Cat’Leya

A tense Red Sea crossing

Cat’Leya is heading west again, and getting ready to celebrate eight years of sailing when she reaches the Mediterranean. She has to cross the Gulf of Aden and then sail up the Red Sea, but the current situation in the Middle East is forcing Jean-Pierre and his crew member Mladen to be extra vigilant...

Cat’Leya

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Published 09/08/2024

By Gilles Ruffet

Issue: 197

Published: sept. / oct. 2024

Discover this issue

Who: Jean-Pierre and Mladen
Where: Red Sea
Multihull: Lagoon 52 SporTop
Blog: www.sailingcatleya.blue

By the end of 2023, as we set off again, the conflict between Israel and Hamas entered a new deadly phase and spread to the Red Sea and the northern Indian Ocean through the Yemeni Houthi movement, which targets maritime traffic. Since January, 64 events linked to attacks have been recorded by the French Navy in the sector. At the same time, acts of Somali piracy are on the increase, taking advantage of the mobilization of the armed forces present in the area against the Houthi attacks. It’s enough to make even the bravest sailors think twice! Aboard Cat’Leya, the wait is on, and we had embarked on a voyage to discover the Maldives, even if it meant not enjoying particularly favorable weather conditions when we would reach the northern half of the Red Sea. Others opted for South Africa, but most decided to stay in South-East Asia for another season.
At the beginning of March, a few sailing boats reached Port Suez thanks to the help of the navies of the numerous countries mobilized to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The Houthis seem to be targeting only merchant ships, particularly those from countries they consider enemies, as well as those bound for Israel. So we decided to try our luck. The first step was to register with the military organizations: Mica-Center in France, MSCHOA (Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa), which coordinates European naval forces, and UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations). You then have to follow their instructions and send them a daily position report.

We left Malé at the beginning of March. It was easy sailing with a downwind breeze and calm seas, with occasional calm spells under power. A week after our departure, we were abeam of Socotra, before positioning ourselves four miles south of the IRTC (Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor), which runs along the southern coast of Oman and then Yemen, in order to set a course for Djibouti. We entered the dreaded Gulf of Aden, where from time to time a radio announcement with a strong Japanese accent urged us to report any suspicious movements or vessels. After a short three-day stopover, we set off again for Suakin, in Sudan, almost 600 miles further north. This is the second and riskiest part of the journey. We passed through the Bab El Mandeb strait (barely 10 miles wide) at the entrance to the Red Sea. We then had to stay on the navigation track while avoiding Eritrean territorial waters, where, it seems, the coastguards tend to be rather overzealous with any sailboats that venture too close. Once we reached the latitude of Saudi Arabia’s southern border, we could consider ourselves out of danger. Four days after leaving Djibouti, we entered Suakin. It’s a magnificent site, an island linked to the mainland by a small bridge, in the middle of a highly protected natural harbor that’s easy to access, which explains the city’s thousands of years of prosperity. Our next stop was Marsa Oseif in northern Sudan, very close to Egypt. We weren’t expecting any more surprises in terms of the weather, but ideally, we were hoping to avoid the northerly wind, which can blow very hard and cause rough seas. It would be better to have calm conditions, even if it meant straining the engines. The following day, we left Sudan for a 300-mile sail towards Egypt and Soma Bay, where we stopped for a few repairs before setting off again for Port Suez. These last 200 miles were rough, with short, choppy seas and the wind on our nose: just like being in the Mediterranean! So Cat’Leya is one of the rare boats to have crossed the Red Sea this year - Those Gauls are crazy!

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