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From Sea to Sea
 NOVEMBER 17, 1869 - The Suez Canal linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea across Egypt opened to shipping for the first time. Construction of the canal took over 10 years to complete and relied heavily on slave labor. The entire 120-mile-long canal is built at sea level and there are no locks, allowing water to flow freely between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The Suez is a single-lane canal with passing places in the several lakes the canal crosses. The largest lake along the canal is the Great Bitter Lake. Operated by the Suez Canal Authority, the canal sees over 18,000 ships pass through it each year. Under international treaty, the canal may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag."
Caught in the Canal
During the 1967 Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel the Suez Canal was closed when Egyptian forces blocked both ends by intentionally sinking several ships in the canal. As a result 14 cargo ships passing through the canal from various countries became trapped in the Great Bitter Lake and would remain trapped until the canal reopened in 1975. During the eight years they were stuck in the Great Bitter Lake these ships earned the nickname the Yellow Fleet from the yellow appearance the ships took on as they became covered in the desert sands that were swept on board. In October 1967 the officers and crews of the trapped ships met together to form the "Great Bitter Lake Association," which would provide mutual support. The crews regularly met to organize social events. They arranged life-boat races, soccer games, and movie nights. They even founded a yachting club and held the "Bitter Lake Olympic Games" to complement the 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1969 the ships were gathered in several groups to reduce the number of crew necessary for maintenance and most of the crews were relieved. By 1972 the last of the original crew members were sent home and a Norwegian company took over maintenance of the ships. When the canal finally reopened in the spring of 1975 the only ships that were able to leave the canal under their own power were the two ships from Germany.
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A Whale's Vengeance
November 20, 1820 - The Essex, an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, sunk when it was attacked by sperm whale some 2,000 miles off the western coast of South America. On the morning of November 20, while pursuing a pod of sperm whales in their smaller whaling boats, the crew of the Essex observed a whale that was much larger than a normal sperm whale, acting strangely. The whale was laying motionless on the surface of the water with its head facing the ship. It then began to move towards the Essex, picking up speed by shallow diving. The whale rammed the side of the Essex and then went under, causing the ship to tip from side to side. The whale surfaced on the starboard side of the Essex and for a time appeared to be stunned. After the whale recovered it swam several hundred yards ahead of the ship and turned to face the bow. The whale began swimming toward the ship again at great speed and rammed the bow, crushing it and driving the 238-ton Essex backwards. After ramming the ship the whale was able to untangle itself from the shattered timbers and swam away. The crew frantically rushed to load whatever supplies they could into the whaling boats before the ship sank. Over the next three months the 21 survivors of the Essex attempted to make their way back to South America in three boats. After several weeks one boat was lost in a storm and the other two became separated. When several men died from starvation, the other survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. The two remaining boats were rescued within five days of each other, both near the South American coastline. Only eight crew members survived the ordeal, while seven were consumed by their fellow sailors. All the survivors returned to the sea within months after their rescue, though some described being haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives. The attack on the Essex became the inspiration for Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick.
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"I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods (550 yards) directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed, and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail. His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship."
- First Mate Owen Chase describing the whale attack on the Essex
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Stranded ShipsA total of 15 ships from eight different countries were stranded in the Suez Canal following the Six-Day War. 14 of these were in Great Bitter Lake, while the MS Observer was trapped in LakeTimsah, 28 miles north. The trapped ships and their host nations were as follows: MS Nordwind - W. Germany MS Münsterland - W. Germany MS Killara - Sweden MS Nippon - Sweden MS Essayons - France MS Agapenor - U.K. MS Melampus - U.K. MS Scottish Star - U.K. MS Port Invercargill - U.K. SS African Glen - United States MS Djakarta - Poland MS Boleslaw Bierut - Poland MS Vassil Levsky - Bulgaria MS Lednice - Czechoslovakia MS Observer - United States
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