Phoenicia Expedition - the continuing journey

by BW Media on 6 May 2009 After months waiting for the right winds, the Phoenicia Expedition sailing ship is about to depart Port Al Hodeidah in Yemen to sail through the Strait of Bab el Mandeb to the port of Aden.

The organisers are attempting to recreate the first circumnavigation of Africa, believed to have taken place 2500 years ago; and they are doing it in a 70 ft replica of a 600 BC wooden ship which was built in Syria. The crew have sailed it this far, but missed the winds to continue during the last season.

This resulted in the organisers announcing that they would put a six month break in the voyage in order to meet the crucial 'weather windows' for rounding The Cape of Good Hope as well as getting out of the Gulf of Aden.

Greek Historian Herodotus recorded that the original voyage took nearly three years to complete with mariners planting crops enroute and waiting for the harvests.

New crewmembers have now joined the boat, from the UK, Canada and Yemen itself, and they are busy preparing for departure. With the target departure date set as 8th May the ship will sail some 270 nautical miles around the Yemeni coast to reach Aden. You can follow their progress live and read the crews daily blog and post messages on the ships message board – visit www.phoenicia.org.uk.

Former crew member Rebecca explains what life onboard Phoenicia is like: “A memorable experience…my highlights were watching dolphins, sunrises and sunsets out at sea, night watch on the helm and eating the fresh fish we caught. The crew were great and worked really well as a team.

"Physically it's challenging. Personally, I found the heat really hard to handle but I really liked crashing out from exhaustion and sleeping so soundly every time I went near my bunk."

For your chance to be part of the crew for phase two of the expedition, here is the anticipated calender for 2009:

08/05/2009 - Depart Port Al Hodeidah (Yemen)

13/05/2009 - Arrive Port Aden (Yemen)

25/08/2009 - Depart Port Aden

03/09/2009 - Arrive Salalah (Oman)

01/11/2009 - Depart Salalah (Oman) for East Africa

For further information on all aspects of this expedition, including the chance for a great adventure by joining the crew, go to the website