The corona virus has swirled the plans of the circumnavigating family from Unterhaching vigorously. Finding an anchorage is suddenly very difficult.
Unterhaching - The corona virus also determines the journey of the circumnavigators from Unterhaching. As reported, Hans Müller, Jutta Rottenwallner and the children Magdalena, Andrea, Antonia, Anna and Tobias had embarked on a great adventure in August almost two years ago. With their ship Alkyone they wanted to circle the earth near the equator. At the end of the trip, they have to change their plans. In the Mediterranean, they are dealing with EU countries that refuse to allow long-term sailors to anchor under force of arms.
"Not so easy with this stupid virus," says the crew. Some time ago, she left Djibouti with full diesel tanks. But the crew must not squander the fuel. Because the search for a safe Mediterranean port continues. Private contact points in Egypt are all closed, others charge horrendous prices for anchoring in the port. The family must also pass the Suez Canal if it remains passable.
After all, there is enough to eat on board
Jutta Rottenwallner: "We have enough supplies to sail slowly up to Suez and to spend the time with the north wind behind some reefs." The crew can produce drinking water themselves, the food storage spaces are full - after a "semi-legal" purchase with an exceptional permit the coast guard in Djibouti. At night they then sailed through the narrowness of Bab el Mandab into the Red Sea - the high-risk area was over: "We saw neither pirates nor noticed any incident."
Incidentally, the crew has not yet had to take any health precautions because of the corona virus. Djibouti and Sudan were hardly affected when the Alkyone crew visited. But investing in Israel is forbidden, since the country prescribes a two-week entry quarantine for the boaters and then there is a curfew. As an alternative, the Unterhachingen target Cyprus. Health comes first, even if they mourn the stops in Egypt and Israel.
Greece and Cyprus block anchorages: "European arrogance"
However, the alkyons are getting more and more news that yachts in the EU countries Greece and Cyprus are not only denied entry, but also anchorages - and thus also the supply of fuel, drinking water and food. "If I learned something on this trip, it was that the Europeans should finally let go of their arrogance in terms of humanity, human rights and humanity," says family man and alkyone captain Hans Müller. In a letter, he asks the Federal Foreign Office for help. He has not yet received an answer. It is now to be hoped that the circumnavigators will be spared sending a Mayday signal from the Mediterranean at some point.
The on-board diary states: "We made very good progress and almost only sailed the piece to our anchorage on the Abu Galawa Reef (part of Egypt)." Diesel must be saved. “If you look around you think that we are anchored in the middle of the open sea. There is reef around us, the waves break. And yet you see nothing far and wide except water. "
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