#06 – Hurghada
July 06, 2010
Location: Hurghada, Egypt

Our final port of call in Egypt was Hurghada where we stocked up for the 6 week Red Sea /Indian Ocean voyage. There we had the fortunate chance (through Quebec Labrador Foundation) to meet with charismatic, “larger-than-life” Amr Ali, Managing Director of HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency) and his team of people working on shark, coral, dolphin, dugong, fish, seagull, cultural and land conservation projects. Wow, a mouthful and true – a dedicated, loving group of inspired individuals wishing to make a difference in the Red Sea.

HEPCA is also involved with the recent oil spill due to leakage from an offshore drill located near the Strait of Gubal. A strange coincidence for us to arrive as this was unfolding and be online with friends and Board member J Nichols who are working on similar challenges with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Strange this is happening all at once and sobering to be in the midst of two oil spill crises.
Blue Marble #6 is placed in Hurghada at a beautiful HEPCA mooring in honor of eco-warriors around the planet loving our biosphere and making a difference to keep it our home.

– Abigail Alling

#07 – Diving July 12, 2010 Lat.: 23’37 – Long.: 36’13 Time: 22h45 During these last weeks we have finally begun to dive on lovely reefs: Geziret Zarbargad, Angarosh (also known as the “mother of sharks”) and Sataya Reef (named “dolphin reef”) – a lagoon that looked so peaceful, but was known as a place where once you enter you may not safely exit!

We had our own exciting adventure at anchor nearby where the winds shifted after a bout of strong force 7 and we weighed anchor safely exiting the reef at 01:30 am in the morning! Sailing with Mir has given me the opportunity of getting to know her. How she flows through the water, how the wind plays with the sails so that she could be pushed onwards to Singapore and Menjangan Island where the first blue marble lies making a magical connection with all the blue marbles. That is something that I have learned from Mir – something about the connection and mystery of the sea. Beautiful and calm, yet sometimes filled with gusts of fury. I am enjoying becoming a sailor. – Nick Swiggers

#08 – Diving July 17, 2010 Lat.: 18’50 – Long.: 39’02 Time: 20h00 The process is always the same: wetsuit, B.C., regulator, mask, fins and weight-belt, but in the Red Sea each time we suit up, sweat abundantly covers our bodies. The heat is almost unbearable so every dive is a divine opportunity to cool down.

Today, though, is a special day because we are diving on Sudan’s Shab Rumi reef where Jacques Cousteau built his underwater habitat known a Conshelf II. A dome where he and fellow divers lived for weeks at a time underwater while conducting numerous reef and shark experiments in the seventies. This was an historic project: a milestone advancing human exploration and life support habitation in a foreign/hostile environment. This was a project that my Biosphere 2 friends longed to pay tribute and visit. As we traveled off the coast of Sudan making our way south, we were lucky to dive during the day and sail at night. This was a sea full of life and we were frequently accompanied by risso, spinner and spotted dolphins. On several occasions we saw risso dolphins with these other smaller dolphins as they romped and rode the waves of Mir’s bow. – Fred Platon

#09 – Centre Peak Island, Zubayr July 24, 2010 Lat.: 15’00 – Long.: 42’09 Time: 08h30 The journey so far… Mir is a seaworthy, graceful sailing ship, the crew have become easy sailors and we have been tested again and again in force 7 high seas with gusting winds up to 8.

Now the moment has arrived when we will be tested in yet another way; one we had been rigorously warned about. It was time to face the waters known as the high-risk pirate sea. We anchored in the lee of Zubayr Islands in Southern Yemen, our last stop in the Red Sea before weighing anchor and heading to the Gulf of Aden. It was a sober time as we listened to Channel 16 broadcasting news of other ship’s being pursued by boats “with men heavily armed” and we heard the “Warship Coalition” reply that they were sending out helicopters in pursuit of these pirate boats. The radio was full with such activity and reports. Thus we met and planned and strategized discussing our safest route, time of day to transit the “hotspots,” and steps to be taken should pirates board Mir. With sober and contemplative hearts, we woke in the early morning to commence this journey into the unknown. We weighed anchor with a prayer asking for help and guidance in the days to come. – Abigail Alling

#10 – Crossing the Red Sea July 25, 2010 Lat.: 12’36 – Long.: 43’22 Time: 15h20 The southern-most end of the Red Sea is a narrow strait, only 12 miles wide, called Bab El Mandeb, which is between Djibouti and an island belonging to Yemen. To mark our exit from the Red Sea we dropped a blue marble. Our three-week voyage from Hurghada to Bab El Mandeb through the Red Sea was memorable for many reasons, but I believe that all nine of us onboard Mir will remember nothing more potently than the heat. It was inescapable, and even at night the thermometer would push 100*F. We baked, and at times it was nearly unbearable. We knew that Bab El Mandeb was the “official” end of our time in the Red Sea, but what we did not know is just how much it would be physically apparent that we had changed locations.

Just as we passed through the narrow strait the air temperature dropped ten degrees, the temperature of the sea immediately dropped five degrees, the salinity of the water plummeted, and many of us put shirts on for the first time in weeks. It was the sweetest relief. So with the red heat of the Red Sea to our backs we sailed into the Gulf of Aden, the place where all of the recent pirate activity has been reported, and we all decided that if we are going to need to worry about pirate attacks it’s best to be nice and cool and comfortable when we do. – Sam Scott