DAY 92-CRUISING RED SEA

 Our position at noon today is in the Red Sea.  It was 88 degrees then with 50% humidity.

BACKGROUND INFO:
The Red Sea
       Since we will be sailing in the Red Sea all day today and for the next two days also, I thought I should talk about it some for you.  It is about 1400 miles long and 220 miles wide at its widest.  At its deepest part it is 7254 feet deep but its average depth is only 1600 feet.  The naming of the sea is not fully understood.  Some modern scholars theorize that the name Red is referring to the direction south, just as the Black Sea's name may refer to north.  The basis of this is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to directions.
       The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was by the ancient Egyptians in 2500 BC.  The Book of Exodus in the Bible tells the tale of Moses leading the Israelites' crossing of Red Sea in the Gulf of Suez on its western end after wandering in the desert for 40 years.  The exact date of it is still disputed.  Some say 1446 BC and others propose around 1250 to 1200 BC.  Later, the Roman Empire used the Red Sea as a trade route to India.  From 500 to 1500 AD it was an important part of the spice trade route.  The Suez Canal was opened 1869.
       Rainfall over the Red Sea is extremely low with an average of 2.5 inches per year.  It is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world because of its high evaporation rate from the mostly sunny days.  Because of the lack on rainfall along the Red Sea, there is a big demand for desalinated water to meet the demands of the people living near it.  There are 18 desalination plants along the coast of Saudia Arabia alone.
       There are over 1200 species of fish here in the Red Sea.  This is due in part to the 1240 miles of coral reef extending along its coast line.  This coral is from 5000 to 7000 years old.

WHAT WE DID TODAY:
       First let me say that once again the headliner entertainment last night was fantastic.  I am very pleased with Regent's obvious upgrading the quality of our headliners.  Wish I could say as much for the ship's production cast.  Last night we enjoyed the great young talent of Ancora from the UK. We're looking forward to their second show in a few days.
       At 9:00 this morning the Captain made a PA saying that we were running 4 hours ahead of schedule due to their running max speed all last night while passing through the critical part of the pirate's area.  Including a favorable current and tail wind the ship was making 21 knots.  He said we were just now passing by the island of Perim which was just 2 miles off our right side just off the coast of Yemen.  We are now entering the Red Sea.  Looks like the piracy threat has passed.

 Passing through the narrowest passage between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.  It is only about 20 miles wide.  This is the island of Perim just of the coast of Yemen.

  There was quite a bit of ship traffic in the Red Sea today.  As you can see it is blue not red.

       Now Rebecca's lose of voice has turned into a cough and congestion.  The medicines the doctor gave her 4 days ago have not helped.  The poor thing has been sickly all but 5 weeks of this cruise. She says if she gets well again she will not dine or be around others on the ship.  Don't blame her.   Not sure how I have avoided catching it from her.
       We will dine alone this evening.  Not sure if we will go to tonight's headliner show featuring a comedian, Tom Sutton, another UK entertainer.
       We turned our clocks back another hour last night so now we are 8 hours ahead of Central Time.
We will be cruising the Red Sea again tomorrow.