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Position Report 98 |
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Date: |
27th January 2010 |
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Location: |
Richards Bay, South Africa - We have
arrived! |
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Message: |
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Position Report 97 |
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Date: |
27th January 2010 |
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Location: |
28.31.3 South.32.37.3 East (at midday
local time) |
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Message: |
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At noon today we were some 25 miles north east of Richards Bay and
hope to make landfall before sunset this evening. Overnight we made
slightly slower progress than we would have liked and chalked up 79
miles over the previous 24 hours. We are now in the Agulhas Current
(6 miles offshore) and reaching speeds of nearly 5 knots. We are
very much looking forward to spending some time with our hosts at
the Zululand Yacht Club,
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Position Report 96 |
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Date: |
25th January 2010 |
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Location: |
26.28.4South and 034.37.9 East |
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Message: |
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Phoenicia blog written by new crew member Steph Edwards:
Since we left Beira it has been interesting to watch how the crew
members and their habits change from port to sea, and the experience
quickly becomes an exercise in getting along and adapting to new
circumstances, particularly as the watch system kicks in and the
ship takes us far away from our usual daily comforts. With 11 of us
we currently operate a two watch system (0200-0800, 0800-1200,
1200-1600, 1600-2000, 2000-0200). The two watches consist of: Sulhan,
Aziz, Yuri, Vera and Atsuko; and Dirman, Niklas, Alice, Daniel and
Steph. It's pretty hot so in reality most of the daytime becomes an
operation in seeking shade, and like lying beasts we revolve around
the ship with the sun, occasionally being forced to seek solace in
our bunks below deck despite this being the sweatiest place to
reside. And so the setting of the sun in the late afternoon signals
shower time and the queue begins, and you can expect a loud tutting
from Yuri's direction if he is kept waiting too long. Showers bring
their own set of peculiarities, especially for the girls - modesty,
an overhanging toilet, a rolling ship, an audience and possible
lurking cameras make for an interesting experience.
With only one brief downpour so far the iPods have been out in force
and Dirman can often be spotted disco dancing his way around the
deck as the on-duty watch turn up the funk, Sulhan usually shaking
his head in bewilderment. Then we are blessed with several hours of
pleasant temperature to relax before dinner, and if it's a Saturday
or a Wednesday then this is accompanied by some drinks and chocolate
of happy hour, which is always well received. It's incredible to see
the effect that rationed chocolate has on a group of people living
largely (now we're into the second week) off rice and noodles.
Things quieten down after dinner as half the crew are off to bed to
catch some zzzz before the late watch, but the night time brings its
own pleasure of helming a quiet ship under sail in the moonlight.
Unless you are on watch with Aziz, who likes to talk all the way
through his watch (a journalist by trade he enjoys a good debate),
or Yuri when he brings out his recorder, or Alice who will get the
party started if she is awake. Occasionally the aroma of fish head
soup wafts through the boards as the nocturnal Sulhan heats himself
up a midnight snack. Atsuko, who used to work for Apple, may well
now be regretting bringing her iPhone, as a clear night means we
reach straight for the star spotting app and she has to play Tech
Support most of the night as we continually fail to get it to work.
The cooking and cleaning rota ('mother watch', as we know it) takes
one person from each watch per day and sometimes turns up some
interesting partnerships. I seem to be ingraining the habit of
afternoon tea in the rest of the crew - there is often baking, bread
or popcorn to keep us going until dinner. Pudding is also on the
rise. Yuri is the resident bread baker and has kindly shared his
secrets with the rest of us so we have a regular supply of fresh
bread on board, although we once discovered accidentally that frying
flour does not work well for this purpose. Vera is an excellent
producer of sweets and confectionary, I've discovered a fairly
boat-proof banana muffin recipe, and Daniel is the experimental
'let's throw stuff in a pan' cook whose attempts always miraculously
taste great. Niklas reliably turns out a good 'Swedish potato
surprise' at most mealtimes, Aziz continually threatens us with
boiled water but actually does great things with noodles. Alice, who
has trouble sleeping during the day, has been known to cook for 14
hours solid whilst on mother watch, producing a vast array of dishes
and a lot of washing up for her poor partner Sulhan! So far on this
leg we have had one catch of the day - a tasty tuna - and with this
Atsuko actually managed to convert several of the crew to fish head
soup, which is no mean feat as several have been spotted running
away from the Indonesian version. And Daniel has been converted to
Marmite. Philip is exempt from mother watch except in emergencies
but you can expect a raised eyebrow if you cook something not to his
liking.
It's now our tenth day at sea on this leg and all bets are on as to
when we will arrive, with the winner(s) receiving ice cream from the
losers, although there will inevitably be some disagreement over how
the days been counted and how much ice cream was specified!
Currently it looks like Dirman and Daniel are the ones most likely
to enjoy high blood sugar levels and tooth decay in Richard's Bay.
Steph
PS We have just covered some 97 miles over the last 24 hours and are
now some 200 miles from Richards Bay.
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Position Report 95 |
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Date: |
24th January 2010 |
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Location: |
25.06.8South 35.42.4 East |
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Message: |
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We have made much better progress since hitting the Mozambique
current and made some 93 miles over the last 24 hours, our best run
to date on this leg towards Richards Bay. Overnight we were fairly
fortunate with the wind which was easterly and enabled us to keep in
the current. As we rounded the headland just south of Ponta da Barra
and before Maputo, the seas became a little bigger, with some waves
of about 5-6 meters, and more confused. As a result the boat tended
to lurch about and at times there was some violent flapping of the
sail. As as result during the night 5 seams at the foot of the sail
split open. Fortunately the linen itself didn't tear but we have
spent much of the morning repairing the sail undersail- which has
meant anchoring it with various ropes whilst stitches are applied to
the offending parts. Each stitch is an operation in itself as the
linen canvass is so thick that pliers are needed to pull needle and
thread through the canvass. Each seem took about 30 minutes to an
hour to mend. We have also tightened the stays that support the mast
in anticipation of of stronger winds tonight. Hopefully the sail
will hold up in such conditions.
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Position Report 94 |
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Date: |
23rd January 2010 |
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Location: |
23.34.1South 36.06.4 East |
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Message: |
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Last evening we finally hit the current that we have been looking
for and found it some 30 miles off the coast. We are now managing
speeds of around 4 knots. And since noon yesterday we have made 73.8
miles- a welcome change from the pedestrian progress of the last
week. The icing on the cake will come later this evening (assuming
we can stay in the current) when the forecast winds are set to back
to the north east and strengthen to around 15 knots tomorrow evening
-which should give us some better sailing and faster progress. In
the meantime we have been making a few repairs as we go and this
morning we caught a nice 5 kg tuna that made a very good lunch.
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Position Report 93 |
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Date: |
22nd January 2010 |
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Location: |
22.22.9S 35.54.2E |
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Message: |
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We have had a slightly frustrating 24 hours and have only made
limited progress-less than 25 miles!. Whilst we had made reasonable
progress during the day, the 15-20 knot south easterly wind last
night meant we had no choice but to reverse course and retrace our
track to the north, as we had no wish to close closer to the coast.
Fortunately the stronger winds only lasted for about 6 hours and
shortly after midnight we were able to reverse our course and head
south east again in search of the Mozambique Current. We are still
hoping to meet up with the dhow from Sailaway later today.
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Position Report 92 |
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Date: |
21st January 2010 |
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Location: |
21.58.8S, 35.57.2E |
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Message: |
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Blog day 5
We have made slightly better progress over the last 24 hrs and
managed to cover some 47.23 miles. Needless to say it is a slow
going slog down the coast , particularly when the current remains
elusive and we face a south easterly wind most of the time. We have
now closed the gap to the coast and are now some 24 miles north east
of Vilankulo. The forecast winds are light and variable-so it is
almost anybody's guess as to how low we will take towards Richard's
Bay. Tomorrow we hope to rendezvous with the Dhow from Sailaway,
assuming everything needed falls into place.
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Position Report 91 |
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Date: |
20th January 2010 |
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Location: |
21.12.2S, 36.29.6E |
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Message: |
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Blog Day 4.
We continue to make slow progress in light winds. We are now heading
south and still searching for the elusive Mozambique Current. As we
start to close with the coast further south (we are some 70 miles
off the coast now) we should pick it up sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile the weather remains good although we have a southerly
winds forecast for tomorrow which will not help us. Hopefully by
then we will have the current with us.
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Position Report 90 |
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Date: |
19th January 2010 |
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Location: |
20.43.0S, 36.29.2E |
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Message: |
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Blog Day 3.
We haven't managed to locate the current yet and as there is a light
easterly wind we have decided to head south and pick the current up
a little further down the coast. We are making between one and two
knots as we head due south, some 90 miles off the coast, and managed
just 29 miles over the last 24 hours. We have our best purple and
white main sail hoisted (as opposed to our number 2 working sail) as
we hope to meet the team from Sailaway
(www.sailaway.co.za) in their Arab dhow as we pass Vilankulo for
a bit of a photo shoot of Phoenicia under sail. However at the
present rate of progress that is a day or so away.
We have had a one or two happenings over the last couple of days.
First, during the middle of the night our starboard anchor, which
was rigged for easy release in the channel for leaving Beira and had
not been re-stowed for sea, made a bid for freedom. Luckily Yuri
managed to stop the full length of it disappearing overboard (its
end was secured in any event) and after 20 minutes of all hands
pulling it in, the 20 meters of chain and additional cable was
recovered. That was an interesting wake up call at 1am in the
morning! Also yesterday evening one of the crew went flying into the
Viking Life raft as they left the helm and the ship unexpectedly
lurched from one side to another. They sustained a bloody nose, a
slight cut above the lip and were slight concussed. There were
several first aiders on hand and the person concerned and apart from
injured pride has already made a good recovery from the shock of
being hurled into the life raft!
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Position Report 89 |
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Date: |
18th January 2010 |
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Location: |
20.27.15S, 36.01.4E |
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Message: |
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We have continued to make moderate progress out of Sofala Bay,
having managed just 31 miles over the last 24 hours. Needless to say
we have not hit the Mozambique current yet and it may be that it is
much further out as it crosses the shortest point across the Bay.
And although the wind is not exactly to our liking it could be a lot
worse (even stronger and mixed with rain clouds)), so we are
grateful for the spell of good weather.
The highlight of yesterday was Steph baking some delicious banana
muffins which made a nice tea time treat. We have one or two crew
members feeling slightly sea sick or with stomach complaints-
nothing too serious but just a bit uncomfortable for those concerned
even though there is plenty of Ibuprofen being handed around. We are
eagerly awaiting the point at which we find the current and can head
south. For now it is a game of heading East to find the current
hopefully it will not be too much longer now!
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Position Report 87 |
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Date: |
17th January 2010 |
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Location: |
20.22.9S 35.30.4E |
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Message: |
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We are experiencing fine hot weather at the moment and we have
continued to make slow and unspectacular progress across the Bay of
Sofala.
