The voyage of the Century

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

Dear Laura and Jack,

I have just had a brainwave (which is quite unusual for me) and that is
for you to make Wick
one of your port of calls and, if this could coincide with the Sinclair
Millennium Gathering
and the Halkirk Games, you would be assured of a great welcome from 200+
Sinclairs and,
perhaps, thousands of others because we would make the announcement at
the Halkirk
games where we are expecting a record crowd this year.

We will all be in Caithness between 29th July (the date of the Halkirk
Games) and the 2nd
August, 2000.

I know this may be later than your planned itinerary but it would be a
chance to give some
real publicity to your voyage because the majority of the Sinclairs will
be from Canada and
the United States so  they will carry the message back to America
and make sure that
the news of your voyage reaches there before your arrival there.

As you know, your messages to me are all relayed to "The Sinclair
Discussion List" so we
are do everyone know about your momentous voyage and, of course, the
health of  "Stella"
(the second best dog in the World after my own "Chief" who is,
of course, the best dog in
the World or so he tells me every day) which we are glad to hear has
improved considerably.

Your last report filled me with great excitement because of the news that
the Knights Templar 
had ordered 8 ships from Venice towards the beginning of the 14th Century
i.e. after the Order
had been officially suppressed but the really exciting bit
was the information to the effect that 
the ships had then been sailed to a port in Northern Europe by
Venetian crews!!!!!!!

Please, please, please let me have the fullest report about this exciting
piece of information.
Who should we contact?  You mentioned Corsica and the South of
France.  Dr Tim Wallace
Murphy is a fluent French speaker and he and I would go there immediately
to follow up on
this important lead.  Although Henry's voyage did not take place
until the end of the 14th
Century, I am wondering if these were the ships which eventually
'escaped' from La Rochelle
when Philip 'le Bel'  arrested the Templars and tried to seize their
assets (including their ships).

I hope you will be able to contact me again from La Rochelle by e-mail
or, even, by telephone
to give me the name of your French contacts and to let us know if a July
visit to Wick is too
late for you to follow your scheduled voyage to the New World.  By a
copy of this e-mail I am
asking Dr Tim Wallace-Murphy to let you have information about Templar
'ports' in England
which might be  en route.

I am so excited at the moment that I fear I may be entering my second
childhood.

God speed

Niven