Category Archives: Passage

Time spent between destinations travelling on the water.

Transiting From the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea – Days 3 & 4

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Yesterday morning we rolled up 3,000 hours on the engine. That is 125 days of sea time. 89% of those hours have been put on the engine since leaving for this around the world journey. We calculated the fuel burn so far on this passage. We are getting the worst fuel burn we have ever gotten at 1.7 miles to the gallon. That is what happens when you run consistently at 1900 RPM. We feel moving fast through the dangerous area is worth the cost of the fuel.

We heard on the BBC that the French Navy has been following the captured yacht for 600 kilometers, and that the crew and yacht all seem to be safe. Eric did the unthinkable and talked on the VHF to another yacht. The other guy was a part of the radio net, but we were never able to contact him on the SSB. Eric heard him talking on the VHF, so Eric hailed him, inquiring about what to expect ahead of us, since he was already in the Red Sea. We were already out Continue reading →

Leaving Oman

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The first priority of the day was to get checked out. Muhommed had to go out of town on an overnight trip, so we would be doing check out on our own. We went to the office. No immigration or customs officers were there. We waited, along with a group of other people. We talked to ex-pats who have been living there a while, as well as an Omani guy who is also an agent, waiting to do a check in on an American freighter ship.

After an hour, an officer arrived, the same one who had checked us in. The group mobbed him. Eric tried to get his attention, but he basically ignored us. He helped everyone around us, and then Continue reading →

Welcome to Port Salalah, Dhofar Region, Sultanate of Oman

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This morning the seas smoothed out again and the ride became fabulous. At 0830 local time, Eric hailed Salalah Port Control on the radio. The protocol is to call an hour prior to arrival in port. He gave them all the pertinent details and was told to call back when he got to the breakwaters.

It was a hazy morning, and we couldn’t see land until 0845, and in the distance looked like just a small blob of white contrasted against the blue sea. By 0900, the new breakwater was clearly visible. It so new it is not on our charts. By 1030, land became much clearer. Directly in front of us was a cluster of densely packed white buildings that probably make up the main part of the city. To the left of the city, it looked more industrial, with an odd assortment of buildings grouped in small clusters, ranging from low buildings to high rises, scattered across a dry looking desert back ground. To the right, the shoreline is covered with green trees, with a few buildings cut into the trees along the shore and a few buildings popping out from behind them. It looks like there are large mountains behind the flat shore, but we could barely see the mountains in the haze.

We turned behind the breakwater wall. The water was extraordinarily calm. This is a container port, and the right side is lined with rows of huge cranes for lifting the containers on and off the ships.

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As we continued along, on the left, the breakwater Continue reading →

Male to Port Salalah Days 7-9

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On Sunday, we realized we can see AIS targets 50 miles out on the radar screen, when normally they only appear 8-12 miles out. VHF range around here is absolutely insane. The chatter on the radio is incessant, both legit and screwing around. The monkey boy was still coming in loud and clear, and he was getting progressively harder to take. While he is by far the worst, he was not the only one screwing around on the radio. Over the course of the entire day, we got 6 more distress calls, all from weird MMSI numbers such as 111111111 and with no coordinates. All presumed fake. It is really upsetting that these guys are abusing the radio waves. The wind died for a few hours and came back as only very light head winds. The seas also flattened out, which we are ecstatic about. It was smooth and wonderful. We hoped it would last.

Yesterday we had four more fake GMDSS emergency calls, and, in general, the radio chatter continued to drive us crazy. The winds have gotten even lighter and the seas smoother. It has been a fantastic ride today. There is no wind chop at all, just glassy seas with a small swell. It has gotten significantly cooler and drier as we head north. The weather is a nice change of pace, and certainly makes it more comfortable inside the boat.

Today, in the early hours of the morning, we heard Continue reading →