Safari To Suez Canal - I Did The Ditch Patch

“Safari to Suez Canal – I Did the Ditch” is the kind of phrase that only makes sense to those who have lived it. It belongs to the informal language of sailors who measure their careers not just in years, but in passages—narrow waterways where history, geography, and naval presence converge. The “Ditch,” as the Suez Canal is known throughout the fleet, is one of those passages, carrying more meaning than its banks or charts can convey.

Opened in the nineteenth century, the Suez Canal reshaped global trade and naval strategy by linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. For military vessels, it became more than a shortcut; it was a strategic artery connecting fleets between Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. To transit the canal is to move through one of the most geopolitically significant corridors in the world, where commerce, diplomacy, and security intersect every mile.

For U.S. Navy sailors, transiting the canal is both routine and memorable. The ship slows to a deliberate pace, lines are rigged, watches are doubled, and the crew settles into a long day of precision navigation. The desert stretches outward on both sides, close enough to feel immediate, while the ship inches forward through a channel that allows no margin for error. It is not dramatic, but it is exacting—and that is what gives it weight.

“I Did the Ditch” is not a boast about distance traveled, but about participation. It marks a moment when a sailor stood watch in unfamiliar waters, operating far from home ports, contributing to the continuous movement of the fleet. Many sailors remember the canal as a dividing line in a deployment—entering or leaving a theater, shifting focus from one mission set to another, carrying the quiet sense that they are part of something larger and ongoing.

The phrase “Safari to Suez” reflects the Navy’s understated humor, acknowledging the contrast between routine duty and the extraordinary settings in which it occurs. Desert heat, foreign shores, and international traffic all pass by the rails, while the crew maintains focus on navigation, safety, and professionalism. It is a reminder that naval service often places ordinary work in extraordinary locations.

Across decades—from Cold War transits to modern global operations—the canal has seen generations of sailors make the same slow passage. Ships change, missions evolve, and geopolitics shift, but the experience remains recognizable. Those who have done it understand immediately what the phrase means, without explanation.