The Strait of Bab El-Mendab
We found French cheese and wine and canned cassoulet* in Djibouti and this made aiming for the Strait of Bab El-Menab much more enjoyable.
This Strait is the southern pinch point into the Red Sea, just 11 nautical miles wide. The east side is a strategic spot for the Houthis – one of the players in Yemen’s civil war who have remained unusually quiet but unpredictable nonetheless since the US and Israel bombed the their Iranian allies. They have been threatening to close the Strait since the first bomb dropped.
So we didn’t waste time, topped up on diesel and sailed from Djibouti, through the Strait to Eritrea. We had wind from behind almost the whole way and a completely uneventful passage.
When we pulled into the port of Massawa in Eritrea, we were on a mission to pick up more fresh veg, see the town, and look for a part for our dinghy’s Yamaha outboard motor.
What needs fixing this time
Ian had completely taken apart the outboard, cleaned the carbourator twice, replaced the spark plugs, replaced the fuel line but the Yamaha kept decreasing it’s oomph. It’s something that he’s been dealing with since the Maldives (or maybe Thailand?).
Finally, he looked in the fuel pump and found a small rip in a small diaphram, a $7 part.
Everyone in these parts have Enduro outboards and the diaphragm on them is different. So he took a lot of pictures of the problem and enlisted a drive-guy who made some calls and then we drove around, sometimes off-road, where a couple of mechanics were consulted. Ian thought he could find a spare part on a old Yamaha but it turns out that wasn’t necessary.
Eritrea is a country that has been fighting land-locked Ethiopia since 1961 in declared wars and peace-time border disputes. There are, unsurprisingly, many resourceful engine mechanics here.
We found a guy who explained to Ian that he fabricates the diaphragm from recycled X-ray film…gave Ian some film that can be cut and dropped in to work as a diaphragm—And yeah, it works perfectly! (celebration emoiji).
When the sun goes down
Massawa is bumping after sundown during Ramadan. Half the population is Muslim and half is Christian and dinner can be found in the old town—fried fish, shiro (chickpea curry), and injera (sourdough flatbread made with teff). We actually ate at the Hotel Dahlak oceanside view using our headlamps but this place was lit up as we walked back to the dock after sunset.
Note: you can check out our track in the Red Sea. If you see that we are in Saudi, on land, doing 40kn, it’s because at that time, our GPS was being spoofed. We have a work around for navigation. I’ll write more about that in the Sudan Post – coming next. Click here to see our TRACK
*Cassoulet – Ian’s comfort food, a full French meal ready in 3 minutes, and when we come across a supply, he buys all of it – a meal that featured heavily in our Pacific crossing.
Sailing Afrikii 
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