JEDDAH: To complete the Hajj, a party of British explorers is travelling from the UK to Makkah in an incredible sailing trip. The five Londoners, who range in age from 27 to 47, embarked on the thrilling 7,400-kilometer journey from the English Channel on April 1 and are anticipated to arrive in Saudi Arabia later this week. During their several stops around Europe and North Africa, sailors Abdul Wahid, Tauseef Ahmed, Jody McIntyre, Dobbir Uddin, and Taher Akhtar have shared the highs and lows of marine life with their expanding social media following.
In addition to raising money for the orphan care organisation Global Helping Hands, the 55-day journey involves experiencing moments of faith, joy, and frustration as well as navigating winds and storms. Later this week, the party intends to head towards Saudi Arabia’s hallowed areas after docking recently at Ismailia city in northern Egypt. The 38-year-old Wahid told Arab News from Ismailia that the trip was inspired by a combination of his Muslim religion and the UK’s maritime heritage.
“It is a sort of reviving this long-forgotten way to do the Hajj and combining our religion, Islam, with the country where we are living,” he added. Wahid claims that before to the voyage, none of the five members had any prior sailing expertise. “Since we had no prior experience, we embarked on this journey and underwent a rigorous 6-month training program,” he stated. “To receive the necessary training, we had to spend a week at sea, and we were able to reach a very competitive level on a global scale.”
The group’s adventurous path took them through the English Channel, the Port of Marseille in France, the Strait of Messina, the Suez Canal in Egypt, the Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Crete, and ultimately the Red Sea, which led to Jeddah.
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