Our sojourn with the Egyptian Navy finally ended after 4 days this morning when the wind dropped from the mid 20s to the teens, and we left, heading North.

The Egytian crew were friendly and helpful, but adamant that we should not snorkel or even swim off the boat. This was galling in the extreme, given the limpid blue water and profusion of fish and coral. But now we're on our way again.

The one major obstacle we have is to escape from the clutches of Foul Bay - 120 miles wide, with no real bolt-holes available. We should pass Ras Banas, the northern-most part, by daybreak tomorrow, when we'll all breathe a bit easier. Sadly, we have a limited "weather window" as the northwest winds which plague this area are due to return on Sunday. By then we should be in shelter.

Richard caught a lovely fish this afternoon, which we just demolished along with some onions, garlic, carrots and rice, and very good it was too.

So all remains well on board.

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