We have experienced light south easterly winds for most of the time,
although we did have a period of easterly winds, when we were able
to make better progress towards the South. Right now we are
concentrating on getting as far East as possible so that we can pick
up the Mozambique current (some 40-50 miles off the coast) as early
as possible. However it is a slow process as by way of reference we
have made just 32.6 miles over the last 24 hours to noon local time.
We have some 10-20 miles to go to reach the current, assuming it is
where most people believe it to be.
Our position at 0001 hrs was 20.13.8S 35.9.8E
And our noon (GMT+2hrs) position today was 20.22.9S 35.30.4E |
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Position Report 86 |
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Date: |
16th January 2010 |
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Location: |
19.59.2S and 35 08.5E. |
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Message: |
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We left Beira this morning at 5 am and headed down the long channel
into the Bay of Sofala. As at 1200 hrs GMT we were at position
19.59.2S and 35 08.5E. We are making very slow progress as we are
against a southerly head wind and therefore it may take a day or so
to get us to the current that will eventually help to take us south.
Until then we are clearly going to have a challenging time and that
is not including the rest of the 700 or so miles towards Richards
Bay.
We would like to thank all those who have helped us in Beira
including Ermelindo and Marca, Faisal, Jack, the Beira Port
Authority Dino Braimo, Martin, the team at Ciriol. Appologies to
anyone we have missed off this initial list. We have very much
enjoyed leaning more about Mozambique.-a truly fascinating country.
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Position Report 85 |
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Date: |
7th January 2010 |
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Location: |
Port Beira |
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Message: |
Negotiating the tides in Port Beira |
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We are busy preparing for our departure
from Beira which will hopefully be within the next 48 hours. See
below a selection of photographs titled "Up and down in the mud!"
Click on photographs for enlarged image (opens in new window)
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Position Report 84 |
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Date: |
3rd January 2010 |
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Location: |
Port Beira |
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Message: |
Arrival Blog |
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After almost exactly two weeks at sea we have arrived at the port of
Beira, Mozambique. During the approaches to Beira we caught two more
fish, a tuna and another fish that we don't know the English name
for but it is also found in Indonesia!
We spend the early morning of yesterday getting to the start of the
12 mile long channel to the port of Beira. Timing is everything when
entering Beira because there are strong tidal flows of up to 6
knots, as the tidal range at the port is 6 meters or about 21 feet.
Thus entering the channel when it is in flood and well before high
tide is critical. The passage along the channel is complicated
further by the fact that the sand bars frequently move and the buoys
marking the channel are moved to correspond with that reality, thus
rendering the charts and chart plotter information inaccurate and to
be treated with caution. After 3 hours of navigating the channel
which is only 100 meters wide for much of it length and a few
anxious moments along the way, we were finally able to anchor
opposite the small craft harbour at the port at 1430 hrs local time.
Later today (Sunday) we will be given a berth inside the harbour and
will move the ship there.
Thanks to Vera Sanada who will be joining the crew from Beira and
who arrived here earlier last week, entry formalities were extremely
efficient and we had an excellent reception. Phoenicia has already
been in the local newspaper here - the locals delighted we choose to
come to Beira rather than Maputu, and indeed to visit Mozambique at
all. Today the Mayor of Beira is due to visit the ship and two TV
stations are due to film her. It looks like it is going to be a busy
few days before we depart towards the end of the week. In the
meantime many thanks form all the messages of support that were sent
in over Christmas and the New Year. Happy and Prosperous New Year
2010 to All.
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Position Report 83 |
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Date: |
31st December 2009 |
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Location: |
18.59.6S 36.42E |
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Message: |
Blog from Captain Philip Beale |
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We have made slower progress since our last blog, just 55 miles over
the 24 hrs to midday local time here.This has been as a result of
the predicted southerly winds as mentioned in the last blog. Last
night the winds were much stronger than hitherto and threw the boat
about quite wildly at times as the waves hit our beam and
occasionally the bow. Fortunately having gone further offshore we
have avoided the worst of the problems but have nevertheless been
pushed north to within 20 miles of the coast. As we make our way
down the coast we are almost headed into the wind and managing to do
just 1.5 knots. Alas we no longer have the current with us as it
cuts across the bay on a more direct route south- which we plan to
rejoin when we leave Beira for Richards Bay and South Africa next
week. At the present time we are opposite the delta of the mighty
Zambeze river that has its source in Zambia and runs across much of
Mozambique. We still have over 100 miles to go before we reach Beira.
Just after the last blog was written we caught a large dorado of
about 15lbs (our first catch since leaving Mayotte), which was
quickly followed by another yesterday evening of about the same
size. Keith enjoyed filleting the latter and we had a delicious and
well spices fish meal yesterday evening. Tonight at 2 hours before
GMT we will see in the New Year. Wishing everyone a happy and
prosperous New Year. We will be thinking of you.
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Position Report 82 |
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Date: |
29th December 2009 |
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Location: |
018° 08.731S, 038° 04.539E |
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Message: |
Blog from Captain Philip Beale |
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We trust all our friends, family and supporters are enjoying the
festive season and looking forward to the New Year. Conditions have
improved here since Christmas day and we seem to have escaped these
last two days with out too much rain. Dirman has repaired a hole in
the stern and much less water is filling our bilges, so sailing is
less troublesome. And on top of that we have enjoyed some good
cooking and bread making. Alas though we have caught no fish which
is a disappointment. We see plenty swimming around the ship but our
attempts to catch them have been fruitless. Still on boxing day we
enjoyed the chocolates that Yarmila and Nadav gave us in Mayotte- it
was nice to experience a taste of luxury amongst the hardship of
being Phoenician sailors-thank you.
As you may have seen from the Yellowbrick tracker, we have
successfully made it across to the other side of the Mozambique
Channel and are now enjoying the current that runs south down the
Mozambique coast and progressing at between 4-5 knots. We have been
sailing about 25 miles off the coast and are now heading out a
little further in order to continue to benefit from the current as
it diverges from the coast as we near the bay around Beira- now just
250 miles away.
We are also heading further offshore to give us more sea room as we
expect some southerly winds tomorrow and we don't want to be trapped
on a lee shore with nowhere to run to except the rocky cliffs to our
north. The current and fair winds have enabled us to do a hundred
miles over the last 24 hours and we hope such progress will
continue. We have been having some lively discussions about the
influence of the moon on the winds as well as the tides. We are not
all convinced about any influence the moon may have on the winds
(even if only tropical winds) but it is an interesting debate that
centres around practical experience versus what some of us thought
was accepted wisdom on these things. Do doubt the discussion will
continue for some time yet.
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Position Report 82 |
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Date: |
26th December 2009 |
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Location: |
015° 33.500S, 041° 42.032E |
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Message: |
Blog from Captain Philip Beale |
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Christmas on board Phoenicia was an almost surreal experience. On
the one one hand lots of cheerfulness, many varied plates of good
food for dinner and various treats during the day. This was
moderated by the pretty foul weather which meant we took it in turns
for someone to take the helm (whilst the rest of us stayed in the
cabin) and endure an hour or so of being drenched by the very heavy
rain. We have also had some problems with the large amounts of water
collecting in the bilges and getting rid of it. For now we are
managing to keep on top of it with various pumps and contraptions
but it is a constant battle.
The good news was that yesterday the wind was in the right direction
and at times we were making between 3-4 knots, although that didn't
last very long as over the 24 hours to midday today we made just
over 50 miles. Still that was a significant improvement on recent
days, where we have been making between 20 and 30 miles. Alas we are
still some 45 miles off the south flowing Mozambique current (which
ranges between 1-4 knots). however at present we are only able to
hold a course to the south (the wind being from the North West) - so
it will be a while before we get to the current and further towards
Beira. Only the optimists would forecast New Year's Eve in Beira.
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Position Report 81 |
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Date: |
24th December 2009 |
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Location: |
014° 04.939S, 042° 44.376E |
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Message: |
Christmas Blog |
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We have had a fairly wet and frustrating 24 hours, having
experienced numerous rainy squalls, grey and dark skies, winds in
all sorts of directions and have made just 21 miles over the last 24
hours. Part of the problem we perceive is the north east flowing
current in the middle of the Mozambique channel which makes it
challenging to sail to the west. So at times the best we have been
able to do it is sail north and hope for better winds to get us the
90 miles to the west for the south flowing current which should be
about 20-30 miles off the Mozambique coast. We had hoped to reach it
by tomorrow, Christmas day, but that looks unlikely now.
On that note we are preparing for our second Christmas day at sea on
the expedition, as last year we had just left Port Sudan as we were
so eager to get away. No doubt we will have a good meal tomorrow as
well as a few of the goodies we have on board. We would like to wish
all of Phoenicia's friends, supporters and sponsors festive
greetings and a very happy and prosperous 2010. We will be thinking
of you all tomorrow.
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Position Report 80 |
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Date: |
23rd December 2009 |
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Location: |
014° 18.059S, 043° 09.396E |
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Message: |
Blog from Captain Philip Beale |
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We left Mayotte a little later than
originally planned due to a few technical issues that had to be
fixed before we left. We finally departed on Sunday afternoon and
made the south eastern passage through Mayotte's reef at about 8 pm
on Sunday evening. The timing was good as we benefited from the
falling tide when the lagoon empties into the Indian Ocean and
current enabled us to achieve some 4.5 knots through the Passe
Brandrele. We then cleared the reef by about 6 miles before raising
the main sail and heading south west down the Mozambique Channel.
Since then we have spent the last two days crabbing our way across
the channel with winds being light and varied.
We have experienced quite a lot of
thunder and rain showers-the boat has become very wet and deck has
leaked rather a lot. At times the living accommodation below deck
has been more like the water fountain at Piccadilly Circus that the
dry area it is supposed to be and much of the crew's clothing and
bedding is sopping wet. No doubt it will appear on deck to dry out
as soon as a bright spell emerges. The main cabin area is also
suffering, books and papers have become damp from the dripping roof
and electric wires drip with water, so we daren't touch them. But
our main navigational aids such as the Raymarine equipment remains
well protected and functions normally. We have become a little
concerned at the possibility of lightening striking the ship, as
electrical storms and lightening appear frequently throughout the
night in this region, and so we have wired up accordingly. And that
is probably one thing the Phoenicians didn't worry about.
We are doing our best to cross the channel as quickly as possible to
get to the western side where the Mozambique current runs south at
between 1-4 knots between October and February according to the
Admiralty Sailing Directions. With the light and variable winds and
making on average just two knots, we expect to reach the Mozambique
Current by Christmas day. Until then we are braced for more squalls
and lightening as we make our way across.
The new member of crew (Alice, Daniel, Keith, Steph and Nick) are
settling in well and there is a good spirit on board. We are making
plans to celebrate Christmas day at sea and possibly the New Year-
depending of course on the winds and how strong the current is.
