Adventures on the Sailing Vessel Moorea Pictures of the 2008 Cruising Season Thailand Maldives Red Sea Yemen Sudan Egypt Turkey Greece Click here to view 2006 cruising pictures Click her to view 2007 cruising pictures
Greece According to Wikipedia, “Greece is the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, and Western drama including both tragedy and comedy.” Reading Homer’s, The Odyssey while cruising around these islands was entertaining and a good way to imagine the Hellenistic life of the past. Over four fifths of Greece is mountainous containing around 2000 islands making it a scenic nation to wander around. Besides the picturesque bays, dramatic mountains and friendly people, the food tops the billing. Thick and rich yogurt, Greek salads and Gyros make my mouth water as I type this. We like to find the out of the way places where the locals eat, usually inexpensive and good fare. Our adventures here include visiting the Acropolis in Athens, transiting the Corinth canal and swimming in the clear cool sea. Check out the slide shows below.
The Corinth Canal Transiting the canal saved us about 480 miles. The canal was completed in 1893 and cost about $200 US dollars to use. It’s length is 3.2 miles with a width just over 80 feet. Large merchant ships can not transit this canal since they would scrape there hull along the towering rock walls. Tristan on Ohana Kai climbed to the spreaders on their mast and took some great pictures of us in the canal. Slide Show						The Acropolis One of the most popular sites, we weaved our way through the crowd to view the Parthenon and other ancient ruins. Finding that navigating through the city to visit the old sites was easy & cheap with Athen’s transit system. Check out the slide show which has many pictures of the Acropolis. Slide Show
Its Greek to Me White buildings with red tiles roofs and grape vine ceilings in the patio, the fruit waiting to be picked for eating are just some of the things that I love about Greece. Small brightly colored fishing boats and clear cool sea water in the bays attract many sailors to the islands. Many charter boats operate in the Mediterranean and finding a spot in a bay can be difficult. Many times were would drop our anchor and the bay would fill up and a boat would be a few feet from our bow. One night when the wind was blowing hard, three charter boats dragged their anchor. But most anchorages have been nice and safe. These pictures reveal a bit of the Greek life…Its Greek to Me. Slide Show
Turkey “Peace at Home, Peace Throughout the World.” Mustafa Kemal Ataturk While walking around the picturesque towns of Marmaris, Bodrum & Efes, I wondered why this dominantly Muslim country felt more centered and modern then the previous Islamic nations we had visited. Learning that after the Ottoman Empire break up, which ruled about 623 years, in 1923, a progressive leader had the foresight to hurdle Turkey into the modern world. His name was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey, who is still cherished and honored in this country. (His statue is on the Home Page) Amongst many social changes he is attributed to, his reforms of keeping religion and state separate along with establishing women’s rights are evident today, however the area we visited is heavily influenced by Europeans and Eastern Turkey is partial to Islamic ways. Wishing there was more time to explore this vast nation of rich history and culture, but our time schedule would not permit it. Enjoy the slide shows below.
