Now we have a run of five days at sea, 2509 miles from Jeddah to the Seychelles. Should be lots of time for walking, reading and eating!

Today’s lecture was “Navigators of The World” – Magellan, Columbus, Cook, and do on. Alison hasn’t quite learned the knack of a segue but her talks are relatively interesting and they fill an hour.

Speaking of ocean voyages (see how I did that? lol) there’s a nautical chart by Reception with a big red boat marking our passage.

The security guards have been out on deck all day, scanning the horizon for pirates I guess. We’re chugging along at 16 knots and far from land today so quite safe for the meantime.

So, 2 hours later…just off the coast of Eritrea (how often do you say that?) I saw a larger boat in the distance, motionless, and another smaller boat speeding towards us.

I assumed the captain saw the same so I rushed to the railing instead of the bridge to see what was happening. The little boat came right up to us and went ‘round our stern to the starboard side, the side my cabin is on. So I then rushed to my balcony for these photos:

4:15pm update! Coming back from my haircut (just a wee snip or two at the back) I saw a man in uniform at the elevator. “Are you an officer?” I ask. “I am the captain”, he replied. “Excellent. Can you tell me what was happening with that little boat? I have it all on film if you need.” He laughed and said “No, no (he’s French). It was just more security.” So basically I think we just upped our stockpile of weapons for the Gulf of Aden. Troubles in Somalia today so maybe being extra careful?

Glad to report that dinner and the rest of the evening was uneventful.