Out into the Mediterranean
Evening
At dinner we learned that the traders were not a joke at all. They had come on board at the start of the transit. We heard how they had had to clamber down rope ladders to a waiting boat at Port Said. One of the traders making the descent on the back of another trader!.
We didn’t have to wait long before going into the Ligurian for dinner. I had French onion soup, steak again and a strange cheesecake. We shared a table with a couple from Liverpool who had the same names as us. They were keen cruisers and shred with us stories about their interesting cruises over the years.
After dinner we went to see the 10:30 pm performance by the ventriloquist.
From the Cruise Log
Monday 1 April – At Sea
Temperature 17°C
Wind Westerly Force 5
Weather Mostly Cloudy, passing showersThe anchor was dropped at 00:06 and all equipment shut down for the time at the anchorage. Final arrangements were made with local organisations regarding the passage through the canal. A Pilot was booked for 03:30 and instructions were received to start recovering the anchor for the same to time having 2 shackles on deck. At 04:00 the vessel was weighing anchor and making her way towards the canal as number one in the convoy.
Throughout the day Oceana made her way through the canal at a speed of around 8.5kts reaching the Small Bitter Lake at 07:30 and the Great Bitter Lake an hour or so later. At 14:54 the transit of the canal was completed, some 3 hours quicker than expected, partly due to being number 1 in the convoy.
Once clear of the Port Said port limits the Bridge team was reduced to Green manning, the normal level of manning for at sea,and set speed to arrive in Malta on the morning of the 4th.