Sailing the Gulf of Oman

After the big discussions yesterday on whether yes or no you could sail the channels of Musadam , it has generally be accepted that yes when it is possible to sail, it is allowed. 
So all excitement for the navigation through the narrow channels paid off, some places and about 2 hrs time. 


The sailing in the Gulf of Oman, is going well. Yesterday the wind was mostly NW and rather strong. Most boats made a very good progress and the leaders have passed the Turtle Gate at Rass al Hadd already. 


Those who are still in the Gulf of Oman are now confronted with a variable and very weak wind system for about 9 hrs. After this the  winds at the Oman tip, become SW with the monsoon driving them. 

The tip of Oman has a lot of beaches (mostly quiet) with soft white sand. Many turtles know this and frequent the white beaches like Rass al Hadd and Rass al Jinez for putting their eggs. Some of those beaches are protected and can be visited under guidance. 

Do you know that the gender of turtles is influenced by the temperature of the sand during the breeding period? The warmer it is, the more female turtles are born. 

Many Turtle species are endangered and many nesting beaches are protected. Some countries also have a tracking system to follow the journey that a turtle makes. Most Turtles come back to the beaches they are born for laying eggs. 

This site, SeaTurtle tracking,  gives a view on the turtles with a tracking device and show their travels. 

On the left you can select a Turtle , grouped by area, and a picture will show the track. 

My rank this morning 15