Red Sea's Warm Welcome
04 March 2011 | 13 12.4N 42 48.5E
Marc
Our Current Position:
13 12.4N
42 48.5E
WE ARE IN THE RED SEA! Very happy to report that we made it through Bab el Mandeb strait last night around 1am.
It was a fast ride with winds reaching 35 knots, but no complaints here since we've actually been sailing the majority of the time since we left as we continue to convoy with LaPalapa.
We are now just north of the northern most piracy attack in the last 4 months, and are feeling just slightly more confident about the risk of piracy. With every passing mile, Somalia, motherships and skiffs loaded with pirates, AK47's & RPG's are fading in the rear view mirror. After another 150 miles, we'll rest easier I think, but this is a big step for us, and for the first time, we can take a deep breath.
Now it's back to sailing & seas. It has been a wild & rolly ride with high winds and fairly large waves - a welcome change to the last month. If you can recall, we departed the Maldives almost exactly 1 month ago on 6 Feb, traveled about 2,500 miles and almost all of it motoring until yesterday! I've been separated from Jane & the kids for 11 days now which seems like a lifetime and counting the hours til we are together again. We expect to be in Sudan in 3 days now.
For Mike & I, our watches will become more relaxed and our eyes won't be glued to the horizon 24/7 keeping an eye out for the bad guys. The captain will even lift the reading ban during watch hour. Hopefully, once Jane & the kids return, our life at sea will regain some 'normalcy' but after this past month, it may take a long while to get there.
Take care, and I can't thank you all enough for all your emails, assistance for me & Jane and your thoughts and prayers.
We'll continue to send updates on our progress, but my hope is that our reporting will become so boring that you ask me to take you off our email lists!
Fair winds.
Marc & Mike
Imagine