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Position Report 79 |
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Date: |
20th December 2009 |
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Location: |
Sailing to Beira: 013° 29.578S, 044°
22.223E |
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Message: |
Day 1 at sea Mayotte - Beira,
Mozambique. |
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We are now out at sea again after a
exiting week on the island Mayotte. The new crew arrived shortly
after our arrival to the island and we got time to know them before
we set sail heading towards Mozambique. The winds are very light but
we are reflecting on a very good and interesting visit to Mayotte,
which is technically French but is both African and Islamic but
ethnically and culturally linked (but not legally) to the three
other Comoros islands.
In short is is a complicated set up and full of contradictions.
During the week we had time to explore the Island and we'd also
spent some time on the beach or at the yacht club playing
table-tennis and having long cold freshwater showers. The
temperature is around 30 something here, so Mayotte was like an
oasis to us where we could relax in the heat having soft drinks or
beers. After a long leg without "proper food" we also explored the
islands offering and I think we tried every ice-cream place there is
around here.
My best memory of this Island would be the day we spend at the
volcanic crater beach, swimming with turtles and snorkelling at the
reef outside. Absolutely amazing.
This week have been like heaven to us after 46 days at sea though
Philip had a bit of a struggle getting the returning Omani crew
visas for their flight home. And just two nights before we left
Mayotte we got our dingy stolen even though 8 crewmembers slept on
deck next to it. But that couldn't get us down and we all worked
very hard to get the last provisions aboard with other methods. We
also got some help from some local French people we met here and
became friends with.
We specially want to thank:
Nicholas Duchein for showing us the island and the help with several
dinghy rides.
Nicolas and Manu for help with shopping, car, visas, immigration
Rafael - selling his dinghy to us.
Michelle for the use of his dinghy
Pierre for the last minute dinghy ride with our provisions.
Dr Nadav and his wife- for sailing and other advice Dr Domique for
checking our medical box and taking care of our captain.
All all at the Pamanzi Bay Yacht Club for their help and the Port
Captain and anyone we may have inadvertently missed from this list.
Rudolf and Patricia - especially for there help on the last day.
/Niklas
Photos at the top of blog
1.Mayotte's turtles at play.
2.Beautiful Mayotte with Phoenicia in foreground at anchor.
3.Phoenicia at anchor (below)
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Position Report 78 |
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Date: |
10th December 2009 |
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Location: |
Mayotte, Comoros Islands |
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Message: |
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We have had an interesting 48 hours with many mixed emotions.
Yesterday the wind died on us and we made just 70 miles towards
Mayotte and we wondered just how long it would take us to make
landfall. The early this morning the winds were fresh and for much
of the day we have done 5-6 knots and we worried about entering a
lee shore with a large reef around it. We lowered the main sail
about 3 miles off the reef and carefully made our way through the
entrance passage to Mayotte. On reaching the entrance we were
greeted by a magnificent pod of dolphins, as if they were sent to
welcome us. We are now witnessing an amazing sunset but our
anchorage is still some 10 miles further along inside the reef, so
we won't anchor until after dark. But we are still hoping the
customs and port officials will clear us tonight so we can eat some
decent French food after six and a half weeks at sea!
PS. We are now at anchor 2158 local time.
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Position Report 76 |
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Date: |
7th December 2009 |
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Location: |
11.19.0S 47.22.2E |
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Message: |
Arwad meets Arwad in
Chance encounter North of Madagascar (plus photos) |
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On Monday morning Phoenicia had a chance encounter with Syrian owned
and crewed ship Aboudi V. Aboudi V had come from Socotra, Yemen and
was on the same course as Phoenicia and heading towards Mozambique.
The crew of Aboudi V is mainly made up of seamen from Arwad Island
where Phoenicia was built and gave them a first chance to see
Phoenicia in under sail.
Mohamad Osman, the owner of Aboudi V, on hearing of the encounter
kindly offered to provide some much needed chicken and rice and
other supplies for the crew of Phoenicia. However a transfer between
the two vessels was abandoned on account of the swell and in view of
the fact that Phoenicia is now less than 200 miles from her
destination at Mayotte. Nevertheless it is hoped that the ship’s
paths may cross again as Phoenicia will also be heading for
Mozambique following her stop over in Mayotte. Pictures show
Phoenicia’s chance encounter with Aboudi V.
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Position Report 76 |
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Date: |
6th December 2009 |
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Location: |
11.09.5S, 50.51.2E |
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Message: |
Blog 21 |
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We have been making slightly quicker progress these last two days
and have averaged between 100 and 120 miles per day. We have
just 340 miles to run before Mayotte, so its looking like PM
Wednesday 9th December so it looks like Aziz may win the wager but
the bad news for him is that he will have to buy the ice creams for
the crew when we arrive! Our passage isn't totally straight forward
as we have to give a wide berth to the tip of Madagascar, Cape
d'Ambre, because it is at this point where the South Equatorial and
Mozambique channel currents and the prevailing south easterly winds
converge, often causing confused and angry seas.So we will be
passing about 50 miles to the north of the Cape and then as we head
south west to Mayotte where we have an island and reef to pass
between (Iles Glorieuses and Recif du Geyser) before the final
approach to Mayotte.
The weather these last couple of days
has been bearable, with a lot of rain on Friday night and a times
torrential. Last night was better in that there was less rain and we
endured less hardship, but there were slightly lighter winds as a
result and we were somewhat slower than the previous day.
We are making the best of the limited
range of foods on board and this afternoon we have chosen to eat one
or two of the last 3 remaining packets of biscuits and some
chocolate bars. Pure luxury in the context of 6 weeks at sea today.
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Position Report 75 |
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Date: |
3rd December 2009 |
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Location: |
010° 52.731S, 055° 32.272E |
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Message: |
Blog 20 plus photographs: Grey skies
ahead |
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Yuri's Birthday flapjack cake
Grey skies ahead!
Yesterday we celebrated Yuri's birthday
and amongst other things we made an oat cake for him. The attached
pictures shows him handing out a piece to another member of the
crew.
Progress towards Mayotte has been fair. At times we have made
dramatic progress with strong winds and speeds of around 6 knots.
These have been compensated for by dull periods of light rainy winds
where we have only managed to do 2-3 knots. Still we are closing the
gap on Mayotte and have about 600 miles to run. An ETA of Tuesday is
still looking optimistic except when we were doing 6 knots but that
didn't last for many hours.
During the night we experienced a fair bit of rain, lightening and
thunder storms. We also experienced a rather dramatic wind-shift
that sent the boat spinning for a while amongst large waves till we
could re-brace the sails.
An anxious moment because it was so sudden but it soon passed and we
were back on course within a minute or two. As the other picture
shows, we are constantly on the look out for grey skies with heavy
rain clouds, so we can anticipate the next soaking and whether to
furl the sail if needs must.
To date the wind forces from the rain clouds have been manageable.
In the foreground of the picture is Phoenicia's Zuli or head/PC and
one of our three Viking Liferafts. Hopefully we won't be needing the
latter anytime soon but we certainly got a bit of a taste for things
to come on the weather front during the early hours of this morning.
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Position Report 74 |
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Date: |
2nd December 2009 |
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Location: |
10.54.3S 57.05E |
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Message: |
Blog 19 from Niklas |
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Following the landing of the groupa on Sunday, we caught a large
dorado yesterday. Both made great meals but sine then we have caught
nothing more. Our rice has nearly run out and we have started to
ration our pasta and noodles to a couple of packs per day to ensure
that we have some carbohydrates with the meals for the rest of the
trip.
Our progress has been a little slower than we would have liked at
around 90 miles per day and we have some 700 miles to go before we
reach Mayotte.
There is a wager between Aziz and Philip riding on when we will
arrive. Philip (the optimist) is suggesting the 8th December and
Aziz anywhere around the 12th December. Philip is banking on the
strong winds forecast between the Seychelles and Mayotte and a few
record breaking days of between 125 and 150 miles per day. Aziz is
hoping the winds won't materialise. It will be interesting, as at
the moment it is still a close call and the stonger winds are
expected later today. At the moment we are about 40 miles south east
of a small island called Agalega and will pass it 25 miles to the
south. Some of the crew think we should visit it as they believe
there will be drive-in supermarket and that their mobile phones will
work! Clearly delusional after so many days at sea. However from the
chart it looks like the only think that works is a large coconut
plantation, a boat house and jetty to export the copra. So we won't
be calling in.
Some of the stays have been tightened and various ropes, that have
chaffed, have been replaced to prepare for the stronger winds and
bigger seas. Some of the waves that are now rolling up behind
Phoenicia are already 5-6 meters high but we can expect larger as we
head towards the tip of Madagascar.
A couple of the brailing lines that enable the main sail to be
furled and that were replaced a week ago have already broken and
can't be replaced unless we bring the main sail down which would be
quite a lot of work. As there are still several other brailing lines
that do work, there is not too much to worry about for now.
Today is Yuri's birthday which we will celebrate later, no doubt
with some soft drinks and a dip into our dwindling supply of
chocolate bars. As we have no flour to make him a cake we have put
together a "Phoenicia survival bag" made up pieces from a Ministry
of Defence 24 hour ration pack (one of our emergency rations), that
contains a chocolate Yorkie bar, biscuits and some prized sachets of
sugar. Hopefully it will be the thought as well as the contents that
count!
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Position Report 73 |
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Date: |
29th November 2009 |
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Location: |
09 54.7S, 60.48E |
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Message: |
Blog 18 and a couple of Photographs! |
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Dirman & Rashid with 20lb Groupa Fish
Phoenicia Becalmed in the Indian Ocean
They say you know when you get to the south east trade winds when
you get there. Well we have certainly arrived and for the last three
days have averaged just under a hundred miles a day, as we continue
to head southwest towards even better and more consistent winds
predicted at around 11 degrees south.
Meanwhile the piracy situation remains much as before with new
incidents to the west and south west of us between Seychelles and
Dar Es Salaam. Having come rather too close to comfort to a group of
pirates to the north east of the Seychelles, we have taken the
decision to divert to the Comoros Islands and Mayotte in particular.
Although as our security advisers Drum Cussac point out, there are
pirates in many areas of the world and pirates have operated not
that far away from the Comoros islands, by diverting to Mayotte we
will at least be reducing our chances of being hijacked. And with
some 900 miles to run we hope to be there around the 8th or 9th
December assuming the south easterly trade winds continue to blow.
Meanwhile the end of our sugar supplies hasn't caused too much
discomfort. That may not be true when our rice and pasta run out
over the next week! However we have large stocks of lentils, red
beans, buck wheat, corned beef, sausages, sweet corn, tinned fruit,
porridge oats, raisins, tea and coffee. Water supplies are holding
up especially as we have been collecting rain water to augment our
supplies. So whilst the last days of our voyage may not be as
comfortable as some would like, we are unlikely to starve or go
thirsty. At the moment we are just crossing the Malha bank to the
south east of the Seychelles where the water is just 20 meters deep
and this morning Dirman hauled in a large 20lb groupa which has
provided an excellent meal for lunch. No wonder he looks happy in
the picture with the prized garoupa and Rashid. The other picture is
of Phoenicia early last week when we were becalmed and taken by Aziz
from the inflatable.
