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Team Sybaris wishes you

a Merry Christmas!

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We have had time to re-provision, get the laundry done and clean up Sybaris. A few wind-free days have been forecast so we will leave again tomorrow with Tony & Regina on lady Coppelia.

   

   

We had a lovely time at Sal Hashish. Per, Rien and Adrie did several dives and we all snorkelled every day. The reef protected us when heavy winds came.  Lady Coppelia joined us as well.

When more heavy winds were forecast for tomorrow, Per and I decided to return to Hurghada.

Two days ago Tony and Regina on lady Coppelia joined us at the anchorage.

 

Yesterday we went to Sandy Island together for another snorkel. When we arrived we were there together with just one other boat. Great we thought, almost to ourselves.

  

We went for our snorkel and upon our return 18 other dive boats had joined us and the beach looked like Torremolinos!

The fish at this site are obviously used to being fed by divers and came very close to see if we had brought anything for them. Per teased them by holding up broken pieces of coral, their daily meal. They stayed with us and gave me great opportunity to take photos!

   

Today we left Lady Coppelia at the anchorage and left to go back north. On the way we stopped at the ‘5 pillars’ dive spot. Per, Rien and Adrie went for a dive.

We continued to Sal Hashish, a reef in between Safaga and Hurghada.

We woke to strong winds and decided to leave. We returned to our safe anchorage in Abu Soma, outside the Intercontinental Hotel close to Safaga.

We passed close to Safaga town.

The weather forecast was good for tonight so we ventured out to Hyndman Reef, about 12nm south of Safaga. We anchored mid-morning while the sun was high. This way the reefs are in clear view.

Per went for another Scuba dive with Rien & Adrie and Gerda and I went for a snorkel around the boat.

After lunch we all went snorkelling together. What a fantastic site: enormous corals of all kinds, some looking like giant cauliflowers, and plenty of fish. I got to use the camera and took many photos. Unfortunately I had not put the camera on the right setting and most pictures were out of focus. Some came out great and here is the result.

     

The fish (approximately 90cm) on the last picture has the unusual name of ‘Scribbled Leather Jacket’.

For dinner we went to Johanna and ate the tuna they had caught on the way over. Delicious!

Today we all got on Johanna and went to a reef close by where we anchored. Per, Rien and Adrie went for a dive and Per took some more nice photos.

 

Notice he saw 2 Moray Eels on this dive?

Gerda and I snorkelled and then we all had a nice lunch. The wind came up in the afternoon so soon after lunch we returned to where we left Sybaris.

We left Sybaris and Johanna behind and all boarded  Marvin who took us across the bay to Sandy Island where the men went for a dive while Gerda and I snorkelled. First we admired a dolphin who was swimming just next to the boat giving a real show, jumping out of the water and splashing back in. Gerda and I watched him in the water, seeing his movements above and below the water simultaneously. Fascinating!

We ordered an underwater casing for our camera but had not used it yet. Today Per took it on the dive with him and came back with fantastic pictures. It will take a bit of practising to get perfect ones but so far so good!

      

The last picture is of the unusual crocodile fish.

We ate a pot luck lunch before going on an other snorkel trip. This time I took the camera to try.

 

We returned to our respective boats. What a great day!

Hurghada is always a pleasure to visit. We only stayed 2 nights but it gave us enough time to visit the supermarket and the green grocers.

During these 2 nights Per and I re-discussed our plans for the winter. It looks like we will not be visiting Sudan and Eritrea. We do not want to make this journey alone, preferring to travel with other boats for safety and entertainment. Instead we will spend most of the winter in and about Hurghada.

We said bye to Jan and Larry, our fantastic crew these last 6 weeks. Together we sailed 848nm, visited 3 countries on 3 continents and shared many many memories. Thanks for all your help and keep on sailing!

The night before they left Sybaris, Jan & Larry kindly invited us out for dinner at the fantastic Thai restaurant in the marina.

This morning they left after a frantic evening of packing and re-packing, trying to fit all Jan’s shopping into their bags!

We left just after lunch and made our way to Safaga where we arrived just after sun down. Waiting for us there were sailing yachts Johanna, with Adrie & Johanna on board and Marvin with Rien & Gerda on board. Together they have been sailing the Red Sea in the southern part of Egypt these last 7 weeks where they have not seen any shops or any fresh produce of any kind. We invited them on board Sybaris for a dinner and gave them a care package to take with them consisting of fresh fruit and vegetables. Great to catch up with old and new friends!

We returned to Taba Heights and checked back in to Egypt. We got the proper cruising permit for Sybaris for the winter and should now be legal in Egyptian waters.

We stayed the night in Nuweiba before sailing down to Dahab.

While  Jan and Larry together with Colin from Lady Coppelia, explored St Catherine’s monastery and climbed up Mount Sinai, Per and I got some groceries and walked around town. We became friendly with a local girl who made us a bracelet out of string.

    

We took the dinghy and snorkelled on some bommies at the other end of the bay and enjoyed the many fish and corals.

We stayed in Dahab an extra day waiting for the wind to calm down and left for a bay in Sharm El Sheik. The wind was still strong and we ended up motor-sailing part of the way to keep Sybaris more stable. We tied to a buoy behind Lady Coppelia close to Nama Bay. Next morning we continued to a reef 30 miles above Sharm El Sheik and stayed there 2 nights. We snorkelled and explored the reefs.

We crossed the Red Sea and anchored at Quisum Island. A chilly wind has picked up and for some reason the water felt colder there too although it was still at 25c. We snorkelled but were too cold to really enjoy it!

We chatted to Rien and Gerda from Marvin on the phone. They are in the south of Egypt and are making their way to Hurghada. We have decided to meet them in Safaga in the next few days.

We said bye to Colin and Erika , who will both be leaving Lady Coppelia soon, and to Tony and Regina who will see again when we return from our expedition!

The sunsets since Aqaba have been spectacular! Every night we watched the ‘show’ from our cockpit!

We had a good sail down to Hurghada marina where we are re-provisioning before continuing south.

There are many boats in the marina and we have chatted with a few. They look like a nice bunch and we hope to get to know them better soon!