New Year's Eve on Kwela

Sun 01st January
Happy New Year to all you avid followers.

Finally I am able to give an update that is a bit more upbeat and positive. Unfortunately there is not much news, but what there is, is penned in this short email.

Lee sends wishes to everyone from 40S 40E. They finally have the swell behind them, so Kwela is going to be a little more comfortable to sail. For the near future, the boat won't be tormenting them and pitting itself against their will and tenacity. There should be very little occurrences of the ladies being thrown about and hopefully the bruises they currently have will be able to move through the correct sequence of colours and start to heal. Pots will stay on the stove and not continue to be a hazard of being in the cabin. Kwela will not have the opportunity to launch them across the cabin as she is no longer beating into the next swell, but is now sailing down the swell. Lee reported that the wind is not incredibly strong but it is finally blowing from the correct direction. Hopefully in these better conditions, they will be able to effect the necessary repairs to Kwela, have a decent shower and get some much needed sleep.

Last night they had reason to celebrate. They cracked the 2nd of 3 bottles of champagne (xmas, New Years and arrival) and were able to watch the stars on a calm ocean and revel in the fact that they had covered more distance yesterday than on any other previous day. They managed to do just over 100 miles. This seems to have been a turning point for their spirits which are at their highest since my conversation with Lee on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. They were all forwarded to Lee. I tried to find out if she had received all the messages sent, and it would appear that this communication system is definitely out to try my patience and ability to abbreviate words so that I can get the most amount of information into 160 characters. The latest problem around this is that if Lee does not download / read a message before the next one is sent, all the messages after the first one are seen as extensions to the original and the ladies onboard only get the first 160 characters. This happened yesterday, so my conversation with Lee was done at high speed as I tried to relay all the people's names that have sent her love and wishes. Rest assured that Lee appreciated each and every one of them.

Lynnie, on that note, Lee and I followed instructions and looked at the moon at midnight. Lee was able to look at the moon; while I, being a "city boy" had to look for the moon. It's a bit of a calming thought that looking at the moon allows us to realize that the person we love and miss so much is able to look at the sky and see exactly the same moon at the same time. This obviously won't be able to go on for much longer as they sail further east, so one day I will have to pass on that responsibility to her sister June.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and enjoy the day off tomorrow if you are still a member of the working class. For those that are on leave, enjoy the time and have a good rest. 2012 promises to be another challenge which will demand a bit from all of us. Rise to the challenge, give it your all and make it a great year.