cruise2asia.myfreeforum.org

Lyra · Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 14

I've been putting together all my mental notes, odd jottings and scraps of paper into some kind of cohesive timetable. If Jamie and I decide not to participate in the Vasco da Gama rally we'll be doing something like the trip outlined below.

From a timing point of view there are pluses and minuses to VdG or our trip:
We will be transiting the Red Sea in summer when it is hot, something like Turkey at its hottest, but without the humidity and breezy every day. The winds, however, are favourable all the way to India, with virtually no sailing to windward.
VdG timing means more bearable weather but a potential uphill struggle through the Bab al Mandeb and plenty of windward sailing in the NE Monsoon to India.

This is a rough idea of our trip:

September/October
Marmaris to Port Said to Ismailia to Abu Tig. Med is still friendly. The Suez trip is broken up at Ismailia where we can stop and take in some sight-seeing or head straight through.
October/March (6 months)
Abu Tig – sight-seeing, friends to visit, travelling to other countries (Libya, Jordan), going home, practice reef sailing, diving, Christmas, New Year, last minute work/panics etc
April – early July (4 months)
Abu Tig (Egypt) to Port Sudan (Sudan) to Suakin (Sudan) to Massawa (Eritrea)
Careful and easy day sailing and plenty of anchoring/diving/snorkelling/wildlife spotting. Easy Northerlies pushing us through. Plenty of time available to spend in each anchorage. Up to Gulf of Aqaba if we want to. Approx total = 835 nautical miles
Mid July
Massawa (Eritrea) to Aden (Yemen). Good time to get through Bab el Mandeb, with a little help from the SE Monsoon. Approx 450 nautical miles
July/August/Early September
Aden to Mina Raysut (Salalah, Oman), possibly taking a trip up the Oman coast to Muscat, or exploring inland, before heading over to India, time, money and bureaucracy permitting. Approx 400 nautical miles with Oman cruising
Mid September
Mina Raysut (Salalah, Oman) to Cochin (OR Bombay, or Goa if there is somewhere to over- winter by then). Nice gentle end of SW Monsoon easing us through on the beam. Cochin = Approx 1360 miles, Bombay = 1080 miles, not sure about Goa.

Three months in India (Time to fly home, sight-see etc.) Come January, over to Sri Lanka, Chagos, Thailand... don't know where yet. We'd like to get to the Andaman's, but probably won't be able to get there from India - it looks like the wind patterns dictate taking the NE Monsoon from Thailand - not a bad idea.

NOTE We could spend less time in the top half and more time in Yemen and Oman if it looks like it's possible to cruise in Oman. We can be flexible on this as the Bab al Mandeb crossing is still ok earlier in the year – we'll just wait for a good window...

Decisions, decisions...

_________________
www.followtheboat.com

davidbains · Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Monfalcone Italy

I think even the VdG is too slow, Nov1st in Cyprus to March 1st in Oman is three months! However I suppose then one need not bother with the Indian visas, but head straight for the Maldives or Ceylon arriving late March. This should allow an onward trip to Thailand by mid April, still only just b4 the poss of an early Bengal cyclone in May!
I suppose also one could just press on after Suakin and head straight for the Eritrean islands to await a weather window for the Gates of Sorrows! But then of course there would be no convoy through pirate alley.