Vasco da Gama Yacht Rally
Second Edition

History

From 2005

The first Vasco da Gama Yacht Rally took place between 31 October 2005 and 30 April 2006 and was inspired by the close relations developed with international ports, during previous visits from 1998 to 2003. It was a successful international yachting rally that too place across the following seas: the Eastern Med, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.
This special rally included: 29 yachts, some 70 yachtsman ( from 11 countries), cruising  a total of 4000 nautical miles each.

Activities

At several ports, rich social activities and guided sightseeing excursions were arranged for the rally participants.

Turkey

During the last days of October 2005 we met at Setur Marina Finike who offered us 2 nights free stay and a lovely farewell party.

Egypt

In Port Said, Mr.Nagib Latif (Director of Felix Agency) arranged special prices and discounts for several harbours within the Suez Canal Authorities. All yachtsman were treated to a very nice dinner, with traditional music and dance.

From Ismaylia, our first tour was to visit the Cairo museum, Pyramids and Sfinx.

Sharm El Sheikh  24 November till 2 December 2005
A large part of the group went to St. Catharine Monastery and National Park Sinai.

El Gouna 
Several yachts visited Abu Tig marina and enjoyed the luxury and ambiance greatly.
Philip Jones, the marina manager, provided excellence service to the visiting yachts.

Safaga
The new Kiriazi Marina, surrounded by wonderful coral reefs is a must for diving or snorkelling enthusiasts. Only some yachts have visited this marina and Sherif N.Samy the Marina Manager has kindly invited all the yachts to visit next time.

Port Ghalib Marina 15 till 23 January 2006

This new marina, still under construction, is situated in a huge holiday resort and built in the style of Port Grimaud in France. The management invite us to a free stay including an exclusive dinner in the new Coral Beach Diving Hotel. Camper and Nicholson, advisers for this marina, were also extremely hospitable and gave us a welcome reception. From here we made an excursion to Luxor. As Port of Entry and the last port in Egypt, the efficient working marina staff did a great job. Mr. James Pringle, Senior Counselor from the M.A. Kharafi Group, and Capt. Sherif Fawzy, the Marina Manager, gave all the yachties a wonderful time in their marina.

Jordan 7-17 December 2005

In Aqaba, the yachtsman participated in the opening of Talabay Marina. It is situated in a very luxurious resort. More than 10 reporters from almost all the Jordan News papers and 3 television teams worked together with the Vasco da Gama Rally to make an unforgettable opening for this marina. We appreciated the hospatility of Talabay Chairman Mr. Ziad Abu Jaber,  the Marina Manager Ahmed Qatawneh and Nikky.  During our 10 days free stay, we went on 2 excursions, one 4-day trip to Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, and a 1-day trip to Petra.

Israel.  17 December 2005 till 4 january 2006

In Eilat  Mr. Doron Heler the Marina Manager and his staff did a great job finding places for all the yachts in this crowded marina. From here many yachties visited Jerusalem and other holy places.

Sudan. 2- 8 February 2006

During our 1-week stay in Suakin, the oldest natural harbour in the Red Sea, we made a trip through the dessert to Port Sudan.

Eritrea.  15 Februari -22 Februar1 2006

Anchoring in the well-protected harbour of Massawa, the majority of yachties enjoyed a trip to the capital Asmara, situated in the mountains, at an altitude of 2.200 metres. The water in this part of the Red Sea is not as clear as in the North, but there are still many beautiful reefs.

Jemen  Departure 20 march 2006

In Aden , the rally organisation had several meetings with the harbour authorities, Coastguard
and the Navy for organise the safety aspects of the trip in the areas of the Gulf of Aden affected by pirates.
All the yachts filled up with diesel at very reasonable prices to prepare for the coming dangerous trip.

Oman. 31 March – 7 April 2006

Salalah Port the biggest Container Harbour in the Arabian Sea, still has a good anchorage for yachts inside the harbour, but space is limited. The harbour authorities (Mr. Bart Noothoven van Goor, Mr Rolf van Strijbos, Mr.Mohammed Hardan and Mr. Cyril van der Merwe) organised, in co-operation with the tourist office, a very good folklore show and a very nice evening in the Club.  From here visas were arranged for India and we started the longest trip in this rally, the 1100 miles to Mumbai.

India  Arrival 16-22 April 2006
In Mumbay, a very festive welcome was organised by our sponsors H2O, Mr. Somani and his staff, Marine Solutions ( Gen. Maj. S.Dutta VSM retd and Mr Gautama Dutta and his wife Anju) and Drishti Marina, with Commander Patil and the staff in Goa. The flag-in ceremony held by Vice-Admiral S.S.Bais and the following dinner were great. All the Rally participants were given honourable membership of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club (the oldest Yacht Club in the Far East), allowing us free use of all their facilities. Our thanks for this and the nice dinner party in the club, specially to the President, Mr. Gulshan Rai.

Vasco da Gama Cup 23 April- 30 April 2006
A special cup was created in co-operation with the Maharashtra Bureau of Tourism, our sponsors. It included our rally and 4 sailing boats from the Indian Navy. The route led along the coast to the first stop in the fishing harbour of Jaigarh. And the second leg was to Panjim in Goa.
Mr. Pratapsingh Rane, Chief Minister of the state of Goa, attended the welcoming ceremony and he presented the Vasco da Gama cup to the winning boat of the Indian Navy. Due to newly formed relations, a small new marina in the Mandovi River in the centre of Panjim city was established. The first marina in India.

The Vasco da Gama International yacht Rally is now recognized as the most important activity of  the yachting community in the Middle-Far East. With it's successful completion, the missions has been achieved, with a colorful character and rich social content.

Yacht Rally

Look at www.markara.com the site from Mark Aranha, guest on board of JUWIN during the Vasco da gama Cup.