May 15, 2013 Cruise Summary Dubai to Venice

May 15, 2013 Cruise Summary Dubai to Venice

Captain Andrea Poggi

Dubai to Doha (Qatar)                                    199 nautical miles

Doha to Mina Qaboos (Oman)                       492 nautical miles

Oman to Safaga (Egypt)                              2,339 nautical miles

Safaga to Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt)                211 nautical miles

Sharm El Sheikh to Aqaba (Jordan)                 80 nautical miles

Aqaba to Suez Canal                                      299 nautical miles

Suez Canal to Port Said (Egypt)                       88 nautical miles

Port Said to Ashdod (Israel)                           133 nautical miles

Ashdod to Limassol (Cyprus)                        186 nautical miles

Limassol to Istanbul (Turkey)                        731 nautical miles

Istanbul to Piraeus (Greece)                            359 nautical miles

Piraeus to Kotor (Montenegro)                       579 nautical miles

Kotor to Venice (Italy)                                   367 nautical miles 

Total distance traveled Dubai to Venice 6,063 nautical miles

We departed out of the Mina Rashid harbor and proceeded on a North-Easterly course towards Doha. The next day we set a North-Westerly course with many oil rigs on our port side. In the early morning we once abeam of the Jazril Halu Island we altered to a South-Westerly heading into Doha.

Departing Doha we entered a traffic separation scheme on our way to Oman along the South Coast of Iran on our port side (about 20 nautical miles away). In the afternoon we approached the Strait of Hormuz entering the traffic separation scheme where we altered to a Soth-Easterly course passing at about 10 nautical miles from the coast of Oman on our starboard side. Once out of the TSS we maintained a South-Easterly direction to Oman.

Departing Oman we set a South-Westerly course across the Arabian Sea towards Safaga, Egypt. Then we set a South-Easterly course following the Oman coast. During the night we altered to a South-Westerly course across the Arabian Sea and in the morning we passed Masirah Island on our starboard side at a distance of about 15 nautical miles. (an island off the East coast of Oman.)Through the afternoon we maintained our South-Westerly course and in the evening we passed Khurlya Murla islands.

Throughout the next day we steamed on a Westerly course following the Yemen coast and approaching the Gulf of Aden, which is a gulf located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait which is about 20 miles wide.

In the afternoon of the next day we passed by Mayyun Island at a distance of 2 nautical miles. Throughout the afternoon we kept our course navigating across the Red Sea between Yemen and Eritrea. In the Evening we passed the Anish Islands.

During the next day we navigated on a North-Westerly direction towards Safaga. In the early hours of the morning we passed Jebel Zubair Island on our starboard side, which is the largest of the group of 10 islands and submerged shoals that rise from a shallow platform in the Red Sea Rift.

In the morning  we passed between the Parasan Bank on our portside and the Dahiak Bank on our starboard side. Throughout the day we maintained our heading navigating between Saudi Arabia on the starboard side and Eritrea on the portside.

During the night we maintained a North-Westerly course across the Red Sea. Then in the early afternoon we followed the Egyptian coast on our port side passing the Foul Bay, which is an inlet of water on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea and is located slightly north of the Tropic of Cancer.

The  Captain maintained a North-Westerly course to Safaga. Departing Safaga towards Sharm El Sheikh we maintained a North-Easterly course following the Egyptian coast and then a North-Westerly course to Sharm El Sheikh.

After departure from Sharm El Sheikh we set a Northerly course towards Aqaba. We navigated through the Strait of Tiran, a narrow sea passage about 7 nautical miles wide between the Sinai and Arabian Peninsulas which separate the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea.

Departing Aqaba we set a Southerly direction ready for our passage through the Suez Canal. During the night we passed the Strait of Tiran in a Southerly direction. In the morning we altered to a Westerly course approaching the Strait of Gubal and the Gulf of Suez where we steamed on a North-Westerly direction between the Sinai Peninsula on our starboard side and the Egyptian coast on our port side navigating throughout the day across the traffic separation scheme towards the Suez Canal.

