[color=#ff0000]This report has been posted on the OCC Forum to preserve this historic data when the Cruising Information Community site is closed. Its is not intended to encourage skippers to sail in waters which have now become more dangerous from piracy and conflict. Skippers considering sailing in these waters are strongly advised to obtain up to date information on the up to date local security situation.[/color]

This information has been contributed by and is intended for use by competent amateur yachtsmen as general guidance solely to supplement research of their cruising plans.It has not been checked or verified by the OCC. The Information may be inaccurate or out of date and is NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.


Flying Fish Articles
http://www.https://occwebsite.azurewebsites.net/Flying-Fish-Archive?id=id=2652&Itemid=397#Yemen



Aden – 12°47.60'N, 44°59.00'E

[color=#ff0000]Date: February 2007. [/color] Submitted by: Dick Moore, ALIESHA, February 2008

Our trip from Salalah in Oman to Aden in Yemen took 5 days and passed without incident. We had formed a convoy with two other yachts and found that keeping station on two other vessels not more than 400 yards away at night made watch-keeping very stressful. We believe that if travelling with a larger group this problem would become worse. While there were NO piracy attacks on this stretch of water in early 2007 (so far as we are aware) we and other convoys were visited several times by fast, outboard-powered open boats with three to five men on board, some of them hooded against the sun and others armed. When you see such a boat approaching, your heart beats a bit faster, until they are alongside and asking for biscuits, fresh water, Coke or cigarettes. Then the tension dissolves, smiles are the order of the day and you pass over what you can spare willingly.

The approach to Aden is spectacular as the cliffs to the south of the harbour are jagged and craggy and vaguely menacing.

The channel is well buoyed. It is good to call Aden Port Control on Ch 16 before entering the narrows. They will ask for your boat’s details and for the name of the skipper, then invite you to call again just before you reach the anchorage, the co-ordinates for which are given above. The anchorage is inside two oil unloading jetties, west of Flint Island and roughly opposite Steamer Point, the landing pier. It has a building on it which looks like a Methodist chapel with flags! A trip line is a good idea as the bottom is foul in places. Holding is a bit mixed. While we were there a number of yachts dragged and had to be rescued and re-anchored, so back down on your anchor well before you venture ashore. Be aware that the night club cum brothel at the west end of the anchorage can deprive you of sleep on most nights of the week!

Take your dinghy to the steps on the west side of Steamer Point pier. You will be met by a local who will welcome you to Aden and offer to take you to Customs and Immigration, located on the east side of Steamer Point. Customs asked for a pack of cigarettes, Immigration did not. If you are only going to visit Aden and its immediate surroundings you don’t need a visa but will be given a visitor’s pass. If you want to go to the old city of Sana’a (and you really should) then you should ask Immigration for a visa which will be provided while you wait for a small fee. Whichever one you have, the guard on the entry/exit of Steamer Point will want to see it every time you pass his position.

The Harbour Master’s office is about half a mile away towards the entrance to the harbour in a tower-like building. It is a courtesy to visit within 48 hours of your arrival.

At Steamer Point there are a number of taxi drivers waiting to show you around and also some young men who have good English and will offer to act as your guide. Unemployment is high in Aden and they offer good value. Negotiate a price for the taxi in advance. What you pay the guide is less clear. We thought his fee was included in the taxi fare but it wasn’t so be aware of this. Everywhere you go you will be greeted with “welcome to Aden”. Apart from the craggy hillsides and the water tanks in Crater, there isn’t a lot to see! Crater boasts a magnificent new supermarket, Lu Lu’s, where most supplies can be bought but not alcohol. If you need beer ask your taxi driver and guide. It is available under the counter and at a price.

Diesel can be bought from the fuel berth just inside Flint Island. The process of ordering and paying for it is about as inefficient as you `can imagine but it does create employment. We took on some pretty dirty fuel which we are still tying to clear from our tanks so do check a sample before they start pumping. The pump man will ask for baksheesh and also a present for his boss (a novel approach)!

Water is available from a tap on Steamer Point. You are expected to pay for this at a little office to the right of the archway into the building. Many cruisers tried to sneak a free jerry can but it doesn’t cost much per litre and to do so just makes life difficult for those who come afterwards. We took ALIESHA alongside the jetty to fill our tanks and nearly lost our guardrails because of heavy rolling caused by wash from passing tugboats, so be alert.

Apart from Lu Lu’s there is a small but excellent vegetable and fruit market about half a mile along the road to the east, branching right when you get to Victoria Gardens. Laundry can be handed to ‘Irish”, the henna-bearded laundryman who waited at Steamer Point and was well done. Once he asked me “are you British?” When I said I was, he volunteered that “things were much better here when the British ran things”!

If (when) you visit Sana’a, you will have to get a special permit as well as your visa. Your guide will take you to the appropriate office, negotiate a price and make it all happen. Then you must decide how to go and how long to stay. The bus takes 7-9 hours each way, and the scenery is fantastic but the bus company play Egyptian videos for much of the journey. Fans of the Hitch-hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy will remember the awfulness of Vogan poetry. These videos are similarly awful. We chose to fly up and return by bus, a good comprmise and not unduly expensive. A couple of nights is usually enough.

Old Sana’a is a medieval city built of mud brick but with houses several stories high and beautifully decorated. It is a living city, a place where people live and work as they must have done for centuries. We were captivated both by the architecture and by the enormous souk and walked for hours through the narrow alleyways, peering into the shops and occasionally negotiating a purchase. It was one of the high spots of the entire circumnavigation. And we so nearly missed it! Both the Indian Ocean Cruising Guide and the Red Sea Pilot warn that visiting yachts can expect to have their topside fouled by fuel oil floating in the harbour. This nearly put us off Aden altogether. However during our stay of about two weeks we saw no sign of any floating oil and the Port Captain assured us that the leaking tank had been repaired.