Traveler in Gulf of Aden, Day Two
Hi, Everyone,
This is Saturday, March 21 and Day Two of the most dangerous and dreaded leg of our voyage, that through the notorious Gulf of Aden’s pirate-infested waters. So far, so good.
Our position at 1100 local time is 14-57 N, 052 54 E, on a heading of 210 at a speed of 7.0 knots motoring in calm seas. The engine is working very well and we have no boat problems (yeah!)
There is not another boat in sight, yet, but we expect to see much traffic soon. We are headed to the Maritime Security Patrol Area, with 35 miles to go to the eastern entrance. The MSPA is a recently established shipping lane for vessels of all sizes–from super tankers and container ships to cruising sailboats–to group together to make it easier for the coalition forces to keep a watchful eye over them. All vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden in the MSPA must pre-register with the coalition, and the warships keep track of each vessel closely on radar, with twice a day fly-overs by military planes. Each vessel must give a daily check-in via VHF with their noon position, course and speed. Local fishing boats must stay well away from the shipping lanes. Any bad guys would be spotted and dealt with swiftly–at least that is the idea.
In spite of all this security, we just heard that two nights ago an eastbound Greek ship, I believe while in the MSPA–not sure, was boarded by pirates and the crew is being held hostage. I would like to know more about this, if any of you can find out the latest info, please.
We had quite the dolphin show right after breakfast this morning. A pod of ten bottle nose were jumping as high as ten feet high right off our bow. Hopefully, the Blessing of the Dolphins will bring us good luck.
Michael and Barbara
Brian and Brandon, too