suez canal

20000 ships go through the suez canal each year. This year we were one of those and part of a very small group of sailboats that crossed. The total length of the canal is 162 kilometers. It starts in the city of suez. We left this city around noon with a pilot and covered the first 81 kilometers until the middle lakes into the city of ismalia. Here all small boats are required to spend the night. we actually spent 3 nights and took a train to Alexandria and later a bus to cairo. Upon returning we picked up another pilot and we covered the remainder 81 kilometers until port said in the Mediterranean. Here we dropped the pilot and slept one night out of the canal right in the med, very exposed to wind and swell. This was the most rolly night ever…. And to top it off it was very cold. But we were happy to have crossed the suez and be in the med.

The canal is pretty simple. There are no locks and it is a long stretch of water marked by a marker every kilometer and with sand dunes left and right for the most part of the journey. Upon arriving in the south tip we were required to hire an agent which was of course not the greatest experience. they overcharge and the service is pretty substandard. Everyone that we came across asked for the baksheesh which is part of the everyday life in Egypt. It is simply a tip but whenever you give it, no matter how much it is, it will start an argument that is too little and they always want more… we played the game as required and tried to be patient throughout. We did have what we think was the only exception to this rule. Our pilot for the last leg was quiet, polite and after receiving the baksheesh he did not even look at it but simply put it away and thanked us. we were very surprised and happy to have met him and have had him on board.

There are three separate convoys of ships transiting the canal. One northbound in the morning and two southbound in the afternoon. The canal is open every day except when there is a warship crossing; and in this case it is reserved for only that one vessel. Small boats like ours are allowed to transit during daylight hours only and go next to the big ships. It is pretty amazing to see the big guys perfectly lined up going through the canal.

Sailboats are not allowed to sail so we had to motor all the way. we did pull out the genoa briefly to help the speed but this is technically not allowed. In our case our pilot asked that we do so to go faster. The experience was interesting and we enjoyed the view and the conversations with the two pilots we had on board. the marinas at suez and ismalia were very pleasant, and except for our agent our crossing experience was an enjoyable one.