hours at
the workshops the carpenters had finally completed the job. Sure
enough, even with our best effects working late into the night, the
delays had cost us our opportunity to go into the water the next
day.
It is worth noting
that our engineer Mohammad, for all his faults, is quite possibly
the most resourceful person any of us have ever encountered. The dry
dock doubles ups as scrap yard/dump and if Mohammad has a problem or
needs to adapt a section of the engine he disappears on a search for
the correct part. This has led to what can only be described as a
mismatch maze of welded metal - beams, bars and pipes protruding
from all direction. Philip makes comparisons of our new engine room
to that of Willy Wonkers chocolate factory – which is not far from
the truth!
Taking a leaf out
of Mohammad’s book it is perhaps prevalent to note that our new
engine rudder and rudder stock are made entirely from bits and
pieces found in the yard!
Undoubtedly we
have encountered many problems in Sudan, however, we also have many
reasons to be positive and enthused about the time we have spent
here. At the beginning of December our new crew - Suhra, Aziz and
Sulhan - joined us from Indonesia. Since arriving they have almost
single-handedly found solutions for our long standing rudder issues.
Moving from task to task with a pace and efficiency none of us can
rival they have completed several key jobs on the boat and are true
assets to the expedition. Eventually the dry dock staff did agree to
a new date to put us back in the water. We are now hoping to sea
trail the engine within the next three days.
Getting to this
stage has only been possible because of the hard work and
determination of the crew. Now, nearing the end of what has been a
testing and incredibly frustrating two months, Phoenicia and its
crew are within touching distance of leaving Port Sudan.
John Bainbridge
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Position Report 19 |
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Date: |
9th December 2008 |
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Location: |
Port Sudan |
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Message: |
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Rats in the kitchen?
Shortly after arriving in Port Sudan we noticed that one or two
pieces of fruit had been knorred at. At first we thought it might
have been that one of the numerous ravens that frequent the harbour
and had got in and had a go at our fruit and vegetable supplies.
This went on for a few days until one night Jev, who was sleeping on
deck, saw a rat scrambling across the ship. Our fears had been
confirmed, we at least had one rat on board, possibly more. And
knowing of the extreme health risk and diseases that rats can carry
it was critical we did something about it. We didn’t want to make
too much of it in case the health authorities put us in quarantine
or locked us away. So we mentioned it to our prospective Sudanese
crew member Gareeb who claimed that there were no rats in Port
Sudan! Not that that seemed likely as we had almost certainly got
our visitor in Port Sudan. And because there were no rats in Port
Sudan he told us you couldn’t get rat poison and if you wanted it,
it had to come from “far away”.
Naturally that took a long time to organise – about five days to be
precise. The night we got the poison Niklas added it to a small
piece of bread and cheese and placed it near to the fruit and
vegetable area taking care to ensure none was easily available, as
our fruit and vegetables generally hangs in plastic-string sacks for
the ventilation. To our delight the next morning the bread had gone
and we haven’t been troubled since. We suspect the rat died in the
bilges as there was an unpleasant spell there a few days later. Now
we have got to know Gareeb better he admits after all that there are
rats in Port Sudan!
More recently we have been on the dry dock where progress has been
painfully slow.
This has been the result of several misunderstandings and a general
laziness that pervades the working culture here. To get anything
done you have to push like mad to get through the bureaucracy of
being in port like Port Sudan. Just getting a simple thing done like
having a gas bottle refilled or exchanged can take 4-5 days. And
even when you think you have organised it, you find out at the 11th
hour that a permit is needed to take it out of the dockyard and that
delays the process by another 2 days. When the tasks are more
complicated like fitting an engine and bringing welding equipment
onto the boat you can imagine the delays and frustrations involved
of co-ordinating between engineers, carpenters, agents and the
dockyard – all of whom operate at various levels of efficiency (or
should that be inefficiency).As a result we have literally lost days
of work due to such problems- hence the reason we are still here. We
have though at least managed to have an old DAF truck engine
converted for marine use and it is now in the ship. We still have to
mount the shaft and propeller and all the controls and pipe work for
the seawater input, exhaust and diesel tanks. That of course won’t
take long!!
