April 22, 2019, Suez Canal

Warning!

Dear readers, be prepared for a negative story, about a nightmare and with a long list of setbacks and hurdles that had to be overcome. Good luck!

The Emotions:

The last 6 weeks have been extremely emotional, with deep gratitude, hatred, euphoria and defeat, and with hope and disappointment.

I was warned by Vasco Da Gama. During my journey through Portugal I had read about his voyage of discovery to Arabia and that he had returned severely frustrated. Then, I could hardly understand that, but now I do. Because although I have come across exceptionally nice, friendly, helpful and hospitable people, they make you crazy with their bureaucratic system. And so I lost all my relaxation and de-stressing of 2 years of world sailing in 5 weeks to the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.

The alternative route:

Even before I left the Netherlands, I had planned to complete the Oman – Aqaba (Jordan) route by land. So to transport my 8.5 x 3.1 meter, 3 tons sailboat with retractable keel “Hoogtevrees” on a truck over the road through the desert of the Arabian Peninsula (approx. 3,100 km). The underlying idea was to ”circumvent” the dangerous, awkward and unattractive Red Sea with its pirates, unapproachable coasts, unattractive ports and at least 800 nautical miles headwind.

The preparations:

On the internet you can find two reports of sailors who have done the same, but from West to East and with larger yachts (Chinook in 2011, Tramp in 2012), and the transport company that is mentioned by both in a positive way is Nabresco from Jordan. Indeed after my request for a quote they responded with a promising and affordable quotation within two days.

The transport itself will therefore not be the most complicated aspect, but the customs problems might be. From Sri Lanka I tried already to make contact with some agencies for the necessary paperwork, but despite their renowned names (Wilhelmsen, GAC) they could not, or did not want to understand what it was I was requesting. 

I wanted to transport my yacht “In Transit” through Saudi Arabia, i.e. when leaving Oman, all shutters locked and sealed, in order to unlock them again in Jordan. Then the various customs border posts would not have to inspect the ship and the ship can always remain closed. It was my intention to hermetically seal all shutters and openings to minimize the penetration of desert sand.

The Indian Ocean / Arabian Sea:

Departing from Oman was therefore not going to be easy, but neither was arriving there!

The “standard” NE monsoon of 4 Bft took a few weeks off. Light winds took its place, first from North 2 Bft and later from South – Southwest 3 – 4 Bft and at the very last NW 5 Bft.

Duqm, Oman:

Because of these winds I didn’t end up in the desired port of Salalah, but in Duqm, where a huge commercial port is being constructed. A small yacht does not belong there and on the assigned quay I dangerously swung against the quay wall. Because I wanted to go on a truck anyhow, I therefore asked them if they could lift me out of the water the next morning, so that “Hoogtevrees”was safely on dry land.

Immigration in Oman:

Now that the ship was safe, my immigration was the next issue. That was not easy. Although I had done everything that the website of the Royal Oman Police prescribes, my tourist visa was not considered correct. I should have had an “Expert” visa, but nobody knows how. In the meantime, Nabresco had already directed its truck to Duqm.

After eight days, when despair is at its peak, the extremely friendly, hospitable and helpful Port Control Manager takes the initiative to send me to the customs office with a driver. This is illegal because I am not allowed to leave the gate without a passport stamp. At another immigration office they could accept my tourist visa, but then there must be an ”agent” and that agent doesn’t want to work for me. First, Duqm Port’s commercial boss had to call the agent’s headquarters to force their cooperation. And when they started working for me, they came up with the message that it was impossible. I had to get another visa and for that the tourist visa had to be cancelled. However, canceling a visa is not possible, so you cannot get a new visa either. Here again, high echelons had to be addressed and after eight days I finally got a stamp in my passport based on my tourist visa.

If I thought I could now freely walk out of the gate, I was wrong, because Duqm Port still had to make a form for the ”security” saying I was allowed to leave. They only made this at the request of the agent, but fortunately it was arranged in two hours.

