P.E.I. man sailing around the world back on track for the Azores

Alan Mulholland and his 26-foot sailboat called Wave Rover sailed out ofSummersideabout two weeks ago on the first leg of an around-the-world solo sailing trip.

While his wife, Glenda, helped him prepare for the trip by canning food, painting and sewing sails, she decided to stay at home on P.E.I.

But she is watching his every move and updating Islanders on his trip.

Now, Alan is headed for the Azores, mid-Atlantic islands that form anautonomous region of Portugal. It's a trip he expected to take three weeks.

Glenda said her husband is about a thirdof the way through that portion of the trip, but on Friday a live map of Alan's trip showed he was doing a circle.

"There is a little bit of a storm going on there," she said."A couple days ago there was a 40-foot catamaran that capsized in a storm."

Safe and sound

She said Alan told her he was safe and he made it through the storm, but he wasn't able to make progress.

"I'm thankful he can communicate with me like that. It would be worse to not have any messages at all."

The online map showed Alan and his boat back on track for the Azores on Saturday afternoon and he was about halfway to his destination.

From the Azores, Wave Rover will travel to the Canary Islands, then the Caribbeanand through the Panama Canal to the Pacific.

"I think he is on track," Glenda said.

Lifelong dream

She said her husband isthe type of person who always needs to have a project and the trip is good for him.

"It has been his lifelong dream to do this, so I was happy for him that he was doing it," she said.

She said her husband has a lot of experience and sailed the Pacific Ocean when he was younger.

Glenda said she decided not to go because Wave Rover is "rugged little boat."

"I like luxuries like hot and cold running water and he doesn't have that," she said.

Glenda admitted to being a"little bit nervous," but overall she is confident in her husband's skills. She said she plans to fly out and meet her husband at one of the stops on his expected two-year journey.

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