It was almost too good to be true. A clear run out from Malta, missing all the bad weather - covering over 900 miles in 48 hours 7 minutes - and arriving in Port Said at breakfast time Monday. The marina here has welcomed us with open arms - each crew member presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers by local tourism officials, and a wonderful handmade plate presented by Port Said Rotary Club.

But now we have another slight hitch. Passages through the Suez Canal go in convoys - apart from four passing places, the canal is single way traffic only - with just two departures in the early morning from Port Said. Unfortunately we missed the 0700 departure today, and because the 0100 departure is for the big ships, we have to wait until the 0700 on Tuesday morning.

So another delay, with the knock-on effect that our arrival in Jeddah may not be until the local weekend, when everything comes to a standstill. But that's a problem we'll tackle when we get to it. In the meantime we have to see whether the canal pilots can be tempted to bend the rules for us to go through Suez in less than the usual two days.

So after a stimulating pick-me-up in the form of a couple of glasses of Egyptian coffee, we're taking the time to fuel up and generally get the boat cleaned and tidied ready for tomorrow's early start.

Clive Tully

FACTBOX
Malta - Port Said
Time of leg: 2 days 0 hours 7 minutes
Distance covered: 978 nautical miles
Average speed: 20.4 knots (this is what it should be all the time!)
Fuel consumed: 2,053 litres
Average fuel consumption: 2.1 litres / nautical mile
Next stop: Jeddah

Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
Picture and text transmitted by Iridium satellite network