Import into Oman of the ‘’Hoogtevrees’’:

The agent had started working on this. I kept telling him “the boat must go through Arabia in Transit”. However, he worked on the basis of import and export. When I think it’s almost settled, I hear that the customs want it differently. Not based on import and export, but “In Transit”. Hooray, two days wasted!

However, the agent did not have a permit to prepare a transport document with the status “In Transit’’, and they cannot / do not want to obtain this. The question of how to continue is standing at the customs headquarters in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Nobody knows how to proceed and they say that it is impossible. I am getting pretty desperate and am even considering leaving my beloved sailboat definitively in the desert and taking a plane home.

The Dutch Embassy:

I e-mail with the Dutch Embassy in Muscat, which reacts very actively. The Embassy has good contacts both with Oman customs and at the agency, which still owe a return to the Dutch Embassy. The Embassy makes an appointment for a meeting on Sunday 10.30 with Customs, Agent, Dutch Embassy and me.

This appointment was hardly made, or I was dragged away by the agent at my lunch to drive to Duqm customs office with squeaky tires. I can get a code there, which in turn has to be approved by the customs in Muscat and with that code you can fill in the “In Transit” form on the computer. Unfortunately it is already Thursday 2 pm and everyone has gone home for the weekend (Friday and Saturday).

Although the agent says it is no longer necessary, I will travel to Muscat on Friday to be a tourist, visit the Embassy and if it is still necessary, to attend the meeting.

When I arrive at the Embassy, my initial contacts appear to be both ill, but the Ambassador and other colleagues give me a heart-warming welcome, with a lot of attention, interest, coffee and Dutch cookies.

The highly qualified embassy employee, Mr. Nasser, joins me to the Customs Head Office. Of course we first have to wait 45 minutes, but then we get to talk to the top boss. Nasser explains the problems and the customs officer promises to send a letter, within the hour, with which my agency can draw up the transport documents. We go back to the Embassy to report and the Ambassador advises me to have lunch with Mr. Nasser while I wait for the letter, but in consultation with Nasser we decide to go to the head office of the agency. Nasser knows people there and indeed people start working for me. In the end, I leave with an import document for Oman (Port of Duqm can now put my boat on the truck), and the promise that an export document will be drawn up in Duqm. All this for US $750.

I thank Nasser and go to the hotel. Tomorrow I have to wake at 5 a.m. for the 6 a.m. bus to Duqm. The very kind bus driver looks surprised when he sees me again.

Departure from Duqm:

When I arrive in Duqm, “Hoogtevrees” is indeed on the trailer, inside the gate! Can she drive through the gate now? I walk back and forth three times to the office and the gate and call four times and then finally she can.

I would prefer to drive my boat and truck to the agent in Duqm center and stand in front of the office door awaiting the export document, but the driver refuses, because he is afraid of a fine if he parks in the small town with the long truck .

We are picked up by the agent to find out at the agent’s office that they cannot produce an export document, but that it will be arranged at the border to the UAE (United Arab Emirates). I am fed up now and call them all  incapable. Of course that does not help and with friendly handshakes I finally leave the office.

I go to bed early again with the alarm at 5 a.m. The truck takes me to the bus stop and continues to the UAE without me. I ”bus” again the Duqm – Muscat route with that kind bus driver, it is only 600 km.

Ukrainian plane ticket criminals:

At the hotel in Muscat (where they see me appearing for the third time) I buy a ticket to Amman, Jordan via the internet for the next day. Skyscanner leads me to BravoFly and I pay with IDeal. However, I do not get the promised final e-mail with the ticket. I assume that the ticket is at the check-in counter because checking in nowadays is based on your passport.

The UAE border:

In the meantime I have learned through the Embassy that the truck has already arrived at the UAE border, “that’s quick”! But he can’t just pass, the agency there needs my personal Omani customs code. I’m going to the embassy again for a face-to-face consultation. Now Meri (my initial contact person) is there and she is great! With a few Arabic telephone conversations, she points all people in the right direction and the export documents are drawn up at the UAE border for “In Transit” transport to Aqaba.

Full of hope I go to the airport ……. Unfortunately …… no ticket! Internet Criminals!