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Position Report 72 |
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Date: |
26th November 2009 |
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Location: |
08 57.7 S,
65.21E |
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Message: |
Blog 17- Westward Ho |
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We have been at sea now for just over a month and still no clear
view as to when we will reach landfall. We have spent the last few
days trying to get out of the clutches of the Inter-Tropical
Conversion Zone (ITCZ) or confusion zone as we have renamed it. We
knew that stronger south easterly winds were somewhere to the south
of us but then the winds played tricks on us and in one 24 hour
period we made just 13 miles as we were becalmed. No wonder some of
the crew began to have doubts that these so called trade winds
actually existed and have been used by sailing vessels for hundreds
and arguably thousands of years, the Indonesians voyaging to
Madagascar in the first millennium being a case in point.
Well the day has finally come and early this morning the light
southerly winds we had been experiencing backed to fresh south
easterly gusts and then after lunch to almost easterly. Fair sized
4-5 meter waves are hitting us on our port quarter but as we are
pushing along at between 4 and 5 knots, Phoenicia takes most of them
in her stride. Occasionally one hits forward of the beam and there
is an almighty shudder and timbers take another hard pounding. How
much punishment can a wooden ship pegged together take? The ship
roles, the sail flaps wildly and the crew brace themselves for the
next roll, but within no time composure has been restored and we are
surfing down another large wave. And whilst we are making good
progress westward we still need to get a little further south to
11°S (we are currently at 9° south 65°east) where the winds will be
even stronger and more consistent.
Our other big issue right now revolves around food and the lack of
it, or at least the lack of variety. After a month at sea all the
fresh food has long since gone…during the last week we said goodbye
to the last of our potatoes, onions, eggs and cornflakes to mention
a few items. Matters are made somewhat worse by the drought on the
fishing front as nothing has been caught in the last week. In truth
part of our problem is we have quite a few fussy eaters on board. We
have one who doesn’t like spicy food, a vegetarian, some who don’t
like western food and others who don’t like middle eastern or
Indonesian food, and others who won’t eat tinned food past its sell
by date- except for “nice” foods like tinned pineapple rings which
although past there sell by date don’t seem to count on the sell by
date criteria. I wonder why? Still every day, two of the crew take
it in turn to cook the day’s meals and gradually there is more
understanding developing as to the different tastes and what will
satisfy more of the crew. It might have taken a month but we are
getting there probably by necessity rather than anything else. And
in any event for those of us who do not like sickly spaghetti made
with vast quantities of sugar there is good news ahead: we are about
to run out of sugar!
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Position Report 71 |
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Date: |
23rd November 2009 |
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Location: |
0825.25 S, 68.36E |
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Message: |
Blog from Niklas - Nov 23, Day 29 on The
Indian Ocean |
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We have now been out at sea for four weeks now and this leg is
taking longer than we thought. But this would have been normal for
the Phoenicians I suppose. Unlike many moderns vessels we are
totally dependent on the wind to get where we want. For the last
couple of weeks we had strong westerly winds with no chance to steer
towards Africa.
Our plan was to head south quickly to get the southeast trade winds
which occur somewhere around latitude 6-8 degrees south. And two
days ago that day finally came when we got them. We trimmed the
mainsail and are now heading west towards Africa. Though we still
are in The Inter Tropical Complication (Convergence) Zone and the
winds are quite tricky here which is normal but really tests ones
patience. Rainstorms after rainstorms with lightning occur at the
horizon here with lots of rain and wind changes as a result. Except
the wind changes, I think the rainstorms are exciting and we can
collect rainwater to drink. But the best is that after four weeks
with sticky saltwater, we can now wash our clothes and ourselves in
freshwater. An absolute lovely feeling I must tell you.
We haven't got any fish lately, but we have a lot of canned food,
pasta and rice left. With the collected rainwater we could last for
another month if we have to. But we sure miss good food and solid
ground underneath our feet. And of course to communicate with our
loved ones back home.
Niklas
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Position Report 70 |
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Date: |
22nd November 2009 |
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Message: |
Quick report on Sunday afternoon |
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Sorry no formal re port today as we have had our hands full.
The summary is there are no South East winds even though we have
been 8 miles from 9 degrees south. Winds keep failing us and we have
gone round in circles this last 24 hrs Lots of rain and a wet ship.
We are sailing north east right now to north of Seychelles and
hoping the wind will change!
All the crew are well and we have plenty of dried food supplies and
water to keep us going. We hope to report better news to you in the
next day or two.
Captain Philip Beale & all the crew
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Position Report 69 |
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Date: |
21st November 2009 |
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Location: |
8.23S 68.56.2E |
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Message: |
Blog 15 |
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Early last evening just before we reached the latitude of 8 degrees
south we came across our first wind from the south east accompanied
by a torrential down pour, which we didn't mind too much because at
last we had found the south east trade winds or so we thought.
We prepared to raise the main sail at first light but by which time
the wind had shifted to the north east. As that was still good for
us we raised the main sail shortly after breakfast. Now a few hours
later the wind had almost totally died and we are doing about two
knots of which most is attributable to the southern equatorial
current. Such are the frustrations of sailing in a Phoenician ship!
We are at least heading south westwards for a change and confident
that by the evening we will find better winds which will become more
consistent as we head south. Inshallah.
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Position Report 68 |
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Date: |
20th November 2009 |
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Location: |
07.11 S, 69.14.5E |
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Message: |
Blog 14: Rain and fishy goings on in
the galley |
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We are well into the inter-tropical conversion zone now at about 7
degrees south and still few signs of the south east trade winds. We
remain hopeful that as we head further south we will. And when
combined with our detour for piracy, its adding up to be quite a
long passage of between 30 and possibly 40 days. We should just
about have enough food and water to make it but there are few points
of refuge in the middle of the Indian Ocean, at least that we can
get to. So no real choice but to plough on.
We spent much of yesterday with our main sail down (as we have been
becalmed and took the opportunity to renew all the brailing lines
that had broken - which was most of them! We have also resewn many
of the brailing hoops that have broken away from the webbing on the
sails and also resewn webbing and patched holes in the sail- a whole
crew job that was good for bonding together. So when we get further
south and we find the wind we will be ready for it.
The previous 24 hours featured two heavy rain downpours. The crew
and ship became one torrent of fresh water, with clothes and bunks
becoming sopping wet. The only good of the rain was for freshwater
showers and the negative was a somewhat downbeat impact on the crew.
There have been some fishy goings on in the galley. Our fishing
blight has continued with one or two exceptions. The other night
word went around that Sulhan was preparing noodles and rice with
flying fish. We all assumed he had found some flying fish on deck
and used them for the meal. The meal raised a few eyebrows due to
the very strong tasting pieces of fish amongst the rice and noodles
and our stomachs ached afterwards as a result. It later transpired
that Sulhan had used his bag of sun-dried fish he had caught in
Salalah and dried on the roof of the cabin and subsequently stored
in plastic crisp bag. How we wish it had been thrown away when we
cleared the cabin roof a couple of weeks ago! since then we have
caught a large barracuda snake-like fish. Hopefully our luck is
changing for the better.
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Position Report 67 |
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Date: |
19th November 2009 |
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Location: |
06 22.3S, 69.15E |
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Message: |
Short blog from Captain Philip Beale |
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Just a quick blog to say all okay here. Progress has been slow
across the ITCZ and we have not hit the south easterly trade winds
yet but hopefully they are not far off. We had a fairly heavy down
pour last night and a longer one this morning. The ship is rather
wet. There is no wind so the mainsail is down and we are doing some
sail repairs which are needed.
Thanks for all the recent messages of
support on the message board
which really lift our spirits.
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Position Report 66 |
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Date: |
16th November 2009 |
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Location: |
03 14S 68.20E |
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Message: |
Blog 13 from Captain Philip Beale |
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We are currently passing through the Inter- Tropical Coversion Zone
(ITCZ) where the weather systems of the north and south meet just
slightly below the equator. In the Atlantic this area is known as
the doldrums but in the Indian Ocean there is usually wind, albeit
lighter and much more variable than in the established wind systems.
We are currently at 3 degrees south and some where between here and
8 degrees south we will hit the south east trade winds that will
propel us towards Dar Es Salaam.
Needless to say the slower winds and that we have had to come so far
east to avoid the pirates, as dampened spirits on board. Also we
have had a barren time with the fishing recently and caught nothing
for several days. Dirman's refrain that the fish are "sleeping" is
beginning to wear a bit thin! Still there is just a sense that the
wind may be starting to shift. If it is confirmed that will raise
our spirits and we will gradually get back to some exciting sailing,
no doubt with the odd down pour that the south east trade winds are
known for.
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Position Report 65 |
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Date: |
13th November 2009 |
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Location: |
00 53.05 S 66 26.6E |
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Message: |
Blog 12 from Captain Philip Beale |
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Thanking the Phoenician Gods
We have had a good 24 hours and have covered 142 miles over the
period, of which nearly a knot is due to favourable currents of the
average speed of nearly 6 knots.
We have spent part of the day reflecting how lucky we have been so
far and in fortuitously avoiding the pirate attack area now just
some 200 miles to our west. As the report below indicates, the crew
of the MV Felitsa were not so lucky.
More information has emerged regarding the vessel hijacking in the
Indian Ocean reported in the November 11 Drum Cussac Gulf of Aden
Piracy Alerts.
The 23,709-dwt Greek-owned, Marshall Island-flagged bulk carrier MV
Filitsa, was hijacked by Somali pirates at position 00:35S -
062:40E, approximately 1050nm east of Mogadishu, Somalia in the
Indian Ocean, at 0105 UTC on Wednesday, November 11. The vessel was
approached by pirates in skiffs, with the ensuing chase lasting for
five hours. Three pirates were reported to have been injured in the
attack.
The Filitsa and its 22-man crew, made up of three Greeks and 19
Filipinos, was carrying a shipment of fertilizer (urea) en route to
Durban, South Africa when the incident occurred. The vessel, owned
by Piraeus-based Order Shipping Co. Ltd, is subsequently reported to
have turned around and headed north towards Somalia.
We are now a few miles from the equator and heading south east and
plan to pick up the south east trade winds a few hundred miles
further south, that will take us towards East Africa.
Tomorrow morning we will celebrate a time honoured tradition of a
reception with King Neptune for those of the crew whose first time
it is to cross the equator under sail. We will then have a small
party to celebrate the achievement. Nothing too grand mind you,
there is not a drop of alcohol on board. So soft drinks and a few
sweets will be the order of the day.
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Position Report 64 |
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Date: |
12th November 2009 |
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Location: |
02 07.5N 63.12.8 E |
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Message: |
Blog 11 from Captain Philip Beale |
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It has been another busy and nail biting 24 hours on board
Phoenicia.
