N Djibouti, dunes in the sea, some of them Islands
As we were setting off I outlined the passage to hug the Djiboutian and Eritrean coast as the lesser evil having not heard of any incidents on the W coast of the Red Sea. I also wanted the protection of the archipelago off the Eritrean coast as the relentless NW that had been badgering us for most part of the Indian Ocean crossing I was sure would be ever present in the Red Sea too. We sailed in good weather and when we passed Bab-el-Mandeb we only met a few Djiboutian fishermen who paid us no attention, I assume they had enough sense to bring water with them before they set out. Even the wind was with us for awhile and we were surfing along a good 5-6kts. Towards the sunset the wind died and we motored once again. During the afternoon I had been in touch with the Agent in Suez who informed that there is no diesel available for small craft and he recommended to to up fuel in Sawakina, Sudan (sometimes written Sawakin or Suakin). As we had intended to go to Suez directly this put us on further delay but hey-ho, we would need the fuel so we decided to pitstop in Sudan. After all it was along the way. I got a contact for a local chap in Sawakina and I sent my documents in advance and told him my ETA and on we went.
