Tuesday 22nd April

We are rising later and later (for we, read me) but it is nice when breakfast is always ready, no matter what time of day you get up. We are still sailing through the Gulf of Aden following an orderly procession down the transit corridor at a pirate defeating 23 knots (catch us if you can Long John!) I was a bit previous with yesterday’s blog, thinking it was last night we would pass into the Red Sea, it is actually tonight we sail through the Baba el Mandel straits which is a twelve mile wide strait between the horn of Africa and the middle eastern country of Yemen and an important part of the link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. Temperature is still in the mid-thirties, and as the wind has shifted round more, there is less across the deck, magnifying the suns effect.

Today’s talk was Nelson, culminating in the Battle of Trafalgar and before he started he asked if there were any French in the audience. There were not which drew the comment that makes it a lot easier, Lieutenant Commander Eedle then pipes up “I am seconded to the French navy” to which he responded “that’s your problem” big cheer all round! But the talk was a bit disparaging of the French navy’s capabilities at that time and it appears that the Spanish also thought Napoleon underestimated the British Navy’s strengths which were being demonstrated right before their eyes. The French and Spanish had been blockaded for two years by the British and instead of anchoring which was the normal tactic when blockading a port, the British continued to sail to and fro 24/7 carrying out gunnery practice for the whole two years until they could fire broadsides at more than twice the rate of the French and their seamanship skills remained sharp. Though to be fair to the French (if one has to be) they did practice their musketry skills and that was what eventually killed Nelson. Hoping to see some more varieties of sea life as we enter the Red Sea as it is a relatively shallow sea with many coral formations just below the surface. Within recent human history sea levels were much lower than they are now and the entrance to the Red Sea was much narrower than it is today, there is scientific evidence to support ‘The Parting Of The Red Sea’ following a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. It initially drained the Red Sea exposing the shallower areas and then the surge of the tsunami refilled it.