Tuesday, February 02, 1999 – Underway to Fort Lauderdale

G’day to all

A sad day today as we leave Havana behind and head back out to sea towards familiar territory. I must say that this Caribbean Island was my sort of place. I’m a sucker for Latin music, culture and in general what little I saw of Cuba insured that in some point in time I will be certain to return and explore. The rest of us had mixed feelings. Ib, Jens and Pius enjoyed themselves tremendously, as did Michael. For DJ and Papa DJ it was slightly different, but then their perspective is of great contrast to ours, as they lived and grew up in a communist society in East Germany. Without delving into their private life, feelings and let alone politics, many of the things they saw and experienced in Havana reminded them of times past, which were not always all that great to say the least.

Now however, we are returning to the US. To be honest with you none of us is really too thrilled about the prospect of staying 2-3 weeks at a boat yard. We shall however make the most of it by individually taking a little time off and exploring some of Florida’s treasures, of which I am sure there are many. Diving with Manatee’s is certainly high on the list of things to do. Again, if anyone has any good suggestions (the more unusual the better) we would love to hear from you. We should be in by tomorrow afternoon and assume there will be a lengthy checking-in procedure. I get the feeling getting a few cold ones out for the officials will not expedite the process.

A few of you have mentioned in your feedback that you wished to read more about how the crew is doing and relating to the whole project. On a whole we are in good spirits. I think that each of us have different itineraries and expectations from the project as a whole and what it means to us. Potentially it is a long journey of which we have only just completed a little more than a tenth. There have been no major personal dramas and as time goes on every crewmember is finding out more about the next. Often there is not much to say and body expression can describe more than words ever would. Bottom line is that this first part of the journey has given a strong indication as to how the next will manifest itself. Everyone, particularly DJ, Michael, Ib and I have to process all the up’s, down’s and experiences. As most of the movies on board have now been watched, I feel we will be spending more time interacting with each other during crossings yet also retreating with books and doing more for the intellect and psyche rather than just sitting in front of a square box.

I will leave you with that. I must say that this is my personal view. The rest of the gang may feel completely different. If so, I’ll let you know. Finally, some of you have also mentioned that you do not seem to be able to view recent journals. May we urge you to check you links on your browser and refresh, as we often modify the structure of the web site. Let us know if you have any problems with viewing any journal entries.

Best regards,