The main cause for concern was the report below mentioning two very
recent pirate attacks.
"On 10/Nov at 0200 UTC a container ship was attacked by pirates in 2
skiffs in position 00 43S 061 57E. The skiffs where white in colour
with 7-8 persons on board. Assault rifles were fired .
The vessel deployed anti piracy measures, increased speed and was
able to evade the attack.
On 09/Nov at 0830 UTC a VLCC was attacked 35 NM from the position
above."
The attacks took place just over 200 miles south east of our
position and would indicate a pirate mother ship in the area. What
made matters worse was that the location was directly on Phoenicia's
intended course. We took immediate action and diverted course as
anyone will be able to see who is following our progress on the
Yellow Brick tracker. Fortunately we have had strong winds and have
averaged over 5 knots during the last 24 hours and managed 137.1
miles, moving as fast as we can away from the area of the attacks.
Otherwise we have been making a few running repairs to the rigging.
This afternoon Dirman ventured aloft with the help of the bosun's
chair to put an additional parell in place should our recent one
fail from chaffing. We have also had 4 of the brailing lines break
due we think to some pretty sub-standard hemp rope we have on board.
We have repaired one with out having to drop the yard and the main
sail remains partly furled due to the strong winds. Nevertheless we
are doing around 6 knots as we head into the evening. We are praying
we won't see any ships as we head to the equator, which we should
now reach tomorrow or early Saturday.
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Position Report 64 |
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Date: |
10th November 2009 |
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Location: |
05 08.3N 6007.4 E |
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Message: |
Blog 10 from Captain Philip Beale |
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The weather seems to know just how to frustrate us. Just as we were
reaching the edge of the high risk zone to the east of the Somali
basin, the wind changes to the north west and pushes us further
east! Still we should not complain, the silver lining is we are
heading south east at over 5 knots and enjoying some magnificent
sailing with a good force 6 wind.
The sail is hoisted high into the sky with brailing lines pulled aft
as depicted in one of the 6th century BC Greek vases at the British
Museum that we used to inform some aspects of the sail and rigging.
Phoenicia makes a tremendous sight as she surfs over the rolling
waves that are hitting our starboard quarter. The wind strength has
just increased further and the waves are now some 5 meters high with
crisp white horses heads forming on their crests.We have just
reduced the main sail area by hauling in on the brailing lines, a
primitive but effective form of reefing the sails that the
Phoenicians invented. So far it seems to be doing the job pretty
well and keeping our sppeed to a manageable 5 knots rather than the
encroaching 6-7 we were experiencing prior to reefing the sail.
The other piece of very good news here is that overnight Sulhan
caught a very large two foot long tuna, following a lull in our
fishing fortunes. So you know what we are eating today- fish and
rice for the lunch today followed by fish cakes for dinner. The only
issue is how many bonus points towards the competition we should
award Sulhan for his spectacular catch!
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Position Report 63 |
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Date: |
9th November 2009 |
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Location: |
06 31.4N, 59.21.9 E |
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Message: |
Blog 9 (Day 16 on the Indian Ocean) from
Niklas Andersson |
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I'm now sitting in the galley watching Dirman and Philip playing
chess. The last days the wind has slightly changed to the north
which is giving us wind directly from the stern with good speed as a
result. In the last 24 hours we have sailed 90 miles. We now have
approximately four days to the equator and maybe a few more days
before we can turn west towards Africa. Today Philip showed me a
wind and current chart. There might be some tricky winds and maybe
rainstorms to expect when we're crossing the equator. Exiting! I’m
tired of good weather. No, I don't really mean that. But still, it's
exiting.
In the last couple of days we discovered that some of the bracer
lines to the sail have snapped, and a few other lines being torn
down and are about to break. Naturally for hemp ropes in tough
conditions I guess. Just a reminder that there is a lot of weight
hanging over our heads and we really don't want the wrong ropes to
snap. I can imagine this was one risk that the Phoenicians must have
been very careful about. For security we changed the broken parell,
that brings the mast and yard together, to a modern thick fibre
rope.
The fishing competition is now Philip 6, Dirman 4 and Julhan 2.
I want to thank Yuri for a lovely birthday supper the other day. He
made us pizza with fruit cocktail for desert. And last, not to
forget, an Arabic birthday song. Thank you!
Niklas |
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Position Report 62 |
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Date: |
8th November 2009 |
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Location: |
07 36.9N, 59.03.3 E |
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Message: |
Blog 8 from Captain Philip Beale |
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Since our episode on Friday evening we have had a relatively quiet
48 hours and have seen no shipping.
We have made further progress and managing about 90 miles a day as
we continue to make our way to the east of the high risk area. We
have less than 60m miles east to go to reach the edge of the high
risk zone and should reach there in the next day, as the wind is now
north north east and it is easier for us to make faster progress.
Thanks to Nick Burningham for his comments on the leeway experienced
of which (as he suspected) a significant part is due to current
setting towards the south west and is therefore against our easterly
endeavours.
Our fishing efforts have suffered something of a setback with no
fish have been caught over the last 48 hours. However this morning 3
calamari were caught and they will be served at lunch today in an
Omani savoury rice dish.
Last night we celebrated Nicolas's birthday with pizza and tinned
fruit and soft drinks with both English and Arabic versions of
"happy birthday" being sung. For us sober sailors it was something
of a Saturday night party!
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Position Report 61 |
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Date: |
6th November 2009 |
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Location: |
09.32.5N, 58.37.9 E |
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Message: |
Blog 7
Suspicious contact at 50° on the starboard side. |
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It was 18:30 hrs local time yesterday evening and dusk was just
descending. At first there was a report of a contact on the
starboard side with the spotting of a light. The narrative ran
something like this: “What is it?” “It is a large ship”. “How can
you tell that?”
“The mast is a at least 10 meters tall”
“How can you tell that?” Ermm....
“How long do you think the ship is?
“About 20 meters”
“The same as Phoenicia then?” “Yes”
“so most likely either a pirate mother ship or a fishing boat?”
“Wow their deck lights are bright”.
“Yes they are obviously doing something on deck, either launching a
skiff or two or hauling nets”
.
“Looks like it is getting closer”.
“Yuri can you get the generator started and the LRAD plugged in.
Nicolas can you check the satellite phone is ready and switch on our
navigation lights.”
“You are 20° off course- for goodness sake’s concentrate or we will
be in real trouble. You should be steering 150°, not 130°”.
“That is interesting they have turned off their deck lights but they
have their navigation lights still on”.
“Darken ship and get our navigation lights off. They will know we
have seen them but if they are coming for us it will be more
difficult for them to find us as it is pitch black right now and the
full moon won’t rise for an hour or so”.
“There is another contact on the port side, several lights”
“What is it?” “It is a very large ship, a container ship” comes the
reply. “Okay it is going to clear us easily- so lets concentrate on
the starboard contact”.
“Oh xxxx. It is turning and coming right for us”.
About 10 minutes later. “Actually I think it is a fishing boat and
its bearing is moving down our starboard side”.
An hour later- “stand down everybody. But be extremely vigilant on
the lookout unless you want an enforced vocation inside a Somali
cave. It must have been a lonely fishing boat. We don’t want to see
any more of them as they are not good for the nerves”.
“What is for supper and are there any more of those pancakes left?”
Message from Phoenicia UK office: Blog readers please note
the latest position report has come in from the ship and all the
crew are well with no sign of any problems since the incident last
night. Please keep following the blog and
satellite tracker for the latest news. You can also leave a
personal message for the crew on the Phoenicia message board -
click here.
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Position Report 60 |
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Date: |
5th November 2009 |
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Location: |
10.29.1 N, 58.22.4 E |
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Message: |
Blog 6 on passage Oman-Tanzania from
Captain Philip Beale |
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We have made fairly good progress over the last 24 hours. Winds have
been around 20 knots and have meant we have been able to cover just
under a 100 miles over the period on a heading of 150 degrees.
Stronger winds and waves of about 3 meters pushed us to sailing
southwards overnight so the waves were not on the beam of the ship.
Whilst this was a little faster it has meant we are still about 150
miles too close to the Somali coast for comfort. Hopefully over the
next few days we will get the easterly longitude we are looking for
and then we will head south towards the Seychelles.
This morning we caught sight of a small Somali trading vessel
heading north east. Naturally our hearts were in our mouths as we
speculated what the vessel might be and whether any fast pirate
skiffs might appear. Time passed slowly as the vessel remained on
the horizon until out of sight and we could breath more easily.
The galley has been decorated with a large Omani flag and picture of
the Sultan in readiness for celebrating Oman's national day on 18th
November. Having caught two fish yesterday we have had no luck today
except for a handful of suicidal flying fish which landed on deck
over night.
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Position Report 59 |
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Date: |
4th November 2009 |
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Location: |
11.51.7N, 58.12.9 E |
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Message: |
Blog 5 on passage Oman-Tanzania from
Captain Philip Beale |
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We have just had our best day yet with just under a hundred miles
recorded for the 24 hour period, still heading in a south easterly
direction and away from the Somali coast. We had a couple of small
hemp ropes break during the night when we were flying along at
between 3-4 knots, nothing too dramatic but enough to keep the crew
on their toes. We have doubled up some of the ropes since as a
precaution as some of the pine-tar covered hemp ropes have become
rather brittle and can break easily if chaffed.
We have done well on the fishing front and caught our first tuna as
well as a medium sized dorado and numerous flying fish over night.
All made into a traditional savoury Omani fish and rice dish with
turmeric and other spices.
Needless to say lunch today was delicious. We have also been
enjoying a spot of home made baking in the galley. Yuri kicked off
with oven baked bread yesterday which was followed by Indian
chapatti-type bread for breakfast this morning. So although we will
probably be at sea for another 3-4 weeks we aren't doing too badly
so far!
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Position Report 58 |
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Date: |
3rd November |
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Location: |
12.58.00N, 57 47.0 E
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Message: |
Blog 4- Day nine on Indian Ocean |
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Blog from Crew member: Niklas Andersson
We have just hoisted the mainsail and we are really tired. It took a
lot of effort from everyone to get it up. But the decision was right
to hoist it. The last days we have struggled with the storm
sail to get more east and away from Somalia without any success. And
when the wind got a bit stronger Philip decided to try the mainsail
again. Now we are racing down the Indian Ocean in almost 4 knots
going southeast. The feeling to sail with the mainsail is great. It
must be a beautiful sight from a distance. This is how sailing is
supposed to be. Soon there will be lunch and our favourite cook Aziz
is making spicy food again. Without chilli I hope!
Philip is now in an unthreatened position in the fishing
competition. He has now caught six and Dirman is on second place
with two. Thought Dirman almost caught a shark a few days ago. A
beast, almost 1.5m between the eyes.
We were just about to drag the beast aboard when the hook snapped
and it got away. The fresh food is about to go off now. Though we
have lots of canned food left and the eggs are now covered with
Vaseline to keep them fresh for the whole leg to Dar Es Salaam. Oh
now something is happening. The parell just snapped and the yard is
flapping lose and away from the mast. No time to rest, All hands on
deck!
