Phoenicia - four weeks in the Atlantic, heading for the Azores
by Lisa Mylchreest on 15 May 2010
Where she is now - the Phoenicia’s voyage SW
It has been almost 4 weeks at sea since Phoenica, the replica 600 BC Phoenician sailing ship, left the Ascension Islands and she still has a very long way to go to reach the Azores.
The ship is nearing the end of her journey to replicate a circumnavigation of Africa, thought to have been made in Phoenician times.
This leg will cover some 3500 nautical miles - the longest leg of the expedition. It will be a challenging test to battle against the doldrums and unfavorable winds with many followers debating whether the Phoenicians could have made it to the Azores in circa 600 BC. Meanwhile the crew have prepared themselves to spend upto 60 days and nights at sea for the longest, and potentially most challenging, leg.
There are eight crew members on the current leg who come from the UK, America, Indonesia and South Africa to make up the international team. Most days the crew submit a blog to the website giving a fascinating insight to what it is like to be part of the expedition. Recent blogs have included accounts of swimming with a whale shark, seeing a midnight rainbow and splitting the main sail. Often the crew post photographs and anecdotes to give supporters a feel for life onboard throughout the highs and the lows. .
The expedition is now approaching the final phase of the expedition which will see Phoenicia sail through the Pillars of Hercules into the Mediterranean and back to Syria to complete the circumnavigation. Ports of call in the Mediterranean will include Carthage, Alexandria, Beirut and Arwad as the modern day team re-trace the route of the Phoenicians who occupied these ports in ancient times.
A few crew spaces are still available in the Mediterranean so please visit the crew page of the www.phoenicia.org.uk!Phoenicia website to submit an application.
The return to Arwad, Syria, where the ship was built will mark the completion of the circumnavigation and is set to be a wonderful celebration at the end of Phoenicia's 2 year voyage.
The estimated arrival in Syria is at the end of August 2010.
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