The other news here is that the three Indonesia crew members (Aziz,
Sulhan and Suhra) have arrived safely in Port Sudan. It is great to
see Aziz and Sulhan (former shipmates from the Borobudur Ship
Expedition) and to welcome Suhra (a carpenter and sailor from
Bangiwangi in East Java) to the team. Within a couple of hours of
arriving on board Sulhan and Suhra were busy caulking the ship (at
their insistence) and will shortly be making the final repairs to
the rudder housing, giving us a third thwart at the guard rail level
to fully secure the rudders. We were going to add another beam above
the lower (and inadequately sized) thwart but after much agonising
thought better of it. Sulhan summed up the situation saying he
thought it would be “over complicated to try and put such a beam in
and better to put in a new thwart at guard-rail level”. So we are
finally getting closer to having a secure set of rudders to
manoeuvre the ship.
Latest news just in - The ship is off the dry dock as of this
morning (December 9th) and a further update will be issued shortly.
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Position Report 18 |
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Date: |
15th November 2008 |
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Location: |
Port Sudan |
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Message: |
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Frustrating, challenging, difficult
I hesitate to write this next blog but you might as well know what
it is really like here. In short it is very frustrating, challenging
and difficult. We thought we might be here for 15 days and have now
been here a month and have only just made it to the dry dock. As a
result we don’t believe the agent or anybody anymore till it
actually happens. Inevitably the frustration arrives because you can
never rely on any dates, times and assurances about anything, which
includes procedures for travel permits and visas as well as every
thing else. To give you an example, when we arrived a month ago we
were told by the agent that we didn’t need visas to travel to
Khartoum but just a travel permit. And we were also told that our
shore passes would enable us to visit the old Port and town of
Suakin some 50-60 kilometres down the road. Both turned out to be
wrong. You need a visa to go to Khartoum costing $225 and a travel
permit and you have to have a letter giving permission to leave Port
Sudan to go to Suakin. The letter is meant to be available at 24 hrs
notice but when you try to get one in takes several days for it to
be signed and this is just to go to a town just an hour down the
coast. It appears to be all about control and making money. Needless
to say we have spent the best part of a month anchoring in the
harbour at Port Sudan. As mentioned previously it has been difficult
to engage craftsmen to work on the ship without being completely
ripped off-another frustration.
And we have had other challenges too. A few days back we had just
finished our evening meal and has thankfully had just said goodbye
to Hashim from the Red Crescent in Sudan and his family who had
kindly brought us a beautifully cooked meal of stuffed peppers and
tomatoes, various spicy dishes and sauces. Within no time of Hashim
and his family departing, the first storm of the season hit Port
Sudan. To begin with there was a significant increase in wind speed
at which point we removed various items from the deck that might
have been blown a way. Then there a period of quite heavy rain
lashing the decks and despite closing up the cabin as best we could
it was drenched in next to no time.
Worse was to come though. Within about thirty minutes of stronger
winds, torrential rain and bolt lightening all around us, the ship
suddenly took a lurch to starboard and was uncomfortably close to a
neighbouring ship at anchor. We had dragged our anchor badly and
drifted astern and were dangerously close to a large concrete
mooring buoy- two to three meters at best. We tried securing a line
to one of the other concrete mooring buoys on our port side to keep
the ships head from veering to starboard and into the other boat. In
the process of getting the inflatable to the concrete mooring point
the inflatable flipped and Jev went swimming over board (and yes
with the engine was still on, the inflatable vertical but
fortunately John was able to kill the engine before any damage was
caused). Still the line didn’t do what was required. In spite of the
lightening and the associated risks the inflatable was loaded with a
second anchor and chain and laid out as far out as we could. We
tried hauling in the first anchor to reposition it but it was no
use- it was badly snagged somewhere. Fort | | |