IOR/L/PS/20/E77

The sixth edition of an official publication entitled Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot, produced by the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty and dated 1909.

At the front of the volume are:

• A ‘Notice to Mariners’, containing instructions for sailors on approaching British and British Imperial ports
• A space for ‘Notations and Supplements’ on the volume to be filled in by ships’ Navigating Officers
• Two pages of coupons entitling the bearer to free copies of supplements and Hydgrographic Notices related to the volume.

Following an ‘Advertisement’ [preface] from the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty and a table of contents are:

• A list of Arabic words which appear in the volume and on Admiralty charts of the region
• Notes on the system of orthography used for place names in the volume
• ‘Information relating to charts, sailing directions, and the general navigation of HM ships’ for the use of sailors
• Two maps of the region covered by the volume, catalogued separately as IOR/L/PS/20/E77, f 17 and IOR/L/PS/20/E77, f 18.

The main body of the volume consists of fifteen chapters, covering an area spanning: Port Said; the Suez Canal; the east and west coasts of the Red Sea; the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb [Bab al-Mandeb]; Aden, the Somali Coast between the Bab-el-Mandeb, Ras Asir [Cape Guardafui], and Ras Hafun [Xaafuun]; Sokotra [Soqotra]; and the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula between Aden and Ras Al-Hadd [Ra’s al-Hadd].

Each chapter contains guidance for sailors, largely descriptions of coastlines and ports. Some additional information on subjects such as local trade and communications, currents and tides, climate, winds, lighting, signals, the availability of water and supplies, quarantine arrangements, and maritime regulations is also included. Various sketches of coastlines and some illustrations of lighthouses are included in the text. At the bottom of each page is a reference to the Admiralty chart covering the area described.

At the rear of the volume are:

• Meterological tables for Suez, Suakin [Sawakin], Massawa, Perim, Zeila [Saylac], Aden, and Jidda [Jeddah]
• An index of places and subjects mentioned in the volume
• A list of Sailing Directions published by the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty
• Lists of Admiralty Agents for the Sale of Charts in the United Kingdom and overseas.

The volume was printed in London by Eyre and Spottiswoode Ltd and sold by J D Potter, Agent for the Sale of Admiralty Charts.