So I buy a new ticket at a real counter for the next day at 4.30 a.m. Again the same hotel; they give me a discount now.

The next morning, Air Arabia doesn’t want to check me in because I don’t have a return ticket. They are afraid that Jordan will refuse me and that they will send me back at their expense. I angrily go to the same ticket counter for explanation and a solution. There is, namely a “Fake Ticket” to Amsterdam which only costs € 25, -. Now I can check in and I bring the Fake Ticket back to the counter.

The flight is going well. At the Amman luggage scan, my binoculars are suspicious, but that ends with a hiss. I carry my most precious things, and for Saudi Arabia unacceptable goods, in two bags: binoculars, logs, medicines, CD’s, navigation laptop, satellite messenger, EPIRB.

Amman, Jordan:

It is 8 a.m. and I take a taxi to Nabresco, my transport company. I arrive at 9 a.m. and meet Samir, the director. He is the Godfather of Jordanian logistics, nothing is impossible and he prefers to walk impatiently through the workshop to renovate and modify trailers and tractors for seemingly impossible project loads. The company used to be much larger, but due to the problems in Iraq a large part of the trade & transport has disappeared.

Samir tells me that the truck has passed the UAE border, but was stopped again because an import deposit of US $4.000 had to be paid. I would get the deposit back and luckily Nabresco has the routine to pay this quickly, but it results in yet another day of delay.

Samir’s son brings me to my hotel in the center of Amman and it is almost Friday (= weekend) again. That means that nothing will happen at the customs for the next two days. I visit the Roman amphitheater and the temple of Hercules.

Walking down the hill, a nice gentleman speaks to me in good English and it appears that he can arrange a tourist trip to the Dead Sea and Mount Meru (place where Moses died).

Sunday it is exciting again to find out how far the truck has driven. I go to Nabresco again for the latest news, but everything goes smoothly and the truck is halfway to Saudi Arabia. Samir even says that it could arrive in Aqaba the next day, so I hurry to the bus station to travel to Aqaba.

Aqaba:

In Aqaba I have to wait at least five days for my boat to come into view. Moreover, an extensive customs procedure still needs to be completed for which I am driven to different customs offices to arrange various documents.

All this under the leadership of Mutaz, the son (because he speaks some English) of the local agent. He is a nice young man of 21 years and he studies Marine Technology. I translate that as marine sciences. But when I see on his whatsapp photo that he is wearing a sailors uniform, I understand that he is at the Nautical Academy.

Visiting the Nautical Acedemy of Aqaba:

Mutaz takes me to the new nautical acedemy of Aqaba and the teacher is delighted with a foreign visitor. When I tell him about my adventure and that I am a shipbuilder, it all becomes even more interesting. I give a guest lecture. It is shocking to find out that half of the class does not understand my English and therefore I have to keep stopping my story to have it translated. When asked by the students what they should learn for their career, I have to give them the disappointing answer that they should learn better English.

Reunited with my wife:

Meanwhile, my wife arrives in Aqaba on March 27. I pick her up from the airport at 03.00 am and I have to wake up early again because another document has to be arranged.

Petra:

Although they say that my boat will cross the Jordan border on Friday, we are going to Petra for two days, because I have experienced a few times now that nothing happens in the customs departments on Friday.

Petra is incredible, the landscape, the temples, the carved city, the size of this city, the techniques of 2,000 years ago. This is indeed a world wonder.

first day we take the standard walking route and walk with the crowd, but the second day we drive to the back entrance with a 4×4. We are almost alone and the landscape is even more spectacular. This is also a downwind route as well as a downhill route. Very pleasant.

The Free Zone:

To our surprise and relief, we receive a message on Friday that “Hoogtevrees” has indeed crossed the border and is now in one of Aqaba’s Free Zone depots owned by Mr. Ihab and Mohammed, two very nice men who assist and advise us in these uncertain circumstances.

