Having cleared the Suez Canal at 14.00 on 21st it has taken us three and a half days to complete the transit of the Red Sea. We passed Djibouti on our starboard side and entered the Gulf of Aden at around 20.00 yesterday. (I was reminded of a trip to Djibouti in about 1982 when I was entertained in the officers’ mess of the French Foreign Legion in Djibouti, when we dined on grilled turtle and French rose wine !)

We are now in an area of Somali pirate activity. We have to observe blackout at night and the ship has put anti-pirate precautions in place. Assuming the photos upload correctly (and I have had trouble due to the ship’s slow wifi service), the pictures are: (1) Letter from the Captain explaining procedures (2) Crew member scouring the horizon for trouble (3) Acoustic equipment to deter boarders (4) Hoses rigged and ready to drench would-be boarders and force them back.

The weather is very nice – sunny, around 27c and calm seas. 

Some statistics: the ship is capable of carrying 1,400 passengers. On this sector (Southampton to Dubai) we have only 1,100. When we reach Dubai on Jan 31st, 400 passengers will be leaving the ship but another 400 will be joining for the next sector (Dubai to Singapore, arriving in Singapore on 17th February). We leave the ship in Singapore but she goes on for a short tour of Indonesia before returning to Southampton by the same route – although calling at different ports. There are 350 passengers on board who are on for the whole voyage, 91 days  !!