Fortress by the Bay As we were harbor hopping along the coast, encountering many crumbling fortress ruins along the way, the haunting images of medieval times, added unique character to the anchorages. Many old castles are being preserved and are keeping the history alive. Bodrum is one fine example of what a fortress looked like. It had seen the Crusades and Ottoman empire and survived to reveal some of its tales. Never before had I seen a dungeon. This slide show has photos of the Fortresses by the bay. In fact there are two, a citadel by a bay that we explored and St. Peter’s Castle in Bodrum. Slide Show					Traditional Turkey Silk or wool rugs, handcrafted, beautiful and a tradition handed down from generation to generation. The craftsmanship that goes into the creation of these rugs has given me a new appreciation for this art. We also had a chance to visit a small village dwelling amongst the hills. Stone homes and pathways make for a perfect picture. The slide show has photos with silk cocoons, looms and the ladies that tie the knots to make their magic carpets and a small village on the hillside. Slide Show
Ancient Efes The temple of Artemis, once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, resided in the ancient city of Efes (Ephesus). In those times, it was the main city for commerce in the South Aegean region. The ruins of the city include a theater and the Celsus Library. Also near the ancient ruins, the proposed site where Mary, the mother of Jesus spent her last years after his crucifixion. We had a chance to visit this sacred place as well, which you will see in the photos. Slide Show
I tried to find Him on the Christian cross, but He was not there; I went to the Temple of the Hindus and to the old pagodas, but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere. I searched on the mountain and in the valleys but neither in the heights nor in the depth was I able to find him. I went to the Caaba in Mecca, but He was not there either. I questioned the Scholars and philosophers but He was beyond their understanding. I then looked into my heart and it was there where He dwelled that I saw Him; He was nowhere else to be found. Melvana, 13^th Century Turkish Philosopher Cradle of Faiths publication
Sharm El Sheikh, Cairo & Suez Canal Egypt has an estimated population of 80 million with the majority living near the Nile river. The concentration of the population near the Nile is due to the arable soil soaking up the water allowing a small parcel of dirt in this country of vast desert, precious land for agriculture. Traveling one month between Sharm El Sheikh (or Sharm ash Shaykh), Cairo and completing our visit with the final Suez Canal transit, we learned much of this country’s vast history and found many gems in the dessert. Some of our favorite stops would be Sharm El Sheikh, where we met up with the Captain’s Aunt and toured St. Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Cairo has many treasures within its populace city where we could view the Great Pyramids and Nile from our hotel room and another nice stop worth mentioning was Ismailia. This little town, where we moored Moorea, is not used to tourists but filled with friendly people; the best prices for souvenirs and inexpensive restaurants with tasty local food. Enjoy the slide shows below.					Egypt May-June 2008
Aunt Jana		Sinai Peninsula The Mysteries in the Desert When we last saw Aunt Jana, it was at her home in San Diego. She told us she would meet up with us in Egypt, a destination she had fond memories off when she visited in 2001. Sure enough, a plan was made where she put together an amazing itinerary of things to do and places to see and the first place she wanted to stop was at Sinai Peninsula. A vast desert land, once taken by force and occupied by Israel. We met in Sharm El Sheikh, a place not accustomed to cruise boats, but accommodations were made for Moorea to tie up to the Port Control Quay, while we stayed at the comfy Sofitel in Naama Bay. Visiting St. Catherine’s Monastery with its history and beautiful artifacts is worth a trip to Egypt its self. If you get a chance to visit, the monastery has simple & clean accommodations for $15 per night. One favorite pastime for visitors is to climb in the early morning hours to where Moses received the 10 commandments and watch the sun rise. In the slide show, you will find the burning bush and well where Moses met his wife. Slide Show						Our friendly guards protecting Moorea at the Sharm El Sheikh Port Control
A Note on the Canal Showing up at Suez City and making arrangements with your agent to transit the next day, does not always work out. Even though we know our agent, Magdy at the Felix Agency was competent, he can not predict when warships transit the canal and thus small vessels are not allowed to transit at the same time. So you may be waiting for a few days at Suez City. A Pilot is mandatory when transiting the canal, 119 miles in length and we decided to break up the trip in two days, opting to keep the boat in Ismailia while touring Egypt. Unfortunately, there is not many nice things to say about these Pilots. It is customary to give a tip, also known at Baksheesh, when they completed their task. Every boat we spoke to and articles we have read confirmed that these so called professionals will try to beat you down for a bigger tip. So don’t go out of your way to accommodate what I call,” The Pirates of Suez”. They don’t appreciate anything.		