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RED SEA CHRONICLES - DVD




CRUISING THE NILE IN A FELUCCA


When you cruise the Nile in a felucca, you better have an engine or at least oars.  The winds are both light and fluky, while the current relentlessly heads north.

Feluccas have been around for thousands of years, and their design allows them to transport heavy cargo. They don't have much freeboard because the waves are small in the Nile.

Feluccas aren't racing boats, but they carry a lot of sail, and when the wind pipes up, they really take off.  On a good day you can sail like a banshee, and on a bad day you will drift down steam in the sun. 

Feluccas  have a barn door rudder that's big enough to be your kitchen table.  I'm not sure why it's so large.  Maybe the rudder needs a large surface area to impart directional stability and control a heavily laden Felucca in the sometimes fast flowing Nile.

Sailing in a Felucca is unique.  You're actually sailing back in time. As you look to port and starboard, you survey Pharaoh's domain.  The rich Nile flood plain contrasts sharply with the stark escarpments in the distance.  The Valley of the Kings and Queens beckon, and you are actually there.




At Aswan, the feluccas have a great view of ancient tombs chiseled into the hillsides above the Nile.




Dock space is expensive, and many felucca owners moor their vessels out in the middle of the river where it's free to anchor. 



This may not be a felucca, but it's an affordable way to cruise the Nile.

 


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Red Sea Rigors and Rumors Cruising Sudan
Never Surrender Sudanese Children
Red Sea Sunsets Abu Tig Marina - Egypt
Sudanese Donkey Barbers Red Sea Diving
Sudanese Water Truck Red Sea Sails - Kite Surfing
Red Sea Fishing Dhows Cruising the Pyramids
Terrorism is Pariah You're Not in Kansas Anymore
Cruising Yemen Red Sea Windsurfing
Up Close and Personal with Camels Cruising the Nile in a Felucca
Sudanese Boatyard That Sinking Feeling
Picasso's Boats Duetto - True Mariner
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid The Final Frontier