Sailing to the Med thru Red Sea 2nd quarter 2015

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by tominny

If anything a yacht flotilla probably makes a more likely radar and visual sight target.

I agree. Our convoy of 26 boats streatching over a nautical mile was a joke. An obscene breach of safety in every way. My only safety was being better at defending ourselves than most of the other boats so i would have been on of the later ones taken.

Originally Posted by AndytheSailor

stay at least 20-25 miles off shore and if possible don't show any lights at night.
Good luck.

Not any distance off shore! You need to stay in the IRTC International Recognised Transit Corridor. That is the ONLY area patrolled by navy ships. They are have set area to patrol and can not, MUST not leave their posts. They are even reluctant to send their helicopters out of their bounds because they are intregal to patrolling their ouw sector.

Sailing boats are asked to use the wide buffer zone between the two traffic lanes. This is good because thats where the navy ships patrol. Pirates dont normally hang around in the buffer zone but keep tabs from outside the IRTC... So hopefully, as the lanes are 5 miles wide, a sailing boat without sails should not be seen.

Our convoy didn't use the Corridor as they wanted to go 10nms off the Yemen coast. Laughable and unsafe.

Anyone intending to do it better really know their stuff and have a death wish...

[Chalida]

Hi

I have a 46' monohull and am interested also. Please call me at lacerne@hotmail.com

Regards

[Lootah]

Hello everyone,
Been doing some research and some thinking.
I wish to bounce this idea, I will appreciate if you can share what you think.
I found out thru a friend that companies in Tug towing business deliver barges from time to time from Oman to Saudi Arabia/Red Sea. And they hire armed guards during the trip. My thought is to tag a long with these tugs as they do not exceed 4 knots, and kind of stay close to them.

Does this make sense?
Does anyone know of such companies?

Regards

Lootah

[emircedes]

We just hugged the patrolled corridor when we delivered a boat to Dubai from Tunisia..just ensure you take precautions as good as you can..harbor master in Adan very nice guy..we asked him for permission to beach the cat in Flint Island to give the hull a good scrub so we would get an knot and a bit extra and to make final A-P preparations..
Also(it might sound stupid) to all planning to go to or coming back from Dubai, its not really a good idea to discuss your travelplans on a forum..them pirates are not as stupid as you might think..(just saying)

[moseriw]

I would consider it a good Idea if the helpless EUNAVFOR hand out 2 x M32 Grenade launches and 2x Remington Mariners with 00 Buckshot to every boat/ship in transfer and for the ships a box of hand granades to be returned in a save port of call.

Or that all governments allow us to carry thoes weapons on board (only - of course)

[moseriw]

about helpless:
sorry but there are movies out where pirates aim on a warship with RPG's and nothing happens. The only answer would have been to blow them out of the water like the russians or indian navy do. They can and EUNAVFOR or the US Army.
Folks there is now law out there in international waters and sorry but pirate attackers should be killed in the fight.

They expect to be killed... Blah... nobody wants to die. So if the answer is hard enough they will stop their attacks.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by moseriw

about helpless:
sorry but there are movies out where pirates aim on a warship with RPG's and nothing happens. The only answer would have been to blow them out of the water like the russians or indian navy do. They can and EUNAVFOR or the US Army.
Folks there is now law out there in international waters and sorry but pirate attackers should be killed in the fight.

They expect to be killed... Blah... nobody wants to die. So if the answer is hard enough they will stop their attacks.

and many have be killed by all forces operating in that area, they just dont get to the media

some facts here Key Facts | Eunavfor

The area does seem to more under control

[moseriw]

Yes I know that the attacks significantly decreased due to the presence of the warship presence of 12000 crew I think. Quite a high price to pay!

OK it is a crime to fish in somalian waters and empty their fishgrounds of contaminated fish due tu the next crime of dropping poison in their water.
And those Italian? criminals were hunted down but never have been brought to court.

And the US Intervention "Black Hawk down"? What a shame! Should never have been allowed to end like this. And damn it but the somalian people do have a right for peace in their country.

And it is not a solution to have at least a few dozens of us killer sqads out there with a list to murder an unknown account of people - silently.

Sorry this is not a solution. War has to be declared (right or wrong) and executed as required. And f. the esoteric misbeliefers.

Peace is someting that has to be fighted for even in our degenerated western hemisphere.

[atoll]

jimmy cornell has a plan afoot to send a flotilla of yachts through the gulf of aden at the end of the year as guinea pigs..............

[Emerald Sea]

Three yachts left Male, Maldives (Highland Duck, Equanimity, RogueBrit) last week (4Mar) heading for the Red Sea/Med. They took on armed guards out of Male. They've just started so news is forthcoming. From speaking with them and their research, the threat is real and alive.

Departing from Thailand in Jan and chatting with a nr of Indian Ocean cruisers (like us), there seems quite a few are taking the Red Sea route on the premise, they believe, that the risk has subdued since 2011. As Atoll has pointed out, it clearly hasnt and it may be that in 2015 the Somalies will have more to choose from.

Im taking the COGH route, much less stress and risk.


Steve
L450
SV Emerald Sea

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by atoll

jimmy cornell has a plan afoot to send a flotilla of yachts through the gulf of aden at the end of the year as guinea pigs..............

gee let me line up to be part of that

[Buzzman]

Hmmm....given the current situation in the Yemen, perhpas nw is not a good time to be passing thru this area?

And even if Yemen doesn't fall to the Houthi, then it will likely becoime another failed state like Somalia....

Although frankly I can't see the Arab nations allowing this, especially Saudi.

Possibility of additonal maritime naval resources form Arab countries may even make the area safer from Somali pirates..??

Be interesting to watch what unfolds.

[GoingWalkabout]

Sailing in the Red Sea at the moment would be akin to setting sail in the Pacific during the Second World War.