When we are back in Aqaba on Sunday, we think that “Hoogtevrees” can be launched soon. Unfortunately, taking her out of the Free Zone requires many procedures, approvals and documents. I have to visit the Jordanian Maritime Government and also the marinas. There are three marinas in Aqaba and all of them are ridiculously expensive (five times the Dutch rate) and with cost items that make no sense. I ask all three for bids and negotiate to the point that they reject me. I shouldn’t have done that either. Eventually I decide on Ayla Marina where I deposit € 1.030 for the travel lift, all formalities, fees and five days berthing. The alternative would certainly have cost € 600 more.

“Hoogtevrees” held hostage:

By the time all of this has been arranged, it’s Friday afternoon again. We get the message that the truck has passed the gate of the Free Zone and we assume that she will park at the marina to get unloaded the next morning.

I am in good spirits at 8 am and go to the marina to guide the launch, however …. no truck has been spotted. After a few calls the truck driver appears to have taken my boat in hostage because he first wants to see a salary. At 11.00 this seems to be resolved, because he maneuvers the truck under the travel lift. However, it now appears that the customs seal has not yet been removed. Forgotten! Mutaz drives off to get a customs officer and comes back two hours later.

When the customs officer wants to break the seal, the driver starts to make problems again. He does not allow customs to break the seal. He must first see money from his boss or from Nabresco or from me. He parks his truck tightly along a wall so that the travel lift can’t embrace it.

I hope that these two problems (money for the driver & customs seal) can be solved before closing time, but I am careful not to look impatient. It is not my problem and Mutaz knows that and is nervous. But after alot of telephone calls, the seal is removed and the truck is driven under the travel lift at 4 pm and “Hoogtevrees” is lifted off the truck. But she cannot be launched yet, because I want to paint the bottom with antifouling now, luckily this only takes half an hour.

Launch:

So at 5 p.m. my 35-year-old Kelt floats in the brand new marina of Ayla Resort. We find out that “Hoogtevrees” is the first foreign sailing yacht to visit this marina and the crews of all other ships in the harbor (tourist boats) are surprised, enthusiastic, curious and very helpful.

The first job when we are on the pontoon is rinsing the boat with fresh water. What a pleasure after two weeks of ocean salt and five weeks of desert sand. Ineke meanwhile wipes out the sandpit inside.

Damage caused by Saudi Customs:

The next morning I raise the mast and test the engine.

I had heard from the truck driver that Saudi customs had started the engine, but then did not know how to stop it. So she had been running for at least half an hour without cooling water. The impellor had indeed crumbled, but the Yanmar is once again running smoothly.

In addition, they broke the cover strips at the cabin entrance, broke a cupboard door, broke the table top and put everything in a different place. However, nothing was missing.

Rudder repair:

Then I had to repair the rudder because there was a cracked weld in it. The welder in Guadeloupe who repaired the rudder after the Atlantic crossing had already predicted that his weld would not last the entire voyage. Via Nabresco I arrive at the industrial site of Aqaba, where there is also a stainless steel ironwork ”wizard”, between all the raucous workshops. He both cuts and welds with an electrode and in no time and for € 80, – my rudder is repaired and strengthened. The crew of the tourist ships help me to put the rudder back in the next morning.

The same day we also arrange a visa for Egypt, load 170 liters of diesel and 60 liters of bottled water and arrange a snorkeling outing.

Finally sailing again:

The sailing trip from Aqaba to Suez must be well planned to avoid the standard headwinds in the Gulf of Suez. When I see my “Weather window” on Windy.com, I inform all parties that I want to sail on Friday morning and ask them whether there might still be any obstacles. But everyone is positive and we invite Mutaz for dinner in the city. Nonetheless I get a message from Mutaz on Friday morning 4 am that we cannot leave because customs does not work on Friday? Fortunately there is a 2nd clearance route through Ayla Marina and I still get the necessary stamps and documents before departure. They escort us out past the palace of the king and then we fizz away in 5 Bft. downwind with 2 poled out genoas.

Suez:

The predictions of Windy.com are right again and we arrive after a mostly downwind trip Sunday afternoon at the Suez Yacht Club, are assisted with mooring by Merek the friendly harbor master, and our reliable agent Mr Heebi organizes immigration, customs clearance, ship measurement and the Navy inspection.

