On an April day under a cloudy sky earlier this year, professional yachtsman Russ Fairman embarked on a 2,400-mile circumnavigation of the British Isles. Departing Southampton on a 34-foot yacht christened Mintaka, Fairman sailed anti-clockwise in what he described as “a prayer hug around Britain”.
The voyage took in important Christian destinations, including Walsingham, Lindisfarne and Iona, in aid of the Catholic seafarers’ charity, Stella Maris. On July 9 – Sea Sunday, a Catholic feast day of prayers for seagoers and fishermen – Mintaka arrived in Portsmouth, after 70 days at sea.
From Iraq and Mexico to India and Belgium, the numbers of people recorded at pilgrim destinations – Christian, Muslim and beyond – are hitting record highs.
