13th, 14th March
Tuesday 13th March. (Belated birthday greetings, John Mc, sorry we missed it.) Last evening’s dinner at the Captain’s Table was wonderful. We were seated where our name cards were placed and to my surprise I found myself sitting next to Commodore Bernard Warner.
He was a charming man and chatted to us all in a well practised manner. I found some reasonable questions to ask and then enquired about our next port of call, Alexandria. He said he would get back to me with more accurate information, and he did. The next day an envelope arrived with a personal letter from him telling me all I needed to know, which I thought was very gracious as his time is precious. Our meal was 
excellent and wine flowed freely, as it does! The dessert was specially prepared for his table and was very impressive in presentation as well as the manner in which it was served. Conversation at the table, which seated 7 guests, a lecturer and his wife, the Commodore and his secretary, was lively and most interesting. Unfortunately, the name on my place card read Maria Filby, so I laughed and told Commodore Warner to call me Marion, he apologised for the mistake and said he would get another written out for me, not that I was bothered. However, the next day an envelope arrived addressed to me with a place card for Mary Filby! It was a nice thought but someone got it wrong again!
After our most enjoyable Monday evening Alan had spent all day Tuesday resting on the balcony and taking in the sunshine and fresh air. I joined him and did some odd jobs before going to the gym. We continued west south-westerly during the morning through the eastern extremities of the Arabian Sea. By late afternoon we approached the Gulf of Aden, a stretch of water dividing Yemen from the north coast of Somalia in the African continent. Unfortunately, due to our position we did not have access to satellites and so I was unable to get onto the Internet. We decided not to join in with yet another formal evening and dined in our suite whilst watching a DVD, The Aviator, which was much better than I had expected. Our clocks went back an hour and we are now 3 hours ahead of the UK.
Wednesday 14th March Another leisurely day at sea. This morning we entered the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The straits marked our entry into the Red Sea dividing Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea. By lunch time we were 40 miles west of Yemen and 80 miles east of Eritrea and had sailed close to a group of small islands. At this point the Red Sea was only 500 metres deep. There are 200 types of coral here and it is the most northerly tropical sea - with more salt due to a higher level of evaporation. Through out the day we sailed parallel to the coast of Saudi Arabia to the east and the Sudan to the west. By nightfall the cities of Jeddah and Mecca will be at a distance of 40 miles off the starboard side. Alan attended a lecture on digital camera use and I went to the last Spanish class. This evening we are invited to a cocktail party for World Club guests and we have just been presented with our platinum badges for reaching the top level of Cunard cruises. (This affords us extra advantages when sailing.)
He was a charming man and chatted to us all in a well practised manner. I found some reasonable questions to ask and then enquired about our next port of call, Alexandria. He said he would get back to me with more accurate information, and he did. The next day an envelope arrived with a personal letter from him telling me all I needed to know, which I thought was very gracious as his time is precious. Our meal was 
excellent and wine flowed freely, as it does! The dessert was specially prepared for his table and was very impressive in presentation as well as the manner in which it was served. Conversation at the table, which seated 7 guests, a lecturer and his wife, the Commodore and his secretary, was lively and most interesting. Unfortunately, the name on my place card read Maria Filby, so I laughed and told Commodore Warner to call me Marion, he apologised for the mistake and said he would get another written out for me, not that I was bothered. However, the next day an envelope arrived addressed to me with a place card for Mary Filby! It was a nice thought but someone got it wrong again!After our most enjoyable Monday evening Alan had spent all day Tuesday resting on the balcony and taking in the sunshine and fresh air. I joined him and did some odd jobs before going to the gym. We continued west south-westerly during the morning through the eastern extremities of the Arabian Sea. By late afternoon we approached the Gulf of Aden, a stretch of water dividing Yemen from the north coast of Somalia in the African continent. Unfortunately, due to our position we did not have access to satellites and so I was unable to get onto the Internet. We decided not to join in with yet another formal evening and dined in our suite whilst watching a DVD, The Aviator, which was much better than I had expected. Our clocks went back an hour and we are now 3 hours ahead of the UK.
Wednesday 14th March Another leisurely day at sea. This morning we entered the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The straits marked our entry into the Red Sea dividing Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea. By lunch time we were 40 miles west of Yemen and 80 miles east of Eritrea and had sailed close to a group of small islands. At this point the Red Sea was only 500 metres deep. There are 200 types of coral here and it is the most northerly tropical sea - with more salt due to a higher level of evaporation. Through out the day we sailed parallel to the coast of Saudi Arabia to the east and the Sudan to the west. By nightfall the cities of Jeddah and Mecca will be at a distance of 40 miles off the starboard side. Alan attended a lecture on digital camera use and I went to the last Spanish class. This evening we are invited to a cocktail party for World Club guests and we have just been presented with our platinum badges for reaching the top level of Cunard cruises. (This affords us extra advantages when sailing.)
posted by Alan & Marion @ 11:58 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home