Sea day

It has been idyllic. Perfect weather. Clear and shimmering blue. No need to go ashore. We're sailing the length of the Red Sea and there are another 500 nautical miles to Djibouti.

Gym. Leisurely breakfast.

A lecture by a Rear Admiral about maritime trade in the Indian Ocean.

A lecture by an elderly soldier who served in the Trucial Oman Scouts. (Definitely not Boy Scouts. It sounded like the SAS on a mission to sort out the Arab States in the Sixties).

"Natural Wonders of the Red Sea". Coral reefs and surprise volcanic activity with new Islands. Great new and fascinating stuff.

Perversely, the highlight for me was the presentation, introduced by our wonderful young Captain, which gave us a clear and detailed history and statistical picture of piracy in this area. The blip is a snapshot of that meeting and I've resisted lush views of clear blue for today.

We have two commandos (ex Royal Marines) working in professional maritime security (anti pirates to you and me). Fascinating. Reassuring. Even entertaining.

As we sail off the coast of Sudan, across from Mecca on our ship's map, we have darkened our ship and the guys are watching over us.

Feeling safe. (And we had a wonderful Captain's Cocktail party and welcome dinner).