Immediate Effect of the Quest Hijacking

"Hearing the news of the death of our friends Scott and Jean Adams of Quest, whom we knew from Tonga and New Zealand, we made the difficult but important decision to turn around and return to Cochin, India," report Chay, Katie and Jamie MacWilliams, veterans of the Ha-Ha aboard their Colorado-based Kelly-Peterson 46 Esprit. "This decision was based on the several items in addition to the shock of the news about our friends on Quest: 1) Very light winds; 2) A damaged prop which is causing us to consume diesel at a much higher rate than we would like; 3) The damaged prop means we can’t go as fast as we’d feel comfortable in these high-risk waters. Although there are reports of pirates in our path back to India, too, it’s not considered as high-risk an area as the one into which we were heading. Our ETA back into Cochin is Sunday, February 27. Once back and settled there, we will decide what are our next step will be."