The Suez Yacht Club is located in one of the better areas of Suez, but unfortunately there is a lot of litter and plastic everywhere. It is also somewhat chilly in Suez. We put the duvet in the cover to sleep warm at night.

On Windy.com we see that we can only enter the Mediterranean next Tuesday, which means that we want to complete the 1st part of the Suez Canal on Sunday. Planning this is difficult, because if a warship wants to pass the canal unannounced, every other ship will be postponed.

Cairo:

So we have enough time for a 2 day trip to Cairo / Giza with its Pyramids and Museum. Cairo is a relief after Suez, it has grandeur and is much cleaner. At the hotel, they sell us a car tour along Giza, Zaqqara and Mephis for € 30,- before we are well and truly checked in, and then try to place us in a different (lesser) room than we have reserved on Booking.com.

The driver is off course an hour late the next morning, but is friendly and speaks good English. He takes us to a camel, horse and carriage rental company who wants to drive us along the pyramids for € 85,-/pp. We thank him for this rip-off and just walk in 2 hours along the impressive Pyramids and the Sphinx, meanwhile ignoring the highly annoying Egyptians who want to sell you something.

We visit 2 more grave / temple locations, all very beautiful, very old and very impressive.
For dinner, after many wanderings, we find a pleasant “western style” restaurant, where wine is served and where unveiled Cleopatra’s do come.

The next day we visit the Egyptian Museum, which is full of sarcophagi, mummies, statues of Pharaohs and as a showpiece the entire treasure room of Tutanchamon and his golden mummy mask. Also very special, very old, and movingly beautiful.

Back in Suez everything appears to be going according to schedule; we do extensive shopping at the nice fruit & vegetable market for our 7 day trip to Crete.
On Sunday morning everyone comes by to ask for a tip (highly irritating and disappointing), the pilot comes on board and then we leave for a headwind motortrip through the Suez Canal.
In Ismailia we have to stop for the night, but may not leave the yachtclub premises because we have already cleared out. We have to stay in Ismailia for 2 days because warships have to transit. I am afraid to miss the weather window, but luckily the wind patterns are delayed as well.

The second part of the Suez Canal is with a more favorable wind, but again with a disappointing pilot. In Port Said we give him $ 20,- which does not make him happy and grateful, but disappointed and angry. $ 20,- is not enough, off course, it is never enough for Egyptians.

We have rarely experienced such a terrible country as Egypt. Never experienced such a terrible continent as Arabia.

Costs of Desert Sailing from Duqm Port Oman to Aquaba Jordan:

• Price for truck transport by Nabresco: € 4.850
• Demurrage by Nabresco: € 625
• Lift out by Duqm Port: € 200
• Personal immigration into Oman by agent Khimji Ramdas Shipping: € 100
• Import of sailboat by agent Khimji Ramdas Shipping: € 670
• Harbour fees by Duqm Port for 2 weeks (incl.: lift on truck, meals, shower, coffee, internet, etc.): € 780
• Some fuel, money and food for the truck driver: € 300
• Ayla Resort Marina (travelift, 7 days on the pontoon, Inspection by Jordan Maritime Authority, departure documents): € 1.020
• Criminal ticket Bravo Fly: € 200
• Valid ticket Air Arabia: € 300
• 3 x bus Duqm <–> Muscat: (3x € 14) = € 42
• Bus Amman to Aquaba: € 8
• Taxi’s approx € 200
• 4 days Hotel Muscat: (4 x € 35) = € 150
• 4 days Hotel Amman: (4 x € 35) = € 150
• 10 days Hotel Aqaba: (10 x € 25) = € 250
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Total amount for an unforgettable adventure = € 9.845

Max Dirkzwager
Dutch S.Y. “Hoogtevrees” (Kelt850DI 1984)
maxdirkzwager@gmail.com

Related Content:

• Overland Trucking to Avoid the Red Sea (May 2013)
• Desert Sailing (May/June 2011)

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.