Sailing Suleika by Dennis Krebs is a long sea mile from a typical description of an extended cruise. Dennis met up with the 43ft steel ketch and her redoubtable skipper, Sally, when he was stationed on an island halfway between New Zealand and Fiji. Sally and Suleika were on their way around the world from Shoreham in Sussex, UK. Dennis signed on and sailed, as ‘bosun, musician, chef and first engineer’.
It turns out that Dennis’s talents do not end with the engine room and the galley. His writing is fast, pithy and often extremely funny. It has always been the mark of the true sailor that he makes light of his troubles. The extract below takes us with him and his skipper on the first part of their passage north up the Red Sea where troubles come thick and fast. Join them as we contemplate the aptly named ‘Gate of Sorrows’ together.
Approaching the Straits of Bab el Mandeb – the Gates of Sorrow, named for reasons we hoped never to encounter – there remained 1,200 miles to the Gulf of Suez. Then another 150 miles to Port Suez and the start of the Suez Canal, leading to the Mediterranean Sea. There are yachting tales concerning travels up this sea which run from the delightful – 10 days of a southerly taking them all the way non-stop – to those which have taken three to four months, to those who never made it at all, and worse, those who have disappeared without trace.
Come 1100 on the morning of 4 March, the wind whispered then strengthened from a southerly direction. We hauled up the anchor, and before long were sailing in 20 knots making good progress towards the straits.
“Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if it stayed like this for five or six days and got us halfway up in one shot?” said Skip, looking forward to the challenge.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
wallywind 110 launches
The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.
Youth AC puts on a show
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.
ATLANTIC BEYOND
SAILING THE SECOND EXPLORATION 60 ON A WEST-TO-EAST ATLANTIC CROSSING WAS IDEAL FOR A RIGOROUS TEST OF GARCIA'S NEW NOWHERE YOU CAN'T GO FLAGSHIP
UNCONTROLLED
HELPLESSLY APPROACHING AN UNINHABITED ISLAND IN THE GALAPAGOS WITHOUT ENGINE OR ELECTRONICS, JON VAN TAMELEN FEARED BEING IMMINENTLY SHIPWRECKED
SECRET ISLAND
BEYOND THE FORBIDDING ENTRY RULES OF TAIWAN IS A CULTURE RICH IN SEAFARING HISTORY AND STUNNING LANDSCAPES, FINDS CAMERON DUECK
LAND OF THE BIRDS
SKIP NOVAK DESCRIBES THE PERILS, CHALLENGES AND JOYS OF A CRITICAL EXPEDITION VOAYGE TO SURVEY SOUTH GEORGIA'S ENDANGERED WANDERING ALBATROSS
FIRST STEPS TO BLUEWATER
YOU CAN GET INTO WORLD CRUISING FROM A STANDING START AND EXPERIENCE THINGS NO OTHER TRAVELLERS DO. CATHERINE LAWSON AND DAVID BRISTOW TALK TO FOUR COUPLES WHO PROVE IT
HARD CHOICES
IN AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM HER NEW BOOK, PIP HARE REVEALS WHAT DROVE HER ON WHILE RACING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN OCEAN IN THE 2020 VENDÉE GLOBE.
INTO BATTLE
COULD THIS BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE VENDÉE GLOBE EVER? HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT WHAT THE SKIPPERS WILL BE FACING.