In 1972, in the Gulf of Eilat, Flotilla 915’s Dabur boats participated in assisting King Hussein’s transfer to the Coral Island “Jazirat Faraon” for talks with Prime Minister Golda Meir.

Already in the early days of my arrival at the flotilla, there were whispers about secret missions assigned to the commanders. It was clear that this generated curiosity and an attempt to gather information. Everyone who participated signed a document agreeing not to disclose any details to anyone. Aviv Dmari, who was my predecessor in command of the 873, told me that this boat had been involved in almost every secret mission, so it was possible that I would also have the opportunity to carry out one of them.

I was tasked with carrying out the final meeting. One day, I was sent to the office of the new Arena commanding officer. He solemnly informed me that I had been selected for a secret mission and that I would need to sign documents agreeing not to reveal any details about the mission for thirty years. At the age of 22, thirty years seemed like an eternity. So, I can’t reveal it to anyone for the rest of my life, I asked. “No,” he replied, “just for thirty years.” I didn’t fully understand the difference back then.

We set off toward Eilat, and in the evening, we placed the crew in the forward and aft quarters and closed the doors. A clear instruction was given not to open the doors except in case of an emergency. I carried out all the operations of the boat.

Initially, we headed toward a more southern location to be ready to move at the designated time. I remember that a tanker passed us from the east at a close distance. A target was detected from the east (behind) the tanker, and the commander was eager to go out and identify it. I quietly told him that it wasn’t a target but a radar echo. I also told him to note that the target was always in the same direction as the tanker, only behind it. (It’s hard to explain “side lobes.”) We remained in place.

At the designated time, we moved to the meeting point. The commander, with a flashlight in his hand, stood at the bow of the boat. Exactly on time, we saw a flash from the flashlight toward Aqaba, and the commander flashed back. We led the king’s yacht into a formation, according to the pre-established rules, and sailed to the Coral Island. The king’s yacht then separated from us and approached the barge with the caravan that had been prepared in advance. We went on a close patrol to secure the event. When it ended, after a short while, we escorted the king toward Aqaba.

We returned the commander to Eilat and went back to Sharm.

This meeting was not the first. In the earlier meetings, important individuals were transferred aboard the Dabuors. There was at least one case where a Dabuor “shaved” a sandbank in the dark, and the individual was transferred “in whispers” to another Dabuor that had been prepared to assist in similar situations. Perhaps lessons were learned, and the king was allowed to sail his yacht to the barge alone.

The track map

The Coral island and the jetty