British pilgrims sailing from London to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
JEDDAH: A group of British adventurers are taking part in an extraordinary sailboat journey from the UK to Makkah to perform Hajj.
The group of five from London, aged between 27 and 47, set off on the inspiring 7,400 km adventure from the English Channel on April 1 and expect to reach Saudi Arabia later this week.
Sailors Abdul Wahid, Tauseef Ahmed, Jody McIntyre, Dobbir Uddin and Taher Akhtar have made several stops across Europe and North Africa, sharing the highs and lows of sea life with their growing community of followers on social media.
Experiencing moments of faith, joy and frustration, and facing winds and storms in their sails, the 55-day adventure is also raising funds for orphan care charity Global Helping Hands.
The group recently docked in Ismailia city in northeastern Egypt, and plan on making their way to towards the sacred lands of Saudi Arabia later this week.
Speaking to Arab News from Ismailia, 38-year-old Wahid said the inspiration for the journey came from the mixed influences of his Muslim faith and the maritime history of the UK.
'It is kind of merging our religion Islam with the country we are residing, and reviving this long-forgotten way to Hajj,' he said.
According to Wahid, none of the group's members had sailing experience before the trip.
'We undertook this journey with no prior experience, therefore, we went through a very intensive training for 6 months,' he said.
'We had to go into the sea for a week in order to get the training we needed and we managed to get to a very completive level internationally.'
The adventure route led the group to go through the English Channel; the Port of Marseille in France; the Mediterranean islands Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Crete; the Strait of Messina; the Suez Canal in Egypt and finally the Red Sea leading to Jeddah.
The group has spent almost two months being completely disconnected, off-grid and facing storms on the 1978 Westerly 33 Ketch.
'One of the weirdest highlights is the fact that we are here in the sea because we dreamed of a journey at sea — and made it a reality,' said Wahid.
'Imagine, this time last year we had no sailing experience just a rough plan and here we are about to end our journey.'
He added: 'It was terrifying challenge for us but at the end of the day, alhamdulillah, we had a great reward and we are safe.'
Ahmed said: 'One of the challenges we faced was in the French Canal where there was a blockage of 24 km and we had to lift the boat to the truck despite our delay which took about four days.'
He added: 'Another serious challenge we faced, when we woke up in the morning and we were sinking because of a leak in the boat. Alhamdulillah, we were able to fix it and went on as per our schedule.'
Surrounded by blue water, picturesque scenes, and the sporadic sight of marine life, Wahid described the most unforgettable moments of their journey: 'We encountered dolphins three times during our journey.
'We caught a glimpse of unusual shapes in the water. Soon, we realized that what we were seeing was a small pod of dolphins, playing and swimming in front of us. That was really an amazing scene.'
Through the journey, the group aims to raise funds to support orphans in various countries, including Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Uganda, and for Syrian refugees, offering much-needed assistance to the most vulnerable.
The group has received more than £200,000 ($266,000) so far.
'This amount will support orphans in many places,' Wahid said. 'The second goal of this journey is for Da'wah purposes.
'We want to showcase to the world the beauty of pilgrimage in Islam in its original essence, in ancient ways it was performed weather it was walking, horse-riding or in this case sailing.'
The expedition is set to complete its final sea passage, lasting up to a week, from Port Suez, Egypt to Jeddah in coordination with BWA Yachting Club KSA, the Red Sea Authority and with the support of JYC facilities.
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