almost safe

We are almost out of the high risk zone...should be another 36 hours when we are in patrolled shipping zone that runs west towards the Red Sea Entrance and we are headed for Aden to refuel.

At 11 pm last night...only time we can only send and get email and weather...We read the news report that Geoff sent us about the vessel QUEST and our dear friends Scott and Jean and their crew being brutally murdered. It was a tough night on us, to say the least. I broke down from grief and tension and Chuck has never longed for a jet and bombs so much since 9/11. Our tax dollars paid for him to respond that way with his old flight training but it's understandable. He is also distraught but his anger came first! We look at these fine fellow cruisers as martyrs to the cause of our right to sail the free oceans in relative safety. They will not be forgotten by any of us cruisers and for those of us who were friends, we really know what a loss their deaths are. Our hearts go out to their friends and family at home.

We loved talking religion and movies with them...what fun we had going out several times in Phuket and planning to see them again in the Med. There aren't too many Christian Cruisers...it's a secular bunch...but they were fine examples and we had similar views. Scott was one of the directors of the movie "Deliverance" and James Dickey, the author, was a client of Chucks, about the asme time years ago. Our hearts are heavy with thoughts of the violence and terror that our friends endured. We hope this initiates the most aggressive retaliation possible. We have to do something, sometime...this just can't keep up.

We were sailing north about 3-400 miles off Somalia as this whole Navy thing was taking place just about 100 miles closer to shore than we were. They were towing QUEST west and kept a close look out for anything strong on the radar. We now sail in the moonless night with our lights off but checking AIS and radar often. Today we don't know if we are safer with the "blessed" USN ships off the coast or if some maniacs will come along and blast us dead out of spite and revenge. These aggressive, drug charged people [loosely called that] are uncivilized, caveman-like, irrational maniacs. We have both prayed a lot and kept going on our route north/northwest to the shipping channel in the Gulf of Aden. And we will not remove our flag!!! So many of our relatives have fought for it and it's a big emotional issue for us. Had we known this before we left the Maldives, we still would have come...we damn well have the right to be here! Perhaps more stupid than brave! If we were deterred by hight risk situations, we wouldn't be here! But this may be adrenalin talking!

The sailing and seas here in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea have been wonderful ...mostly going 5-7 knots in better than expected winds, and this voyage could have been great if it weren't for this burden of sorrow and taste for revenge.

We just had to share our thoughts and conditions with you all. We know that you are wondering about us.

Love...and we hope to write soon from a safer location to say that the worst will be past.
Lynn and Chuck on CYAN

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