Captain's Blog-
Sailing Close to the Wind.
As you will know from earlier blogs we have been trying to make
progress to the east of us to avoid the pirates. However this has
been difficult because as everyone one knows, Phoenician ships
couldn't sail close to the wind, anything under 90 degrees is
considered good. And with light north easterly winds we have only
managed to go due south or worse these last couple of days. We are
therefore sailing close to the wind in the metaphorical sense, as we
are just some 450 miles from the Somali coast and the security
advisers recommend a minimum distance of between 600 and 900 miles
offshore because of the almost daily attacks taking place.
The good news is that in the last 24 hours the winds have freshened
(12-15 knots) and with the mainsail now up, we are starting to make
a little headway to the east and over 3 knots total speed. Tonight
we expect even stronger winds and faster progress. But as far as
other risks go we are still sailing pretty close to the wind and a
little too close to the Somali coast for comfort. That having been
said most of the recent attacks have been several hundreds of miles
to the south of us, something to worry about next week perhaps. In
the meantime we are, for the first time in a long time, enjoying
some magnificent sailing. The shape of the mainsail is a fantastic
sight and we are all happy to be part of the experience.
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Position Report 57 |
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Date: |
1st November 2009 |
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Location: |
15 04.8 N, 57
35.0E |
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Message: |
Blog from Yuri Sanada (Film maker & core
crew) |
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We are sailing for a week now, still trying to get as far east as
possible, before we turn and head south. The reason is obvious if
you are following our voyage around Africa, to avoid the dangerous
waters around Somalia, presumably infested with pirates.
Unfortunately, we are not making as much progress as we planned in
the beginning. So we are taking our time, and enjoying the simple
but meaningful pleasures this water world can offer to us.
First of all, we have freedom. Not the same kind of freedom you have
back home of course. Our world now is limited by the area of the
ship, but even with a crew of 11, everybody seems to find his own
private corner when comes the need to be alone. Our freedom here is
more like no appointments, no need to go to the grocery store, no
phone calls, no salesman at the door (however we did encounter a
medium size shark the other night), and no schedules outside our
environment.
We do have obligations, but they come naturally, like keeping the
boat afloat and moving towards our destination. For that, we are
divided in two groups, 5 people each, and the captain, Philip,
showing up every time he is needed. Our watches are 4 hours during
the day, and 6 hours at night, so everybody can get a longer sleep
time.
While this Phoenicia Expedition is voyage of discovery, trying to
prove that the Phoenicians had technology and skills to sail around
Africa, it is also a voyage of self discovery, as we are exposed to
different cultures aboard.
Our group in this leg is composed of five sailors from the Royal
Omani Navy, three Indonesians, and three westerners, from England,
Sweden and Brazil.
The food varies each time there is a different nationality cooking,
and you can, sometimes, really taste how "hot" the difference may
be. Water is a major issue for us now. We are carrying three
thousand litres, but we didn't calculate the need of eight Muslim
crew members to wash with fresh water five times a day, before they
put their rugs towards Mecca to pray. They could use up to 1/3 of
our total supply just to fulfil their religious obligation. So, as
good comrades, we all are adapting to this new situation, and agreed
to save more water, maybe by using more seawater for cooking and
washing.
The differences fall apart when we have to work together to achieve
a common goal, like raising the main sail, that weights over a ton,
and when we change watches, and everybody has a meal together. So we
go, sailing along, being creative in the kitchen, pumping water from
our bilge, adjusting the sails, and looking out trying to decide if
that dot on the horizon is a star, a friendly cargo ship, or maybe a
pirate vessel waiting for us.
Talking about that, it's funny the way the cargo ships seem to
accelerate when they see us. I don't blame them, for a replica of a
2500 Phoenician Ship must look like a pirate ship to them.
We continue on this long leg towards Tanzania, playing pirates, and
praying not to meet the real ones. Yo ho ho, a pirates life for me.
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Position Report 56 |
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Date: |
28th October 2009 |
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Location: |
16 44.9N 56 17.0 E |
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Message: |
Blog 2 - Day three on Indian Ocean |
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So, now we are finally on the Indian Ocean and we can no longer see
land.
Yesterday we tried the mainsail for the first time. It was a bit of
a struggle to get all the brailing lines and sheets in place but
nothing that good sailors couldn't fix. The wind was not to strong
though and we were only doing 1 knot.
Yesterday we also had a pirate briefing. What to do in case we are
being attacked by pirates. But to avoid facing the pirates, we are
taking a long way around the horn of Africa. More than 700 miles,
and in the last couple of days we have been heading east to gain as
much longitude as possible.
The life onboard is quite easy and all of the crewmembers have found
their comfort on Phoenicia. We have got lots of fresh food, and the
spirit is high and upbeat. Yesterday we caught our first fish. A
small one but more are expected since we have skilled Indonesian
fishermen aboard. There is also a fishing competition in progress so
there is money to be earned for catching dinner!
The crew is divided into two watches with four hour shifts during
daytime, and six hour shifts during nights. Personally I really like
this adventure and there is so much to be seen even though I do get
a little tired during the night watches. To sail in sunset or under
a sky illuminated by stars is something everyone should experience.
Niklas Anderson, crewmember aboard Phoenicia
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Position Report 55 |
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Date: |
26th October 2009 |
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Location: |
Underway - 16 51.4N 54 50.1E |
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Message: |
Blog 1 Salalah to Dar Es Salaam/Zanzibar |
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We managed to get the ship and ourselves ready so that we were able
to leave Salalah port at 1800 hrs local time on Sunday 25th October
2009. Beforehand we had an extremely busy 24 hours, which included
last minute jobs on the ship, a victualling exercise that will see
us through the next 4-5 weeks at sea, welcoming the new crew
members, port clearance procedures and various safety briefings. And
that is not to mention rigging the main sail and securing the ship
for sea which in itself took about half a day.
In terms of victualling we have taken on board some 3 tons of water,
30 kilos of potatoes, 10 kilos of onions, 30 kilos of rice, 20 kilos
of pasta, 200 packets of Mi Indonesian noodles, 100 apples and
oranges and a good range of other supplies. And some 10,000 tea bags
just in case we get caught short! We have ample instant coffee which
has now been supplemented with some of the best “blow your brains
out” traditional Omani coffee…so there are no excuses for not
keeping awake on watch! Although once you have the Omani coffee you
won’t sleep after your turn on watch.
In terms of Crew we are delighted to have 5 members of the Royal
Navy of Oman on board. They are Salah Al-Khatari, Khalifa Alzaabi,
Abdulla (Ali) Al-Balushi, Youssof Al Agbri and Rashid al Ghuzaili.
They are all experienced sailors and they are already getting to
know how the ship works. And apart from our gratitude for the coffee
and delicious Omani dates they have brought with them, we would like
to thank Lt. Commander Ali Alharthi from the Royal Navy of Oman for
making their participation in Phoenicia possible.
So we now have more Arabic speakers than any other language group on
board, and with Sulhan, Dirman and Aziz (from Indonesia) the
majority of the crew are muslims for the first time. The rest of the
Crew are made up of Yuri from Brazil, Nicholas from Sweden and
Philip (captain) from the UK.
Our passage plan is the scenic route to Dar Es Salaam because of the
recent attacks of Somali pirates, so we are now heading due east
along the Omani coast to give the pirates as wide a berth as
possible. The north east monsoon is already blowing and as soon as
we are far enough east we will hoist the main sail to south-east
towards the Seychelles. A voyage will be well over 2500 miles and
will probably take a minimum of 4 weeks. The latest joke on
Phoenicia is that with positive attitude in mind, there are no
Somali pirates, just Somali fishermen…. with guns.
And although we are preparing ourselves for a piracy attack we are
not spending too much time thinking about what it is like being held
in a cave or on board ship for a few months whilst being held
hostage. In any event the weather here is pleasantly warm if you are
from Europe and a little cool if you are from Oman or Indonesia and
the sea state is calm. We are just waiting for the moment when we
can get the main sail up and start some real Phoenician sailing.
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Position Report 54 |
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Date: |
11th September 2009 |
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Location: |
Alongside at
Salalah, Oman |
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Message: |
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Blog from crew member Warren Aston:
After 12 and a half days bobbing on the
ocean, Phoenicia docked safely in Salalah, southern Oman late on
Friday evening 11th. Members of Oman Sail (http://www.omansail.com/
- an initiative to rekindle Oman's maritime heritage) rendezvoused with us after
sunset to provide two batteries to start the engine for the berthing
process. All the crew stood on deck as we sailed in past a very
impressive line of huge container ships loading and unloading at Raysut port to our sheltered marina. Clearance of the ship and the
shaving of fearsome crew beards didn’t begin until the next morning.
In terms of news, not covered in earlier
blogs… while off the coast of Yemen we decided to rehearse the LRAD
(long range acoustic device) in case it was needed. With earplugs
fitted to all crew several blasts were given by the captain to make
sure it worked and then it was covered ready for piratanical use.
But.....20 miles inland, the Yemeni press had a breaking news item
which I copy here;
BREAKING NEWS
Residents on the east coast have reported strange noise disturbances
from the ocean that have sent locals running out of buildings and
tents in case of collapse. The source of the noise is a serious
mystery because no-one ventures out to sea at this time of the year.
We interviewed several of them:
Ahmed, early 40's, labourer 'I never went to school but I know a big
sound when I see one.’
Fatima, 23, teacher: ‘We had to close the school in our wadi until
we find out what was going on.’
Abdul Sheikman, 55, sheikh: 'We have sent all public servants home
until we hear from Sana'a about this problem.’
Farid, 9, student 'When the big noise came i thought my world was
coming to an end.’
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And, while being overtaken by a small yacht on the afternoon of the
third last day of the trip, we photographed a bright red light above
and beside the other yacht. None of us saw it with our naked eyes
but it clearly shows up on 3 of the 4 high-resolution pictures
taken. We spoke to the yacht's owners, a Canadian couple, in Salalah
after arrival and they were experiencing radio problems at the time
which is interesting. So it seems that even the aliens are taking a
keen interest in Phoenicia's progress!
Finally, on a slightly more serious note, I want to say that for all
of us the voyage to Oman was a memorable experience with a lot of
life lessons and moments to remember. Philip is to be commended for
the huge effort involved in making a project like this move from an
idea or dream to the reality of standing on the deck of a wooden
ship in the open ocean. It takes a lot to make things happen on this
scale.
I'm sure that Phoenicia will continue to demonstrate the
capabilities of 600bc technology as it continues its journey around
Africa. I for one am glad to have been a small part of it.
