We transited the Suez Canal today. It is a day earlier than
planned. The original schedule was for a completely daytime passage on the 4th.
The reason is that they are dredging a new canal and the traffic is now limited
to one way. So a northern convoy will go and then a southern one. We were in
one that left our anchorage in the Gulf of Suez around 3:30 PM. We were ship 29
out of 31. Behind was a Princess ship and behind them a cargo vessel. There is
not a lot to see. As you enter the canal on the port (left) side is the city of
Suez. It looks like a normal city in this area. On the way through the canal
both sides are pretty desolate, mostly green on the port and desert on the
left. Egypt is on both sides the port side being Africa and the starboard side
being Asia (the Sinai Peninsula). On the starboard side (our side) there were guardhouses
and military stations all along the way. We are not sure what they were
guarding; the stations faced away from the canal, but they were all watching,
and taking pictures, of us pass.
The Suez Canal, also known by the nickname ‘The Highway to
India’, is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the
Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It opened in November of 1869 after 10 years
of construction work, and allows water transportation between Europe and Asia
without navigating around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said (which we
did not see because it was dark) and the southern terminus is Port Tawfik at
the city of Suez. Ismailia lies on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 miles) north of the
half-way point. When first built, the canal was 102 mi long and 26 feet deep.
After multiple enlargements, the canal, as of 2010, is 120 feet long and 79
feet deep and 673 feet wide.
It is single lane with passing places in Ballah By-Pass and
in the Great Bitter Lake. It contains no locks; seawater flows freely through
the canal. In general, the canal; north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in the
winter and south in the summer. The current, south of the lakes, changes with
the tide at Suez. The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority
(SCA) or the Arab Republic of Egypt. Under international treaty, it may be used
‘in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without
distinction of flag’. The canal allows passage of ships up to 66 feet draft or
240,000 deadweight tons and up to a maximum height of 223 feet above water
level and a maximum beam of 254 feet under certain conditions. Some
supertankers are too large to traverse the canal. Others can offload part of
their cargo onto a canal owned boat to reduce their draft, transit, and reload
at the other end of the canal.
We are now in the Mediterranean, our razor wire and water
canons are down, our stomach virus is gone and we are back to normal, for a
world cruise. Just a small story about a woman and her daughter I met yesterday.
At the beginning of the cruise I had over heard the woman and her husband
talking about how they met. They had met in school a long time ago in North
Dakota. He had married and she also, he for 50 years and she for 55. He then
looked her up and two years ago they reunited. He was 90 when they got married
and I am guessing she is between 85 and 90. She looks great. They sounded like
a couple of kids they were so happy. She told us yesterday that he had died of
a stroke in Perth. They had 1000 days together and she never regretted it. Her
daughter came on and is finishing the cruise with her mom. She told us the
story again in much more detail. It was very moving. Their kids did not want
them to marry, but she said you do not give up love when you find it no matter
what age. Great, and interesting, woman.
1 – Pilot boat, it brings the pilot that will guide you
through the canal on board
2 – One of the two boats where the men wanted to be let on.
It took around 30 minutes for the men to convince our crew that they should be
let on. They were yelling and screaming and holding up IDs. They finally hauled
both boats on board.
3 – The other boat we brought on
4 – #3 boat being hoisted up
5 - #3 boat on deck 3 (promenade)
6 – Another boat where someone had to come on board. The
captain said there would be a lot of people coming on to process paperwork
before going through the canal. We anchored about 10 in the morning.
7 – Bow of our ship
8-15 City of Suez (entry to the canal)
16 – Princess, tug and cargo ship behind us
17-18 Posts along the shore
19 – Fence that is farther out.
20 – Small town
21-23 More posts
24 – Do not know what it is, but will look it up when we get
home. It was in the middle of the desert along our route
25-26 More posts, note the use of solar power
27 – Boat still hanging from our ship; was gone this
morning.
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