Monday 27 July

Monday 27 July
The wind is about 10kts from behind us. If the seas were calm we could be slowly sailing, but the boat is pitching and rolling so the sails flog, so the trisail is tied in tight to minimize the roll and we motor slowly
Below is what Adnaan wrote home to his folks. (Reprinted by permission)

Hey Mom and Tor and Dad,
It's been an interesting ride so far. The weather has kept us ducking and diving around low pressure systems and fronts, as you know. In everyday life, that just means lots of course changes, which means slow going. Bill says he get's over the "are we there yet" mentality in the first 3 days or so. I wasn't able to shake it until a couple of days back. Part of the blame lies with Tim Mackintosh-Smith, author of Travels with a Tangerine. He had me riveted, daydreaming about North Africa and the Arab World, for all of the 4 days it took me to digest his book. I couldn't wait to get there and see things for myself. The last couple days have involved so much motoring and slow sailing, however, that I've pretty much resigned myself to whatever fate has in store. Life at sea always demands adjustments in attitude, and the truth that being out of the world for a while - just reading, writing, and watching the world pass by - is something that most people don't get enough of. Like vitamin D. It's interesting, Bill and I were talking just yesterday (or was it a few days ago) about how the world doesn't actually pass by out here. There are no landmarks or mile signs. Sure, we have the coordinates on the GPS, and each noon Bill marks our position on the small-scale chart. But it's all really abstract. The sea is ever-changing, but not based on our position or progress. I've been enjoying the days out here. And the fact of it is we're not yet even halfway. To wherever it is we're going.
Love,
Adnaan