Suez Canal Moorea moored at Suez City Yacht Club						Next Stop, Suez Canal Our plan was to beat up the Gulf of Suez, while Aunt Jana was to tour Petra, Jordan. We had three days to make over 170 miles to Suez City and weather was not in our favor. With only a 4 hour stop behind a tiny reef, just to rest and let the 30 + winds to let up, we kept beating into the waves and wind, motor sailing to make our destination in time to meet up with our Aunt. Typically we don’t agree to such aggressive time frames since weather and other unforeseen events can affect a cruisers schedule, but Aunt Jana was worth the effort. This slide show is of the canal crossing and depicts how close the container ships get when in transit. Slide Show
Slide Show	Cairo “The Mother of the World” Lively, overcrowded and a bit dingy, this city holds many gems that make it a unique place to visit. The dynasties of the Pharaohs, dating back to 4000 B.C., Greek rulers, Byzantine influences and Muslim Arab invaders are just a few of the many historical events that touched this nation. Amazed at the wealth of artifacts that have survived centuries and the sites recorded when the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and the child, Jesus) hid from Herod, traveling Egypt for three years. Many of their stops have been preserved either with a monastery on the site or memorialized. The Christian history in this land is abundant and the churches we visited well kept. The Mohammed Ali Pasha Mosque was the first Kelly and I had ever stepped into. It was good to hear some information about Islam from someone who lived and worshipped this religion and spoke excellent English. That person was our guide that we had for three days during our stay and we found him to be very competent, professional and genuinely friendly. Cairo is an interesting place to visit. You will find people still using horses or donkeys pulling a cart down the middle of the road during rush hour…not an uncommon sight. The slide shows, one consists of Ancient Egypt and the other slide show reveals the many Mosques, Churches and museums we had visited.								Slide Show
We say good bye to our Dutch friends, Luna and De Pelikaan. They will be completing their circumnavigation this summer as they head back to Holland. We’ve had wonderful times cruising and surfing with them and look forward to hearing of their future adventures on land as we, (Along with Ohana Kai) plan to cross the Atlantic this winter.
The Red Sea April –May ‘08					Passage from Maldives to Yemen Our slowest ocean passage to date. 22 days crossing the Indian Ocean from Male, about 1800 nautical miles should have taken roughly 15 days. Lack of wind caused the delay and cautiously motoring, since our 50 gallons of fuel would only cover 300 miles. So we hoisted our light air spinnaker to capture every wisp of air. Long hot days on the boat dragged on, but we finally managed to rendezvous with our buddy boats 50 miles from Al Mukalla (where Osama once lived), in the Gulf of Aden. Less than a 1% chance of a pirate attack for small cruising boats, this area still had the highest risk of being robbed compared to all the other seas we have sailed. So a little caution was observed with a tight knit of five boats transiting 250 miles & 2 days, through Pirate Alley and making sure to keep clear of the Somalia’s coast line and arriving safely in Aden. Making our way up the sea, we stopped in Yemen, Sudan & Egypt, seeking a place to rest or just to find refuge against 25+ knot NW winds which slowed our progress as we headed north. Some of our stops along the way were very interesting, like drinking tea with the locals in Yemen or swimming with dolphins in Egypt. There is another interesting piece of news, Coalition Forces are patrolling the Red Sea and have contacted several cruising boats as they keep vigil in this area. The Coalition does not state the country they represent, but one can tell by the American and French accents, where they hail from.
			Dolphin Reef, Egypt Located off the coast of Southern Egypt, we decided to stop at a little reef. This was not a paid adventure to swim with dolphins, these creatures were wild, not fed by humans to entice them. They just happen to regularly visit this reef. These photos are of our swim with them along with see some colorful coral and sea life too. Slide Show
Sudan Sudan, the largest country in the African continent with over 20 years of civil war between the Muslim Arab north and the Animist & Christian African minority in the south. As the North controls government policy under an Islamic fundamentalist influence the ethnic, language and religious differences continue to be an issue even after the civil war has ended. Only in Port Suakin for one day, we topped up fuel, drinking water and purchased a few fresh vegetables. Our brief visit revealed hauntingly beautiful ruins, impoverished living conditions and a glimpse into the past. Once again, strolling along the streets, we were a novelty as locals stared at us or a few of the curious villagers would approach with friendly exchanges. As ramshackle hovels thrive in this impoverished environment, cats, goats, and