We may have picked up the pilot around 2300 last night but I certainly didn’t stay awake to find out.

This morning was another matter. That is, if you define morning as anytime after midnight. We pulled anchor about 0345 and were on our way. I had expected actually that we would have started a lot earlier. But there are so many factors that go into starting out the convoy through the canal. Make no mistake about it, it is a convoy. Parts of the canal have two channels, the rest one. So it completely depends on a continuous flow of traffic in both directions managed actively with opposite directions only able to pass in the Great Bitter Lake or where there are two channels. This is similar to other long channels with the exception that this is all sea level – no locks involved.

I’m not going to repeat the history of the canal which dates back to the 1800s. Or two millennium prior to the Common Era depending on whether you want to believe Wiki which is normally pretty reliable or the kindergarten teacher masquerading as a lecturer on ship.  When you look carefully at the early history to include Darius I, it is fairly obvious that they were not looking to connect the Med with the Gulf of Aden but rather to connect the Nile to the Red Sea/ Great Bitter lake to make an East-West passage.

In any case – the canal entrance on the Red Sea end around 0400-0500 in the morning …

followed by what you could see as the sun was coming up.

 

Our view this time was different than the last two – we were on the right/north/east channel depending on your point of view. So we had a lot of sand. And construction and more sand.

 

Cross Stitch update –