At sea for a looooong time

So we have finally sailed from Europe and are heading towards the Caribbean.
Last night we began our 14 day voyage and within minutes of leaving the sheltered waters of the harbour, we were already moving a lot in the swell. The forecast was for gales through the night and today, yet miraculously the wind and waves died down this morning and we are now sailing through very calm seas, despite all the forecasts saying we should be in the middle of a storm.
Today we even saw a whale and dolphins swimming near the ship.
















Our last days in Ireland were exciting, with Heather's parents coming out for the final weekend, many visitors coming to the ship, making preparations for sailing, and myself taking a flying visit to Paris to see the greatest band in the world, U2 in concert.

It was hard to say goodbyes to Heather's mum and dad last night as we prepared to sail across the Atlantic. Although we hope they will come out for a visit sometime in the next 6 months, it is a long way away. Along with a crowd of some 50 people. they watched us pull away from the quay, turn around in a very tight space and head up the river. They drove up to Cobh, the 2nd largest natural harbour in the world, which was the final port of call for the Titanic, to wave a final goodbye.













Cork has been a great port for the ship ministry with nearly 12000 visitors in 9 days and many lives being changed among those who came onboard or who came into contact with the ship.
We enjoyed meeting the people and the town's hospitality but the weather sucks - it rained nearly every day we were there.

So thanks to the wonders of satellite, I can write this blog from a position about 250 miles south of Ireland. We are all looking forward to some quality time together as a ships community and some extra peace and quiet.

our last European port

So here we are in Cork, Ireland - our final port in Europe.

we sailed from London, without Heather, on a beautiful sunny morning. I managed to get up at 5.30am to say goodbye to the large number of people who were leaving the ship, some after 2 years and some just after the weekend.

Our first day at sea was beautiful and the warm sun shine and flat calm reminded me of voyages years ago around the Indian ocean and Pacific on Doulos.

After attending her granny's funeral and having a couple of days in Edinburgh with her family, Heather flew to Dublin on Wednesday morning with our friend Colin and his daughter Emma.

They drove down to Cork to try and be on the quayside for our arrival. As we sailed up the river into a rainy Cork, Heather was still racing to be here but in the end we were just tying up when they pulled up on the quayside.

It was great to have Colin here for a few days before we head off to the Caribbean. We had a few great days and got out to see a bit of Cork together and taste the Irish hospitality.

Cork is surprisingly multicultural and it has been a real revelation to see all the ethnic faces and hear many different languages as people have been coming onboard these past few days.

Although not as busy as London, those who have come onboard are certainly buying plenty of books.

I have now taken on my new role overseeing the whole visitor experience deck and part of that responsibility was to welcome our guest of honour, the Lord Mayor, to the deck as part of our official opening on Thursday. Heather is back into nursing and back doing on call duty again.

Next weekend Heather's parents come to Cork, staying with friends onshore ,while I am heading to Paris to see U2 in Concert.

So we are looking forward to another exciting week on the Logos Hope.