Warren Aston
Aden to Salalah voyage
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Position Report 53 |
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Date: |
10th September 2009 |
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Location: |
Approx 33
N/Miles from Salalah, Oman |
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Message: |
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Short Situation Report at 0600 hrs GMT
on Thursday 10th September 2009
Latitude: 16º 32.N
Longitude:053º 39.2.E
Off Oman Coast 33 miles from Salalah
ETA 1600 hrs GMT
Situation: Ship on passage from Aden to Salalah
Course: 065ºT
Speed: 3 knots
Wind direction and force: W 3
Sea State: 3
Cloud:hazy
Visibility:Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
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Position Report 52 |
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Date: |
9th September 2009 |
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Location: |
Approx 50
N/Miles from Salalah, Oman |
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Message: |
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Short Blog from Expedition Leader Philip
Beale:
We continue to have a frustrating time with near zero winds. Over
the last 24 hours we have made no more than 20 miles and just about
a mile over night. The best example of this was we threw an empty
Mie Noodles box over the port side and 30 minutes later it appeared
on our starboard side- yes we really have been going around in
circles all night. Then at 8am this morning the wind changed
direction and speed and we are now heading East at 2 knots which
seems fast in comparison to recent progress. So we are hoping our
frustrations will not last too much longer as we have just 60 miles
to go and have just crossed the border between Yemen and Oman.
We have eaten our way through most of the fresh food on board and
now have to content ourselves with packets and tins, of which we
have plenty. Imaginative cooking is now required to disguise the
corned beef and other less popular items that come out from the hold
in these situations!
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Position Report 51 |
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Date: |
8th September 2009 |
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Location: |
70
N/Miles from Salalah, Oman |
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Message: |
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Short Blog from Expedition Leader Philip
Beale:
We are still making painfully slow progress towards Salalah at about
a knot per hour. So much for the forecasts of strong winds! We are
however seeing big waves of 4-5 meters and the high point of the day
was catching several sightings of a large whale. We are still
challenged by some technical problems but working on them.
Unfortunately the Satellite tracker is
not transmitting our latest position. If you are able to plot our
course (you can do this on Google Earth) or our position at 10:00hrs
local time was 16.20N and 53.00 E.
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Position Report 50 |
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Date: |
5th September 2009 |
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Location: |
150 N/Miles from Salalah, Oman |
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Message: |
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Blog from Paul Reid: 2:30pm GMT+3,
Saturday September 5th
The ongoing struggle with a lack of wind pervades Phoenicia's
journey. Now just 30 miles from Ra's Fartuk, where the Yemeni
coastline juts inward toward Salalah, the lack of a tailwind has cut
in half the expected travel speed. The Phoenicia is currently
relying almost solely on it's motor and is expected to arrive in
Salalah on Monday.
Ironically the Phoenicia began her day experiencing very rough seas,
with swells approximately 4 meters high. Normally this would
indicate high winds, but only the violently rocking of the boat
seems to be the outcome.
Last night, Dirman caught another fish just in time for supper.
Wanting to provide a British meal of "fish and chips" Paul, the
American, almost burned the boat down when removing a tray of chips
from the rocking oven. As the food slipped into the oven, the oil
caught fire and flared up. Shouting "FIRE!" as a precaution, Paul
was able to put the fire out without any damage. |
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Position Report 49 |
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Date: |
4th September 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 14º 53.7N, Longitude:050º 49.5.E |
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Message: |
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Paul Reid's Blog (Crew Aden-Salalah),
1600 GMT+3, Friday September 4th
The Phoenicia is now past the half-way
mark on it's route to Salalah, Oman. The last few days have been
very slow as the anticipated high winds are still elusive. The crew
are eager to see the ship moving faster.
Last night brought a bit of a scare, as Philip and Dirman saw a
"white object" at night. Considering the possibility of a pirate
boat lurking in the darkness, Philip bellowed, "All hands on deck!"
to wake up the sleeping crew. The Phoenicia was a flurry of activity
as crew members prepared the LRAD and satellite phone connections.
In the end, it may have been just the waves mutating in the minds of
the tired crew or a very large white shark.
The health of the crew is good, and the few oranges and apples
remaining promise to fight off any potential scurvy. Everyone is
pressing Dirman to catch another fish. Today a school of about 10
large Dorado fish were seen swimming around the ship for almost an
hour. Dirman experimented by fashioning an ingenious "lure" made
from the foil/coloured cracker packaging. It swam beautifully, but
the big catch got away.
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Position Report 48 |
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Date: |
2nd September 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 14º00N, Longitude:048º 59.E |
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Message: |
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Paul Reid's Blog (Crew Aden-Salalah)
1900 pm GMT+3, Wednesday September 2nd
The Phoenicia will soon be passing the coastal city of Mukalla, just
short of the half-way mark between Aden and Salalah. The past 36
hours have been very slow, as the previously mentioned strong winds
have disappeared. Both Monday and Tuesday night produced little or
no wind at all. Fortunately weather has improved since passing Ras
al Kalb and the ship is now cruising at a modest 4+ knots. Based on
weather patterns, the wind should only intensify the closer the ship
comes to Salalah.
In true Pheonician fashion, the crew are learning how to improvise
meals without the luxuries of refrigeration. After several attempts
in Aden to fix the refrigerator and generator, the crew chose to use
a coolbox instead. However, most of the produce and all of the bread
have molded in the heat. But far from suffering, the crew feasted on
a beautiful, 30 pound Dorado fish, deftly caught and prepared by
Dirman.
If this is pirate territory, the pirates have kept themselves
well-hidden. In fact, except for a couple container ships and a few
small boats, the Phoenicia appears to be the lone vessel in a vast
sea.
Captain's note; It is a beautiful evening here under an almost full
moon. We are proceeding at just under 5 knots and as conditions are
good and we have no generator, we are sailing without navigation
light so as not to attract the attention of the pirates. Although
not best sailing practice, security is paramount and one is minded
to misquote that British saying "that whilst Britannia once ruled
the waves, Phoenicia is waving the rules. So we are having an
excellent moonlit sail this evening.
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Position Report 47 |
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Date: |
1st September 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 13º 23.0 N, Longitude:047º
23.8E |
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Message: |
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We are really pleased with progress so
far but haven't had time to write a proper blog yet. With only 7
crew members onboard the sailing is quite full on and there isn't
much time to spare! We had hoped to recruit some Yemeni sailors but
Ramadan made this more difficult than expected and thus we have a
modest crew of 7. During this passage we are being slightly more
cautious with our blogs for security reasons but when we arrive at
Salalah you will be sure to get a proper post-passage update so do
keep visiting the site. Please be aware that the Satellite tracker
is currently down but the UK team are on the case and it should be
up and running again soon. In the mean time you can check our
position by using the Lat and Long (above) to locate us on Google
Earth:
http://earth.google.co.uk/
Short Situation Report at 0400 hrs GMT on Tuesday Off Yemeni Coast
on passage from Aden to Salalah
Course: 070ºT
Speed: 4.5 knots
Wind direction and force: SW 3
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud: hazy
Visibility: Fair, some rain and thunder
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
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Position Report 46 |
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Date: |
30th August 2009 |
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Location: |
Underway - 3.5 miles off Yemeni Coast.
Latitude: 12º 43.1 N, Longitude:045º 07.4E |
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Message: |
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Situation: Ship on passage from Aden to Salalah
Course: 090ºT
Speed:3 knots
Wind direction and force: NW 3
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud: hazy
Visibility: Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
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Position Report 45 |
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Date: |
29th August 2009 |
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Location: |
In the dockyard at Aden, Republic of Yemen |
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Message: |
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We had expected Friday to have been slow because of the holiday here
and Ramadan. And whilst we asked to leave Friday this wasn't
possible and unfortunately neither was today due to a "hiccup" at
the dockyard and with only one high tide we seemed to be unlucky not
to have been able to get off the slipway today. Still we are
promised an early exit tomorrow and have already cleared Immigration
and Customs procedures, so should be on our way in the next 24
hours.
The only positive of the delay is that it gives us a chance for a
good nights sleep as we are all exhausted through working on the
hull and putting the anti-fouling paint on which meant very little
sleep as we worked through the night to 1am to be ready. We have
done a lot of other work on Phoenicia, most successful but some not.
The winds look fairly promising for most of the time ahead, so
fingers crossed that there aren't too many pirates lurking in the
waters off the Yemeni coast. Lets hope the South West Monsoon keeps
them distracted and at bay for a few more days yet!
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Position Report 44 |
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Date: |
26th August 2009 |
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Location: |
In the dockyard at Aden, Republic of Yemen |
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Message: |
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We managed to get on the dry dock today. Nearly as many arguments
amongst the dockers as yesterday but a better result. And compared
to Port Sudan the whole thing was better organised and has gone more
smoothly and quickly... just a few days in Aden compared with four
weeks in Port Sudan!
Worked our
little cotton socks off this afternoon and the hull is now clean of
vast amounts of barnacles and coral. Hull is in fair shape... a few
worm holes here and there and some pieces of caulking to do to. And
because of Ramadan everyone in the dockyard is very friendly and we
are managing to get most of the work done fairly quickly. Not long
to go now before we will be ready to sail. Keep your eyes on the
satellite
tracker to see our progress.
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Position Report 43 |
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Date: |
20th August 2009 |
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Location: |
At anchor in Aden, Republic of Yemen |
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Message: |
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PREPARING TO LAUNCH PHASE 2 OF
PHOENICIA
It has been a busy time as the crew have started to come together
for the next phase of the expedition. Philip Beale, the Expedition
Leader, arrived in Aden first followed by Dirman, Sulhan and Aziz
from Indonesia and then Warren from Australia. The last crew members
will arrive over the next few days.
Over the last few days Phoenicia
played host to some 200 Yemeni high school students from Amideast to
promote international relations and learning about Phoenician
history. The tours of the ship were well received if somewhat
tiring. Many of the students had never stepped foot on a ship of any
kind before so it was a real eye-opener. In
the meantime plans are underway to check and test all the ship’s
equipment and to brief the crew on the passage to Oman and other
issues like Piracy and security. We have had a few minor setbacks
like a coast guard boat making a hole in Phoenicia’s side and the
Indonesia’s having their visas cancelled (stamped out) as they made
their way to a domestic flight! It could only happen here in the
Yemen but there is not much that surprises us any more. In the
meantime we have several very hard days of work ahead of us, in
temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade, before the ship will be ready
to go to sea.
Please keep visiting the website as
we announce more news on our planned departure for Oman.
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Position Report 42 |
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Date: |
14th May 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 12º 34.9.N, Longitude:044.08.E |
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Message: |
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Blog- approach to Bab el Mandeb and towards Aden (sent at 15:30 GMT)
Yesterday we had an interesting sail as we proceeded towards Bab el
Mandeb. We came across a small yacht called “Tiger” crewed by two
South Africans and their two children and undertaking a
circumnavigation. We exchanged a few words and as we had the Long
Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) ready for pirates we asked if they
would mind us testing it on them. They were probably the best part
of a mile away and said they could here a “tweet, tweet” type of
noise- which was not exactly what we wanted to hear! We then gave
them a blast on full volume which they heard more clearly and said
that might surprise a pirate but that was about it. Still we wished
them bon voyage and headed for the small strait at Bab el Mandeb,
which is under two miles wide and restricted to just a mile for
small vessels like ours because of a local military base. We had
strong winds pushing us through the strait but the tide was against
us due we believe to the evaporation that takes places in the Red
Sea and means a constant running tide. At times we were doing as
little as 1.3 knots and it seemed to take for ever to get through.
