I - 20: Circumnavigating Africa

The Phoenicia during Sea Trials in 2008 which demonstrated its Seaworthiness

What a difference a tag makes. For years I searched for a photo of an ancient Phoenician ship. Never found one until three weeks ago when I wrote about sails. One of my charts showed that Polynesians had crossed the Indian Ocean and reached Madagascar. Proof of their audacious trip was the language spoken on the island. It derived – as modern Indonesian - from Malay. An English adventurer and former Royal Navy officer, Captain Philip Beal, built a replica of a Malay boat to demonstrate that they had the technology for long-distance sea travel.  15 years later, in 2008, he did a same with a Phoenician replica proofing they could circumnavigate Africa. Eureka! I had my photo. Albeit under the tag “Phoenician adventure”. With Google and YouTube, the way you tag makes a  difference.

Captain Beal with some of his International Crew on the Phoenicia

Also wondered how I could have missed Captain Beale’s trip around Africa from 2008 to 2010. This is a subject that interests me a lot. But these were the years of the Great Financial Crisis. Stating that I was fairly busy with my job at Deutsche Bank is a solid understatement. There was no time for hobbies.

The Greek Historian Herodotus (484 - 425 BC)

Captain Beale took great interest in early maritime history. Was there any substance to the story from Herodotus that Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II sent a fleet around Africa in 600 BC? Was it technically even possible? Pharaoh Necho II ruled during times of great turbulence in the Middle East. His former Assyrian overlords were replaced by Neo-Babylon who also tried to conquer Egypt.  They defeated him in battle in Syria in 605 BC but the Sinai desert stopped their advance into Egypt.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire in 600 BC conquered Jerusalem and forced the Jewish People to live in Babylon but did not manage to conquere Egypt under Pharaoh Necho II

Since all wars are expensive, Necho II looked for more income. He sent a fleet south of the mysterious land of Punt (Eritrea and Somalia). Gold in Africa was so abundant that it traded for salt 1:1. His Phoenician allies provided the ships. They sailed up Nile and then crossed over to the Bitter Lakes and Suez from where the expedition started.

The Canal of the Pharaohs' did not exist during Necho's time - but there were many Irrigation Channels which could be used for the Crossing to the Red Sea

Captain Beale’s big challenge was to build a replica of a Phoenician ship. There was no blueprint - just a few pictures on Greek vases decorated with Phoenician boats. To his relief, French divers had discovered a Phoenician wreck near Marseilles in 1993 – a find not public yet. With the help of French archeologists, Beale could now see how the hull was built, where the strengthening ribs were placed, how the mast was attached and which type of wood the Phoenicians used. Combining these findings with the few vase paintings, Captain Beal was now able to draw a proper blue print.

The Remains of the Phoenician Ship (now Musée de Marseille) provided important Clues for the Construction of the Phoenicia in 2007 in Syria

For the construction, he hired shipbuilders on the Syrian island of Arwad (off Taurus) who built ships still by hand and from memory. Within nine months, the Syrians turned the blue print into a real ship – using only traditional materials –  Aleppo pine for the keel, red pine for the planks, hard olive wood for the pegs, oak for the ribs and Cyprus fir for the mast.

After only nine Months of Construction, the Phoenicia is launched and begins Sea Trials

The following weeks the boat underwent sea trials and was equipped with modern material for the long trip (radar, radio, rescue equipment etc).  By Nov 2008, Captain Beale and his international crew of 15 sailors commenced their 20’000 miles and 2 years long journey.

Phoenicia's Journey around Africa with the big Detour around the Somalia Pirate Area

Their trip is too long to tell on these pages. I recommend Beale’s book “Sailing close to the wind” which is sadly out of print and only available on kindle. The parts on how they avoided the Somalian pirates makes thrilling reading. The chapter on using winds and sea currents to move around Africa is fascinating.

The Phoenicia on open Water during her Journey from Carthage to Santo Domingo in 2019

Wherever the boat made land, it received a great reception. People recognized it as an ambassador of their own past and were proud to be part of the rediscovery of their history. Captain Beale also proved that the Phoenicians must have had prior knowledge of the winds in the Atlantic – probably from their countrymen in Carthage. Without this knowhow the Phoenicia could not have sailed around Africa’s west coast. They had to venture into the Atlantic and sail via St Helena and the Azores to find the winds needed.

The Phoenicia in Cape Town in April 2010

By October 2010, after two years on sea, the Phoenicia returned to a hero’s welcome first in Beirut and then in Syria. Whilst Beale’s circumnavigation is no proof that the Phoenicians sailed around Africa in 600 BC, it confirms that they had the technology to do so. Their ships were sturdy and seaworthy.

The Phoenicia in the Middle or the Atlantic near Saint Helena

Nine years after his ground breaking trip, Beale made a second trip with the Phoenicia and sailed over the Atlantic. The Phoenicians’ understanding of the Atlantic wind system which allowed them to reach the Azores would also allow them to cross the Atlantic and reach the new world - more than 2’000 years before Christopher Colombo.

Phoenicia's Atlantic Crossing in Fall of 2019

The journey was launched end of September in Carthage and reached the Dominican Republik by end of December. Whether the Phoenicians ever crossed the Atlantic is disputed – we only know that they could. The Phoenicia, the replica ship, then sailed to the US where it was purchased by American enthusiasts and now rests in the Phoenician Ship Museum in Monrose in Iowa.

The Phoenicia during a Wind Calm on open Sea

Below is a nice little summary video on YouTube

https://youtu.be/Dhv16jqBlwc?si=e6jqpEIb8YWk9dpz