By Tanya El Kashef

In July 2015, I took part in a sailing voyage from Athens to Hurghada with the purpose of delivering four sailboats to Egypt.  A daring journey for a group made up of mostly novices, it took nineteen days of sailing through six Greek islands, the wrath of Meltemi winds, long late night sails and the Suez Canal; in the end, we slowly but surely made our way home to the Red Sea.

The idea was to spend my summer vacation doing something that would add value and experience, so when the opportunity to deliver four sailboats from Greece with Red Sea Sails came my way, I didn’t hesitate to take it on.

A budding project, Red Sea Sails intends to establish a sailing school, to provide sailboat charters and ultimately spark a sailing culture in a sea it believes is an ideal setting.  While sailing is very new to the Red Sea – which currently have about ten sailboats in El Gouna and Hurghada combined – it is not an entirely new sport to Egypt and has had its popularity in places like Cairo, Alexandria and Ismailia.  And although the days of elegant yacht clubs and their community of sailors are long gone, it is not uncommon to hear friends say that they have dabbled in the sport or that they used to go sailing with their grandfathers.

The feedback I received prior to the trip was a mix of nostalgic memories, intrigue and enthusiasm, and these sorts of reactions affirmed that an interest in sailing did exist and could possibly be fostered.  However, it takes more than mere interest to become a well-rounded sailor – a fact I was soon to discover.

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