Hello all. We are safe at port after a long journey north…

We left Yemen on Valentine’s Day to head up the Red Sea. The southern Sea was mostly variable winds from the south and we motor-sailed for 5 days to Suakin, Sudan where we spent several days waiting out a strong north wind. Suakin was a land of ruins, waste and poverty but the villagers were extremely friendly.

It was here that we discovered the officials in Yemen gave Ken the wrong passport, which is a critical document to have while traveling. We missed the good weather window to head north as we waited for Ken’s passport to arrive via DHL. 10 days later, we finally left Suakin. The Yemen officials were very cooperative and paid for the exchange of the 2 passports.

Getting up the Red Sea seemed like an endless journey. Every time we started up we were hit by fierce north winds and seas and had to find shelter every few nights. One of our stops included staying at the Coral Beach Resort in Port Galib, Egypt, where we were forced to lounge by the pool. We finally arrived on a mooring buoy in Port Suez on March 21 at 12:04 am. Ironically, the last leg of the passage was in perfectly calm seas and a brilliant full moon.

We are now waiting for clearance to go through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea. It is pretty amazing watching the huge freighters entering and exiting the Canal. There were American Warships, including a submarine, using the Canal to go south to Iraq yesterday. They don’t allow other boats in the Canal when the warships are in.

While we are waiting we plan to hire a car and go to Cairo to see the pyramids and other ancient Egyptian ruins. It is only an hour and a half from Port Suez.

We will spend the spring and summer exploring the Mediterranean from Tel Aviv, Israel to Portugal. Fortunately, we won’t have any long passages or dangerous countries to worry about during this part of the trip.

Port Galib, Egypt

Suakin, Sudan

Anchorage in Egypt

You can't see it but this is the site of an ancient

water storage system.