We seemed so close to the shore because we could see the car
headlights on the mainland as they drove along the coastal road.
Eventually we got out of the main
channel and our progress began to improve, the winds grew stronger
and in no time we were doing between 3-4 knots. Whilst we had
expected the winds to change to easterly and southerly in the Gulf
of Aden, to our pleasant surprise they remained very fresh
westerlies for some further 20 miles which we took full advantage
of- even though at times steering was difficult. We have had a few
minor repairs to do on route but nothing that we have not been able
to handle.
We have seen scores of small fishing boats, one of which came over
and gave us two super tuna which made for an excellent Yemeni cooked
and prepared meal last night. A key feature being the strong tomato,
red chilly and cheese sauce that was accompanied with an obligatory
bowl of rice-delicious.
During the night we kept radio silence and for most of the time
(apart from in the strait) we sailed without navigation lights to
avoid detection by the pesky pirates. We have also discovered that
some vast container ships do the same- at least that was our
experience last night. A worry if there is not a good lookout in
such circumstances. Overall though we have seen relatively little
traffic as we are hugging the coast as previously alluded to. Our
progress this far has been good and we have less than 40 miles to go
now to reach Aden- so we hope to be there by late tomorrow morning.
We will then make preparations to leave for Phoenicia until we are
ready to sail her later in the summer and Phoenicia will be truly
back on track.
Quick Situation Report at 1100 hrs
GMT on Thursday 14th May 2009.
Latitude: 12º 34.9.N, Longitude:044.08.E
53 miles from Aden
43miles off Yemeni Coast
Situation: Ship on passage to Aden
Course:090ºT
Speed:3.5 knots
Wind direction and force: E3
Barometer: 992
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud:hazy
Visibility:Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
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Position Report 41 |
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Date: |
13th May 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 12º 49N, ongitude:043º 21.7E |
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Message: |
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Blog from Expedition Leader:
We left Hodiedah on Monday morning about 9.30 am having said our
goodbyes to the Maritime Affairs Authority (MAA) our hosts in
Hodiedah and members of the Yemen Coast Guard, Harbour Authority and
Mohammad our agent. Due to the 10 mile long channel that approaches
the port of Hodiedah, it was mid afternoon before we got out into
the open sea. Within in a short while we were sailing well with a
reasonable westerly wind force 3 blowing on our quarter. Later it
veered northerly and we were able to make even better progress.
Occasionally since then the wind has died away and we have been left
doing barely a knot- such are the vagaries of the winds in the Red
Sea in May when they transition from southerlies to predominantly
northerlies.
The crew have settles in quite well but it has been very hard work
getting the ship up together again after 3 months. We have had the
usual cuts and bruises, rope burns and aching bones and muscles.
Inevitably not everything works as well as it might and after hours
of work from some MAA engineers we still could not get our generator
to work and have been left with the power from the solar panels,
wind generator and alternator from the engine. So we just about have
enough power to keep us gong if we are careful in how we conserve
it.
We have two watches, one led by Nigel Fransham, and ably assisted by
John Bainbridge, and two Yemeni hands – Ali and Fadh. Nigel has been
very busy undertaking lots of initiatives and only once failed to
see the funny side when he couldn’t get to sleep due to Abdul being
rather loud on deck. Philip is leading the other watch with Richard
Kellie and another Yemeni called Abdul. Unfortunately Richard has
been a bit seasick and the Abdul is err…rather lazy- so guess who
got the short straw on watch selection. Nevertheless we have had
some interesting conversations not least about Richard’s book which
has taken 15 years to write and is set in the Holy Land and when it
eventually comes out will be in three volumes.
Apart from the usual sailing routines of watch keeping (lookouts,
pumping bilges, helming,adjusting the sails and meal preparations )
quite a bit of time has been spent on anti-piracy measures. So we
have wrapped the ship’s rails with barbed wire, razor blades, fire
hoses and have molotov cocktails at the ready to throw at the
pirates. Well okay, we haven’t actually done that and we have
resisted offers of AK47’s (on sale foe $10 each in Hodiedah) to
protect us, believing that if the pirates really want to come on
board there is not much we can do to stop them- such is the low
free-board of the ship and our relatively slow speed. Our basic plan
is to stay close to the Yemeni shore, darken ship at night and keep
a low profile, i.e. no radar and VHF. We have a sonic device on
board which may help to delay any attack while we would then alert
the authorities to the situation be satellite phone. We are in
frequent contact with the local coalition forces out here as well as
our security advisers at Drum Cussac, in Poole, England. We expect
to pass the through Bab el Mandeb, the approach to the Gulf of Aden,
tonight which is probably better from an anti-piracy point of view.
We expect it to be a bit tense as we pass through the strait as
there are numerous fishing boats in the area as well as reports of
vessels involved in smuggling people from Eritrea into Yemen. Anyway
you can follow our progress on the Yellow Brick tracker which is
automatically updated every 4 hours and in any event we are looking
forward to being in Aden for the weekend-pirates permitting!
Short Situation Report at 1800hrs GMT on Wednesday 13th May 2009.
8 miles to Bab El Mandeb
3.5 miles off Yemeni Coast
Situation: Ship on passage to Aden
course:156ºT
Speed:2.5 knots
Wind direction and force: NW 2
Barometer: 990
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud: hazy
Visibility: Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
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Position Report 40 |
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Date: |
12th May 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 13º 52.1N, Longitude:043º 00E |
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Message: |
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Situation Report at 18:00 GMT on
Tuesday 12thMay 2009.
Situation: Ship on passage to Aden
Course:170ºT
Speed:2-3 knots
Wind direction and force: WNW 2
Barometer: 992
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud: Hazy
Visibility: Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
Sailing due south towards Bab el Mandeb.
Another quick blog on our second day at sea. The wind has improved
and we are making between 2-3 knots. There are no major problems, a
few challenges but we are making steady progress. We hope to reach
Bab el Mandeb within the next 36 hours at which point we enter the
Gulf of Aden. We are regularly monitoring the security/piracy threat
with help from Drum Cussac. We have also gone through a security
briefing with all the crew. We hope to continue to make good
progress south overnight, continuing tomorrow.
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Position Report 39 |
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Date: |
11th May 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude: 14º 45.6N, Longitude:04248.9E |
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Message: |
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Situation Report: Phoenicia's passage to Aden
Course:170ºT
Speed:2 knots
Wind direction and force: NW 2
Barometer: 990
Sea State: Moderate
Cloud: hazy
Visibility: Fair
No of Crew & Status: 7 crew –all ok.
A quick situation report sent at 18:00 GMT on Monday 11th May after
the ships first day at sea. We set off from Hodiedah at 09:30 hrs
local time and we are now sailing due south to Bab el Mandeb.
Light winds means progress is slow but positive. With thanks to Drum
Cussac and UKMTO for their assistance and support.
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Position Report 38 |
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Date: |
6th May 2009 |
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Location: |
Alongside MAA Jetty Port Al Hodeidah,
Republic of Yemen |
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Message: |
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Myself and a small crew have made our way back to Port Hodeidah for
the next expedition passage to move Phoenicia to Aden - some 270
nautical miles around the Yemeni coast.
We are all well and arrived here
Sunday evening. We welcome new crew members Nigel (from the UK),
Richard (from Canada) and returning crew member John (from the UK).
In Sana'a we met with another prospective crew member Abdul who will
join us later this week along with a number of other Yemeni sailors
that we are talking to here in Hodeidah.
It is great to see the ship again and she is in fair condition - a
couple of leaks occurred whilst we were away but all in all she
seems okay. There were crows nesting on the mast when we arrived -
so a real crows nest! - which has now been removed. We are all
working very hard and hope to be ready to sail on Saturday/Sunday.
At the moment the wind is still from the south but locals assure us
that it is due to turn at the weekend.
We will write again within the next
couple of days as we prepare for departure.
Philip Beale (Expedition Leader)
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Position Report 37 |
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Date: |
12th January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude:14º 50.0N, Longitude:042º 56.0E
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Message: |
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Course: Alongside at Hodeidah, Republic of the Yemen
Wind: South East
Barometer:1001
Sea state: 4
Visibility: Good
Number of Crew: 8
Situation: Having made the decision to sail back to Hodeidah with
the winds behind us we had a good sail and had retraced our track of
the last four days in less than 12 hours! A reminder perhaps of what
a sailing expedition should be and not one of battling head winds
with a propshaft that breaks pins in some cases faster than it takes
to boil a kettle of water. We will have the shaft fixed here in
Hodeidah. With the ship now much better positioned we plan to resume
the expedition in September when winds and currents will be more
favourable and as we had originally planned. Thanks to all who have
supported us this far, more exciting sailing will come later in the
year.
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Position Report 36 |
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Date: |
11th January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude:14º 14.89N, Longitude:042º
58.0E |
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Message: |
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Position: At Anchor
Wind: South East 10-14 knots
Number of Crew: 8
Situation. Our problems continue with high winds and frequent
breaking of shaft pins. So we have made about 5 miles in the last 24
hours. As we can expect stronger winds further south at Bab El
Mandeb we are reviewing our plans and will update tomorrow.
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Position Report 35 |
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Date: |
9th January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude:14º 25.44N, Longitude:042º
53.9E |
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Message: |
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Position: At Anchor
Wind: South East 14-18 knots
Number of Crew: 8
Situation. As you can see from our progress we are having a
difficult time, except for the periods when the winds are lighter.
So we motored from about 1200 GMT yesterday until midnight when the
winds became too strong to justify the meagre progress of less than
a knot. When you take into account the distance lost when a pin
breaks (as we drift backwards) it is better to be at anchor during
the high wind periods. Assuming Reg Hill can conjure up some lighter
winds again this afternoon we will be on our way again.
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Position Report 34 |
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Date: |
8th January 2009 |
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Location: |
Latitude:14º 43.46N, Longitude:042º
52.5E |
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Message: |
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Phoenicia Situation Report 8th January 2009 at 1100 hours GMT
Course: at Anchor
Speed:0
Wind: South /South East 15 -20 knts...decreasing?
Barometer:1001
Sea state: 3-4
Visibility: Good
Number of Crew: 8
Situation: We have had a a frustrating 24 hours, with strong south
easterly winds and current against us and making only 0.5 knots at
times. Have had several shaft pins go and have decided to anchor and
wait for lighter winds. We have moved significantly in shore as far
as we dare.
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Position Report 33 |
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Date: |
6th January 2009 |
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Location: |
Alongside in Hodeidah, 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 Hodeidah, 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 Hodeidah,
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
Hodeidah. 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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