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Sinbad to the Rescue

By Marie Owen

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the gulfs of Oman and Arabia, can boast many a colourful tale of adventure, conquest and piracy. It comes as no surprise that a motley crew of Explorers on their recent dhow cruise off the fjords of Musandam should get more than they bargained for: a leaf from the Arabian Nights. Traveller Marie Owen tells the story;

Image of sunrise over the Musandam fjords

Sunrise over the Musandam fjords

'Just then, Captain Hassan (our very own Sinbad), eased the throttle and pointed at a bright blue fishing boat ahead of us, with four men waiving us down with planks and improvised flags. All eyes were on Hassan who, to our relief, said he recognised them as mates from Dibba. Much discussion between the two crews ensued, and 'Sinbad' eventually explained the situation to our tour leader James: the Dibbans had set off at dawn for Khasab, for a funeral, and their engine had broken down. They had been adrift for five hours in the baking heat and had run out of water too.
Image of shipwrecks being towed back to base

Towing our shipwrecks back to base

Enough said: bottles were passed over, along with fresh oranges and biscuits, a tow-line was secured, and the convoy was soon on its way. The look of comfort on the faces of the marooned spoke volumes, though they did look worried when we dropped anchor in the fjords for one last snorkel: no-one was going to deprive us of that, however shipwrecked!'

Arabian Seatrek and Arabian Sands (These trips can be combined into: Sultanate of Oman)

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