Mossad Exodus by Gad Shimron

Author:Gad Shimron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gefen Publishing House
Published: 2007-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Night came quickly.

The gear was ready, but we rechecked it anyway: Zodiac, Mercury outboard motor, full tank of fuel, oars for emergencies, a bundle of light sticks, pocket flashlights, communication equipment and field glasses.

Because of the cold, each put on a windbreaker over our diving suits before we put to sea. The first task was to mark the winding entry route with light sticks, through the reefs, up to the marsa (lagoon) that was designated as a boarding point for the “brothers.”

The moon had yet to appear, but the night was clear, without clouds, and visibility was reasonable. The sea was calm, slightly ruffled by a gentle breeze.

A first-class navigator, Ruby reached the first mark within minutes: a thin metal rod, dating to the days of the British, anchored in a concrete base and sticking a few centimeters above water. The reefs close by had dozens of similar metal rods. Past experience with boats running aground and damaging their motors proved that the access routes had to be marked more clearly, hence the decision to use light sticks.

To accustom fishermen in the area to the light sticks phenomenon, we started hooking them up in a few sites several weeks before the operation started, while spreading rumors that this was the way night-diving sites in Europe are marked.

A light stick is a plastic tube full of a chemical solution encasing a glass ampoule containing a different solution. When the tube is bent, the ampoule breaks and the chemical reaction between the two substances creates a bright green light that can last up to twenty hours.

Attaching the light sticks to the old metal rods was ostensibly a simple matter of tying them with a string. Ruby piloted the Zodiac carefully toward the reef. There was clearance of about thirty centimeters (around a foot) above the reef and the coral, which allowed the front of the boat to float through, but not the propeller shaft, which was immersed in the water. I stood on the bow, holding a light stick with a string attached at the top. I directed Ruby to the rod, whose base was anchored underwater, up to a distance that enabled me to clutch its base with my hand.

With one hand on the throttle and the other holding a powerful torch, Ruby illuminated the top of the rod.

Two points of light shone at us from the top of the rod and beneath them protruded the thick, strong beak of a suspicious adult osprey. The osprey is a bird of prey that feeds on fish. It is considered an endangered species. The word in Khartoum is that in Europe there are crazy collectors who are prepared to pay hundreds of dollars for a single osprey egg.

The area where the village was located is one of the few remaining havens for the bird, which is considered one of the most beautiful raptors among water birds. During the first days of our stay in the area, we discovered tens of osprey nests on a small island north of our lagoon.

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