camels freely wonder the dusty paths while battered cars share the road with cart driven donkeys, their loud braying more abrasive than a car horn. Most men wearing traditional, long white robes and some crowned with turbans, the few women spotted, wearing colorful fabrics styled in the Muslim tradition, from head to toe, but allowing their face to show. Looking into the faces of Saukin, the African ethnicity prevails in this town with a few Arabs and also a trace of an African/Arab mix. The pictures are just a glimpse of this sea shore town. In the anchorage, Kelly (The Captain) met another cruising couple from Spain. They commented on the US flag flying on our boat and said many Americans they met chose not to fly their flags in this region and thought us very brave. Kelly & I have flown our nation’s flag in every country we visited. Slide Show
			Yemen Worn buildings, tired cars and rubble strewn sidewalks prevail around the old town of Aden. There is much neglect in this town which may have resulted from their civil war that ended in 1994. This past conflict between the North and South, is bad blood between the regions and in mentioning the past conflict with a few of the taxi drivers we met, their reaction about the governing North was not positive and disgruntled sentiments were voiced. Men dressed both in traditional attire, as well as western wear contrasted to the women walking the streets, covered head to toe in a flowing black gown called a Burka. Their images ghost like, as if they didn’t exist. Strolling around the city, we attracted attention and many of the male locals, asked our nationality. Most were surprised to hear we were Americans. Some hesitated in continuing a conversation, but most said “Welcome to Aden” and practiced their English. The hospitable people give life to this city. Even though our reception in this country was fine, we only stayed 3 days, being that we were behind in our schedule to cross the Red Sea and didn’t want to over stay our welcome. These pictures show the character of Aden and its people. Slide Show
The Maldives February-March ‘08
Male, A Mini-Manhattan Roughly 450 miles Southwest of Sri Lanka, nested in the Indian Ocean resides the Maldives with 1,190 islands, this archipelago only has 200 of its islands inhabited. The capital city of the Maldives is Male, a small coral island housing 75,000 people where the buildings grow tall and the streets are narrow. Our friend, Stephen checked out the satellite image of this city and wrote that it “looks like a Mini-Manhattan” with all the vertical structures and limited space, his analogy is perfect. There are very little natural resources for this island nation, therefore most items are imported and the main revenue generated is through tourism. This slide show takes you on a walk through the city. Slide Show				Surf Anyone? Five adults and three kids is the max for stuffing Ohana Kai’s dinghy with surfers. We dinghy out to the surf, drop the hook and spend hours on the water. Catching waves and having cruiser fun is what this slide show is all about. Slide Show
A nation of Islam A 100% Sunni, Muslim nation, there are numerous restrictions with importing certain goods into this country, like alcohol, pork or even live pigs. However, this nation does cater to Western tastes through tourism, the resorts and certain individuals are allowed to purchase alcohol and pork products but only with a permit. Even though we are clearly not Muslim, we could not buy bacon from an importer without the permit. Some thing else was new when visiting this country. Their weekends were on Friday and Saturday, because Friday is considered the most holy prayer day of the week and the day is similar to our Sundays.
Spice and Everything Nice Thai food is one of our favorite cuisines and luckily very inexpensive to eat. Whether dinning from a café or a street vendor, most items have been delicious. However I need to admit, the fried grasshoppers didn’t look too tasty but it was good, except when the little legs get caught in the teeth. Besides food, a few other photos that I found interesting, like the Laundry Bar in Ao Chalong. A full service laundry by day and bar by night. Slide Show				Phuket, Thailand December ‘07-February ‘08			Surf and Turf Tour When Rutledge (the Captain’s Dad) and his friend Pat came out for a visit, we entertained them by sailing around Phuket, stopping at many of the national marine parks visiting a Muslim Stilt village, driving a bit inland to Wat Phramahathat in Nikon Si Thammart, and topping off the trip by renting scooters on the island of Phuket, which would even give Mario Andretti an adrenalin rush after a day of weaving between cars and large trucks…the lines on the pavement are only there as a suggestion. Picture Page
Cruising Along One of the most senic places to sail with the numerous islands of golden stone and accents of ash covering the rock formations, a spectacular site to glide the by these massive forms. Numerous vacationers find charter boats to take them out on day trips to these islands for the white beaches and the most popular are James Bond Island where the movie, “Man with the Golden Gun” was filmed and Phi Phi Lay where “The Beach” was shot. Slide Show
Click here to view 2006 cruising pictures Click her to view 2007 cruising pictures