Tuesday 29th April

We decided not to go ashore today, Haifa is not the sort of city one can really relax in. Even on board the tensions ashore are apparent. Sirens from emergency vehicles are almost non stop and from various locations simultaneously. The military airport across the bay is more active than any during the Battle of Britain the sky overhead has twisted vapour trails from aircraft carrying out manoeuvres and lower down, heavy surveillance aircraft continuously circle. We share the harbour with the military and watch throughout the whole day as patrol vessels come and go continuously, many at high speed as they either respond to, or rehearse responding to emergencies. High-tech destroyers looking like alien space craft with their radar invisibility designs slide in and out, very visible to the mark I eyeball. Two American destroyers sat alongside us on the opposite pier with ratings closed up at their gun stations. When I went to the duty free shop I asked one of the friskers if anything was happening and she shrugged and said, no this is normal. It might be normal for them but many people breathed a metaphorical sigh of relief when we finally left, it wasn’t just the ex-military people on board who detected the high state of readiness Israel currently maintains, but as we sailed the mood improved and by dinner the mood had significantly lightened.