Well, we
have been delayed form our departure from El Gouna.
The “wind”
got up…… Well it is true, it did.
And it blew
red dust all over the boat which upset Marlene as she had spent a long time
getting it all pristine and clean!
It blew at
about 35 knots, gusting more, which Tony says it just what the boat needs ‘to really fly”.
So the Port Authority closed the port and prevented us from leaving.
But we had
another delay.
Our
navionics chip in the Raymarine navigation device has been stolen.
We
discovered this during last minute checks on the boat systems.
This most
likely happened while we were away and the key of the boat was with the
Harbourmaster.
We had a
meeting with the Port Authority, which is the Harbourmaster, and offered a
reward! We are also trying to locate another one, which has its own problems,
because to get anything sent to us it has to go through customs.
Tony claims
that this is all for “Backsheesh”, and so far his experiences with customs seem
to bear this out.
The other
problem was that a local “driver” was caught trying to deliver some diesel to
us from a fuel station, and this is illegal in Egypt . It turns out that even in this
modern marina we have to get fuel sent in a fuel bowser from 30 kilometres
away, and they are disinclined to do that for a 100 litres or so.
It was much
easier for us to get fuel at our other “stops” in Egypt with the boat where the local taxi
drivers did the service for us and the process is acceptable.
This delay
gave me some time to communicate with the naval forces that are on patrol in
the pirate High Risk Areas.
I will give
some of the emails back and forth below.
Please skip
if you find it boring.
I received
this message via a friend from the commander of United States Naval Forces in Bahrain , who apparently co-ordinates and
resists pirate activity.
Unfortunately the resources that provide support for safe transit to commercial vessels do not afford the convoy/escort protection to recreational vessels. This is due to the generally slower speeds they travel at which would slow the entire convoy.
In fact there is a notice we developed in 2013 as a coop between EUNAVFOR, CMF, UKMTO, MARLO, and NATO Shipping Center that clearly states the activity from Pirate Action Groups (PAGs) and warns that all recreational vessels are sailing under their own risk: "Its conclusions are clear and incontrovertible - all sailing yachts under their own passage should remain out of the High Risk Area or face the risk of being attacked and pirated for ransom.." To the best of my knowledge issues with regards to recreational vessels have not changed. If you look at the latest PATS msg, it contains the contact info for the convoys in the area. They may be able to provide updated information.
Please note
all the acronyms. They prove that this is an American Communication.
My response
to this was to my friend was:
I have been
thinking about this reaction from the USN and I am not impressed.
What they
are saying is that they are there to protect the commercial vessels and not the
private individuals.
I am
troubled by this because it is the individuals that pay their taxes to provide
these naval people with their careers.
The
commercial ships they are protecting are registered in places like Panama and Liberia and pay no taxes.
This is
rather the same as the Police saying that they will only protect the passage of
large trucks on the Highways of the world and that the private citizens can be
swept aside and killed with out compunction.
I think
this is a dangerous and ill conceived attitude.
As I said
before, the naval forces should be delighted to have an opportunity to live up
to their responsibilities and protect the people who keep them where they are.
On the
other issue, I really admire the Somalis for protecting their fishing grounds.
They are
the only people in Africa who have combated the rape and destruction wrought by the Israeli,
Spanish, Japanese and Russian trawlers and seiners.
This is
what I have written to the MSCHOA:
Good afternoon Antonio
Thank you for your response and
concern regarding the piracy problems.
We have registered with MSCHOA and
we will be complying with the times and routings as far as is possible with a
sailing yacht under power.
We feel that it is important for
people like us to exercise our right to navigate the oceans, and we do not wish
to be intimidated by either terrorists or pirates. We all have experience of
wars in Africa and we know what we are
confronting. I hope that the "powers that be" will see us as an
interesting "bait" to entice some activity, for which action can be
taken.
We are an American registered yacht
with a mix on board of British, Canadian, South African and French connections.
If something happens to us I am sure
that one of these countries will see it as an opportunity to give their naval
forces a reason to rise to their responsibilities.
Thank you to you and your team for
working to keep the seas safe for navigators of the high seas.
Best
Chris
Perhaps the outcome will be that we are
attacked by a drone from the USN Bahrain!
Let’s see if we can shoot it down with a crossbow.
After all, it wasn’t far from here that David
slew Goliath.
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