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Postcard from ubulukutu

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Johan Hackman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johan Hackman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 January 2015 at 17:18
Thanks for sharing, Mark! You have really picked an interesting part of the world.

In a way I find it strange that there is no sailing tradition in the parts of the world that seem the best for sailing. Sweden is great a few weeks during the summer but that is it, and still sailing is widespread here.

Greetings from a snowy, icy and dark Stockholm.

Johan
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mehmet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mehmet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 January 2015 at 17:41
May be you should consider that most of the egyptiens are at existence limits and have no money to enjoy the sea life,sailing etc..


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Johan Hackman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johan Hackman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 January 2015 at 21:45
Originally posted by mehmet mehmet wrote:

May be you should consider that most of the egyptiens are at existence limits and have no money to enjoy the sea life,sailing etc..




I am well aware that Earth is a sh*tty place when it comes to politics, economics, religion etc. I would move elsewhere if I could.

My comment was only meant to reflect the fact that there are parts of the world that are much sunnier and warm than the cold Sweden at the moment. Even if people can afford a boat here they cannot use them this time of year because of the climate.

Johan
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Mark&Catherine View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark&Catherine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 January 2015 at 05:14
hello both,

Here is my take on the Red Sea (almost none of it I knew before agreeing to come).

Egypt is suffering very badly, its economy is in taters and the place is a mess. This is probably because of all the politics.

Tourism is at an all time low, a mixture of fact and fiction.  Most of the press is very negative about the risks of coming, particularly in the West.  There are some Russians here, although that will fall off with the currency problems, a few Germans and a few French, almost no Brits.

I think the press paints an extreme picture, which is a problem.

The sea is wonderful - under the water! the reefs are easily dived and snorkeled, the water is warm and clear, and there is a lot of life to see.

Most stories about sailing here are either about pirates, or about the strong Northerly winds that sweep all in front of it, making Northwards passage difficult.

There are no pirates in Egypt, they are further South.  In my time here it is true that most wind is from the North, but we have had only 2 days above 20 knots, so for a Hanse, going North is not an issue.  So sailing is not as much of an issue as some think.

However, reefs are everywhere and you will certainly need to anchor near them on any sort of stay.  Best advice is to anchor before 2 pm, so that the sub is still up and you can sea your way.  Charts, even the electronic ones, are unreliable, so EYES and best.  Secondly the paperwork is sometimes hard.  There are few boats here, we are unusual just because of that, and even more unusual in that we are here to cruise, not to passage the Red sea and Suez, we will go oit the way we came in!

The military and the coastguard do not always see eye to eye, and so sometimes we have the 'wrong' bit of paper.  However, there are plenty of places like this in the world, smile and be polite, and ask for help - usually works.

The people are 95% friendly (like anywhere else if you remove politics) and welcoming, we have received gifts and kindness several times.  Some shopkeepers are a bit pushy and will try and give you tourist prices.  We dont wear tourist clothes, turning up in flip flops and boat ware, mostly with a few days stubble and hair washed in the salt water of the sea.  SO we just say we live on a boat and want local prices, and the problem is small if you avoid the main day tripper locations.  We took a minibus up the coast the other day to see a mosque and Coptic Christian church built by the Italians, but re-built by Egyptians.  After that they wanted to take us to the 'Bazaar' by which they meant all the rubish you can buy anywhere in the world, they were very surprised when we said, can we go and see the vegetable market, and we need eggs and water!

In sailing terms, the traditional boats have gone from the Red Sea, (still on the Nile) to be replaced with hundreds of dive boats and tiny fishing boats with outboards. And very few yachts.  We have been here since October and have seen only 4 transiting (of course we wont see them all), a couple of live aboards and one that is used regularly from Hurghada by local businessmen.

As a cruising place it has a lot to offer for the experienced, and a lot of confusion and danger for the inexperienced.  For Charter, the reefs and lack of 'party' towns might be a problem.

However, since we have been here, I have put a local business man in touch with Hanse, and 2 385s and a VAR 44 will be coming next summer to start a sailing school and charter business.  I am currently advising him what needs to happen to make it easier for his business to grow (just because he is a nice chap and a fellow sailor).  So watch out for the development of sailing in Hurghada, and don't be put off by the press, but don't expect 1st world facilities.

Mark

Current location Marsa Alam, Red Sea 
  
385 ubulukutu sail number GBR 3350L in Turkey and Greece with Mark and Catherine
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richz View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 January 2015 at 20:01
not sure how relevant, but it's worth noting that we should most probably all thank the Egyptians for having invented the sail!
they used the prevailing northerly wind to sail upstream the Nile, probably holding a palm frond at the bow of their boats.
not bad as sailing tradition...


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Persse View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Persse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 January 2015 at 23:31
I was going to make a point similar to richz about the wonderful tradition of sail in the east med. It goes back to deep time, the lateen sail is very ancient and probably used by the people who reached Crete and Cyprus. 
Thanks to Mark for his description of the realities of the modern (modernising?) Egypt.
I took JH's remarks as midwinter yearning for the sun to return back to the frozen wasteland Nordic types insist on living in.
Phil O. in sunny Australia
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Johan Hackman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johan Hackman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 February 2015 at 08:56
My remark was indeed a yearning for the sun to come back.

Plus I was looking at the planet as a whole without people on it. People have made this planet a mess. I would do something about it if I could.

Johan

Edited by Johan Hackman - 02 February 2015 at 08:58
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Mark&Catherine View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark&Catherine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 February 2015 at 06:45


We have reached our most southern point of the safari, on Dolphin Reef.  24 deg 09.35 sec N 035 deg 42.44 East,  The southern reefs are much quieter than those round Hurghada, and so there are more fish, they are bigger and the coral is less damaged.  I can also recommend Greater Mahabis Island (24 deg 18.8 N 035 deg 23.25 E) and Wadi Gemal (24 deg 39.16N, 035 deg 09.5E), as lovely places.  The closest provosioning is at Marsa Alam, a small town where the locals very rarely see any modern boats and are very welcoming.


385 ubulukutu sail number GBR 3350L in Turkey and Greece with Mark and Catherine
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