In the early hours the Pacific Princess dropped anchor in the Bay of Suez. With the pilot on board we weighed our port anchor and took our place within the northbound convoy to enter the Suez Channel. We passed El Gineifa Signal Tower on the port side which marked our entry into Little Bitter Lake. We then altered course to a North-Westerly heading and entered the eastern branch of traffic lane leading into Great Bitter Lake. Soon after we set a North-North-Westerly direction maintaining this course through the eastern branch towards Deversoir by Pass East Branch which led to Lake Timsah. With about 77km to go, we passed a War Memorial in the shape of a large bayonet off our starboard side, proceeding on our Northerly course through the canal as the ship steamed towards Al Ballah by Pass East Branch . Once clear we set a Northerly course towards the Port Said by Pass. Then a Port Said Pilot boarded the Pacific Princess to maneuver us to Port Said.

After departure from Port Said, we set a Northerly course and in the night we altered to a North-Westerly direction as we entered the Traffic Separation Scheme. Once out of that we set a Westerly heading towards Ashdod.

Departing Ashdod we set a North-Westerly course across the Mediterranean Sea towards Limassol, Cyprus. The local Pilot boarded at Akrotiri Bay in a Westerly course passing the breakwater.

Departing Limassol once we cleared the breakwater we set a Westerly course towards the Dardanelles Strait and Istanbul, Turkey. During the morning Pacific Princess steamed on a North-Westerly direction across the Mediterranean Sea, crossing the Karpathos Strait, passing at a distance of about 7 nautical miles from Rodos Island on our starboard side and the Saria Island on our port side. Until early afternoon we maintained our heading across the Karpathio Sea passing numerous islands on both sides of the ship and then we entered the Ikario Sea passing at a distance of abou 2 nautical miles from Ikaria Island. In the evening we altered to a Northerly course passing the Psara Strait and between Chios Island on our starboard side and Psara Island on our port side at about 5 nautical miles away from both.

During the night we maintained an Easterly direction towards the Strait of Canakkale Bogazi. (also known as Dardanelles Strait) In the early morning we entered the Sea of Marmara passing Marmara Island on our starboard side and then in the morning we set Northerly courses towards the Strait of Istanbul where we board the Bosporus pilot who takes us to Istanbul.

Departing Istanbul we set various South-Westerly courses as we left the Dardanelles Strait and maintained our course across the Aegean Sea towards Athens, Greece. In the evening we passed the Kafireas Strait, the passage between the Southern tip of the island Euboea and the nearby island of Andros.

In the early hours we altered to a North-Westerly direction towards Athens. We entered the Gulf of Aegina which forms the part of the Aegean Sea and the Isthmus of Corinth and we proceeded through the Traffic Separation Scheme to Athens.

Departing Athens we set a North-Westerly course towards Kotor, Montenegro. During the night we passed the Elafonisos Strait on a Westerly course across the Lakonisos Gulf. In the early morning we passed by Cape Tainaro and Messiniakos Gulf. In the morning we altered to a North-Westerly course following the Peloponnesus’s coast for the rest of the day across the Ionian Sea towards Kotor.

Throughout the night we steamed on a Northerly course entering the Strait of Otranto which connects the Ionian Sea with the Adriatic Sea. As we approached the Kotor Bay we boarded the Kotor Pilot we made our way through the harbor.

Departing Kotor we set a North-Westerly course towards Venice, Italy across the Adriatic Sea. In the evening we entered the Traffic Separation Scheme which led us to our destination following the Croatian coast. We entered Lido Harbor in Venice and navigated through the San Nicolo Channel first and then into San Marco Channel and passed by San Marco Square on our starboard side before joining the Giudecca Channel and berthed into our assigned dock.

Our cruise ended in Venice, Italy after a total of 30,903 nautical miles from January 31 to May 15, 2013.