Great sailing from Malaysia to Greece

In January 2024, SV Islander departed Langkawi, Malaysia, with Chief Mate Uli Makareiko, Ylva Carlsson and Captain Barbara Jean Euser.  Their voyage took them to Uligan, Maldives, Socotra and Djibouti. Ylva left the yacht in Djibouti and Jonathan Muhiudeen joined the crew. SV Islander then sailed through the Red Sea to Ismailia, where Jonathan left and Uli and Barbara continued on to Cyprus, Kastellorizo, Rhodes and Ios, to Monemvasia, Greece. Barbara told Noonsite it was a great sailing season. However, they did have one unfortunate encounter after leaving Djibouti which Barbara details in the following incident report which she sent to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

UKMTO operates a Voluntary Reporting Scheme (VRS) for the Indian Ocean, specifically Red Sea, Gulf Of Aden and Arabian Sea.  While it acts as the primary point of contact for merchant vessels and liaison with military forces in the region, all vessels including private recreational vessels are encouraged to report their positions when transiting the Red Sea.

First person report by Barbara Jean Euser

Approached and rammed by a small boat

At 1800 on 11 March 2024, on passage northwards from Djibouti off Eritrea, a 12-meter fibreglass boat with bimini, windscreen and two 75-hp outboard engines and an insignia on its side, ran up Islander’s port side. Yelling and waving their arms, several men – one in uniform – pointed at us to change direction. I was under sail, hand-steering in heavy seas. I turned Islander towards the shipping lanes. Uli started the engine. Uli and Jonathan furled in the jib. The men (in the fibreglass boat) kept gesturing towards land. Then the boat rammed us hard. I turned to starboard. They showed their weapons – an AK47 and a belt-fed machine gun. They pointed the AK47 at us and fired. No one was injured. They rammed us a second time, forcing us towards land. From below, Jonathan sent out a Mayday via VHF. Then he came up and took the helm.

Uli came up and relayed the gestures of the men, now slightly port and aft of us, to Jonathan. I went below and sent Mayday messages to UKMTO and MSCHOA (Maritime Security Center – Horn of Africa) and our shore contact Vinny, via Garmin Inreach. They rammed us a third time. Jonathan motored slowly towards land. It was getting dark. The Eritrean boat remained close by. Then one yelled in English, “Where you from?” Jonathan yelled “Malaysia,” Uli yelled “Czech.” The men conferred.

A few minutes later, they gestured we could go. They trailed behind us as we headed to the shipping lanes. I was in contact several times with UKMTO. Pursuant to our VHF Mayday, Vinny had already been contacted by the US Coast Guard, telling us to inform the Europeans, which we had done. There was no response from MSCHOA.

The Eritrean boat disappeared in the dark.

Twenty-four hours later, I received messages via Inreach from the US Navy, to which I responded. We received a VHF call from an unidentified source, who asked in good English if we were all right. A military helicopter circled overhead, but did not contact us. We have not yet fully assessed the damage to Islander from the rammings.

There were later reports that the shots that were fired hit Islander’s hull.  I don’t know where the idea came from, but I don’t know where the shots went. I was cowering in the cockpit, trying to steer Islander away from the Eritrean vessel. We did lose our VHF antenna, but that may have been a coincidence.

Captain Barbara Jean Euser.
SV Islander

Update from Wade Alarie – 37 Yachts Complete Red Sea Passage

Regular Noonsite contributor and experienced Red Sea passage maker, Wade Alarie, who moderates a closed Facebook group for those wanting to make a Red Sea passage, confirmed to Noonsite that 37 yachts had successfully completed their Red Sea Passage to 5 August 2024, communicating with each other via the closed Facebook group.

“I should add that my tally of 37 yachts probably only captures about 50% of the traffic. Quite a few boats continue to pass through without joining the Facebook group Red Sea Passage. In some cases, the Captain and crew do not want their passage details to be shared in a public social media forum, and in other cases they simply don’t use Facebook.   However, more delivery Captains are joining the Red Sea Passage Facebook group and more yachts are using STARLINK, which works just fine through the Red Sea,” Wade told Noonsite.

“Only one of the 37 yachts in my tally was a southbound passage. The remainder were all northbound. There were no attacks by pirates or Houthies against any of these yachts. However, there were a couple of yachts that were approached by Eritrean officials and even warning shots fired,” he said.

“There are several issues that need to be considered with these reported incidents. Firstly, Eritrea continues to closely monitor and protect their coastline. Secondly, the coastline is very close to the Yemen coastline and Houthi held territory. Lastly, the Eritrean “officials” are often mistaken for pirates or terrorists because their equipment and uniforms are definitely “third world” in appearance. In two reported incidents, the Captains informed UKMTO of the encounter and quickly sailed to the deeper waters of the shipping channel.”

Cruising the Egyptian Coastline is a Challenge

Wade also noted that Egypt continues to make it challenging to cruise that country’s coastline.

“If you want to cruise along Egypt’s coastline, drop anchor and go ashore, it is simply not permitted unless you enter the country and do your touring through a recognized Port of Entry,” he said. “Some cruisers have stopped at Port Ghalib, for example, but the rates are much higher than previous years. On a more positive note, the new marina at Ismailia (in the middle of the Suez Canal) offers all the possible services that cruisers want at a very reasonable price.

“Cruisers are stopping at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the services there are available to cruisers for a discounted price. Despite the ongoing war in Sudan, it is still safe and practical to stop at Suakin, Sudan.  A few yachts, discouraged by the Houthi situation at the Bab el Mandab Straits, diverted to the South Africa route.

“However, it is my belief that more yachts have simply postponed their journey, or slowed their passage “to buy more time”. In my opinion, it is obvious that the Houthies have no interest in attacking private yachts. To support that claim, one of our members stopped at Port Al Mukalla on the south coast of Yemen (not Houthi held territory) and reported that he was treated very well.  He received the usual services (provisions and fuel) and engaged the agent in a conversation about the Houthi risk to yachts. The Yemeni agent was confident that the Houthis had no intent or interest in attacking defenceless private yachts or their crews.”

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Red Sea Passage Facebook Group

This Facebook Group is a closed group (you need to email wade@joana.ca to request membership) and private (which means it is not discoverable). There are more than 800 members, including people who are making the passage, those that have already done it, those that are considering this route plus a limited number of shore side support agents in Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Djibouti, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

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Related News:

• Red Sea:  Majority of Yachts Completing Successful Transits (July 2024)
• Red Sea:  Cruisers Re-Assess Security Situation (January 2024)

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Related Reports:

• Red Sea Transit – Nerve-Wracking but Uneventful (February 2024)
• Crossing the Red Sea in Both Directions – Tips and Advice – Wade Alarie (January 2024)
• Travelling North and South through the Red Sea – Wade Alarie (2022)
• Cruising Legends: Wade Alarie and the Red Sea Passage
• Red Sea: Passage Report on a Successful Trip from SV Joana (2020)
• Jimmy Cornell’s “World Cruising Routes”

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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.

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