I’ve been having this subliminal fear that our trip could be thwarted again, that the ship would not be repaired on schedule or have enough time to make the long, slow journey from San Juan to Singapore. Do the math. 11,900 miles at about 16 or 17 knots per hour. That’s about 28 days without allowing for any stops, going “balls to the wall”. That’s tight and anything could happen.

I don’t know why, but originally I thought that after the engine room fire erupted on the ship in St. Lucia, the Insignia hobbled to San Juan under her own crippled power accompanied by a tugboat only as needed. Then I convinced myself that the damage was not that great if she could get herself there, however slowly. But that myth was dispelled when I got an email back in December from my friend and neighbor, Pete. He and Lyn were wintering in the BVI on their own pleasure craft when, having hiked to the top of an island mountain and, at the very exact moment they overlooked the surrounding sea, they saw a cruise ship oddly attached by line to a tugboat, inching along very slowly under tow. They confirmed it was, indeed, the powerless Insignia making her way to San Juan and sent me the email update. As much as I hated to hear it there was no denying that the ship was seriously damaged. But….what a small, small world.

If you have been checking my blog to find out “Where in the World Are We?” (and really, why would you? I’m the only one obsessed enough to do this), the ship has been sitting in San Juan port for weeks, starboard to dockside. Then, she turned around port to dockside. Then, I tracked her as she made this erratic path beyond the port and back again one day, as if on a test run. And, now, behold! I see that she has left port on what appears to be a legitimate route to Gibraltar, expected to arrive there at 08:00 on February 27.

I’ll keep watching, but I’m feeling better already.