Opening in 1869, taking 25,000 men ten years to complete and costing more than US$100,000 million, the narrow mainly single lane Suez Canal really is a testament to the amazing capabilities of man. At 120 miles long, 673 feet wide and 80 feet deep it takes on average 11-16 hours to travel from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal along with the Panama Canal has long been part of my vocabulary but never did I think that we would have the opportunity to sail her length.
It’s Easter Sunday and we have been awake since 5 (very unusual for Darryl). Each day a single Northbound convoy starts at 6am and our early start means that we are third in line in the convoy. First and second inline are an American and British warship respectively. I am not sure if having warships around is a good or bad thing. Every now and again there are passing lanes which means that at times it appears as if ships are sailing in the sand as you cannot see these passing lanes from our main Canal.
For the first few hours all we could see on either side of the Arcadia was mainly sandy desert with an armed guard every 400m or so. A few hours onward and on our port side – the Egyptian main side there is now industry, things growing in fields, occasional trains and numerous electricity pylons. It’s a bit surreal eating lunch as we sail alongside a road. On our starboard side – the less populated Sinai Peninsula it’s still sandy desert. The armed guards are still here but they don’t really make us feel safe.
To use this trading short cut – each vessel must pay approximately Aus $500,000. Transporting almost 5% of the global output of oil every day – its no wonder it’s one of Egypts most important revenue generators.
It’s now five in the afternoon and we are waiting for paperwork to be completed before we can depart Port Said – an Egyptian city situated at the northern most mouth of the Canal. We have had to divert from the newer main Canal into the older original part and make an urgent unscheduled stop here due to a medical emergency. Judging from the commotion on the streets below – the wolf whistles, people staring and pointing – a ship the size of the Arcadia docking here is not a common sight. A fellow passenger has been off loaded and is on his way to hospital. From our balcony we can see Egyptian city life in all its glory – crazy traffic, men touting their wares, helmet less motor bike riders, horse drawn carriages, dilapidated buildings covered in satellite dishes- it’s an unexpected treat.
Written the following morning – due to Egyptian bureaucracy we finally managed to depart Port Said around 630pm. With Captain Cook pressing full steam ahead we were shot out of the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea where we are now heading towards our next ports of call – the Greek Islands.
Unfortunately due to no internet at the time of writing this blog – I am unable to do the imperial to metric conversions.
