Best crew ever.
Ancient Egyptian Boats and Ships
Sailing Min of the Desert: Red Sea, December-January
Min of the Desert is a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian seagoing ship of the first quarter of the second millennium BCE. Built in the modern Hamdi Lahma & Brothers shipyard in Rashid (Rosetta), Egypt, using ancient techniques, Min is designed to expand our understanding of archaeological finds . Sombrero and Co ., a documentary production company based in France, provided major funding for the project. The story of Min will be broadcast in 2009 in a wide range of international venues and on NOVA/WGBH in the U.S.
The purpose of our expedition was to understand the capabilities of a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian ship. The ship used the same technology of construction used four thousand years ago as shown by the discoveries at Mersa Gawasis. The rig is reconstructed from models and, primarily, from the bas relief of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahri. Our primary goal was to demonstrate the extraordinary capability of the Egyptians at sea. Many people, including fellow archaeologists, have though of the Egyptians as tied to the Nile and lacking in the ability to go to sea. For 25 years, my research has been dedicated to showing the scope of their ability and now, to proving their independently invented approach to ship construction worked magnificently at sea.
Archaeological work along the Red Sea coasts by my co principal-investigators Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard from Wadi Gawasis and Rodolfo's intensive study of the question of Punt was important in our project because the evidence suggests that the Egyptians sailed to the southern end of the Red Sea and very likely returned with currents and a south wind (from the end of the monsoon) along the Arabian peninsular coast in a sailing regime that would have reminded them of the Nile: sail south with the north wind, and take the current north.
We had an incredible international crew. For those visiting Egypt for the first time, they began with time in Cairo to visit the Royal Ship of Khufu (Cheops) at the Great Pyramid (2550 BCE) and also the Egyptian Museum to see the funerary boats from Dashur of Senwosret III (1850 BCE). This, I hoped, would prepare them for the unusual aspects of our ship: no frames, no nails, and planks that were designed to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle rather than being long and straight.
Mary Helen Nicolini, John Nicolini (first mate), Bill Greer (FSU Master Craftsman Studio), Phillip Wahby (FSU Sailing Club), Nancy Vann, and Captain David Vann visited the pyramids before arriving in Safaga and setting up the ship with the rest of the crew
The sailing crew consisted of 24 people speaking four languages: five sailors from one of Egypt's last working-sailboat environments at Lake Borolos east of Alexandria, three Egyptian archaeologists who have worked with me underwater excavating an Islamic ship north of Safaga, an Italian archaeologist who works with me at Mersa Gawasis, a French dendrochronology and ship specialist, the French divemaster for CNRS dive operations, our consulting shipwright Tom Vosmer, and 11 Americans including a core crew of Captain David Vann and five others who have thousands of miles of modern sailing experience slong with two Florida State University second-year students, a mechanical engineer, an architect, and me. The 24nd person was Mahrous Lahma, the Egyptian shipwright who followed through on what he confesses seemed a crazy project to him at first--but he grew to have respect for the technology and faith in the ship, and he was with us every minute of the voyage. His skill and confidence reassured us all.
Like the ancient Egyptians, we used the oars to maneuver the ship into position for raising and lowering the sail, and one time to save ourselves from being blown onto a reef. Mostly, we used the sail. Our average speed was 5 kn, with speeds of up to 9 kn recorded.
The weather was mostly sunny and windy, and not too cold or too hot. The winds were between 5 and 25 knots, mostly from the north-northeast as expected this time of year. Two days we had swells up to 3 m, but the ship handled them well. We used two sails, a small storm sail (21 m² or 225 sq. ft sail) and our regular 14.25 x 5 m sail (71.5 m² or 775 sq. ft).
The ship handled beautifully, corkscrewing through the waves smoothly, and taking only one small splash of a wave over the rail even when the wind was blowing 25 knots and the swells were 2.5-3 m. Although it took brute strength to haul up the sail and to row the ship, once the sail was set, all of us remarked on the efficiency and simplicity of the ship when maneuvering and steering, and on its responsiveness.
We did not have any particular problems with navigation. In fact, the ship was easy to sail, and very responsive. The small problems we had were mostly a result of the chase boat not understanding the needs of a sailing vessel without a motor. Each night we stopped at one of the common diving anchorages and tied up with the chase boat. We did practice anchoring, and it would have been possible to do that, but our intention was not to imitate the voyage entirely.
So many people helped to make this project work, especially Valerie Abita of Sombrero & Co. Productions, Stephane Begoin (director), Mahrous Lahma, Mohamed Abdel Maguid, Tom Vosmer, Patrick Couser and the incredible, wonderful volunteer crew who gave their all. Thanks everyone!
Author: Cheryl Ward
Last updated 20 February 2009