Last sunset
Tomorrow at 1.30pm Oceans of Hope will arrive at the Marina at Rowes Wharf in downtown Boston at the end of an epic Atlantic crossing.
The crew of people with multiple sclerosis on board the 20-metre yacht will have proved that even after being given the devastating news that you have MS, you can still have a dream and you can still make that dream come true.
Just as no two people experience MS in the same way, no two crew members will take away the same memories of this huge achievement. What they will have in common, however, is the knowledge that they have achieved something that they perhaps, deep down, weren’t quite sure they could. And, in the process of proving to themselves that they can, they have inspired others with MS to look beyond the mental boundaries they too have imposed on themselves.
As the crew of Oceans of Hope watched the sun set, Mikkel Farver said, “I can't believe this is the last sunset that we’ll see on the crossing. Everything we do from now on will be the last time we do it.”
Project founder Mikkel Anthonisen replied, “What Mikkel Farver is saying is ever so true. It is actually a general truth in life. We will all have our last sunset. You never know what tomorrow brings, so we need to live our lives today.”
Bertram Christensen, Oceans of Hope’s bosun, one of the permanent crew, says, “Today is the last day of our Atlantic Crossing and the boat is filled with preparations and emotion. Half the time we are working on the boat to look its best and half the time we are trying to comprehend what we have achieved here. We are all so proud of ourselves and each other for this incredible milestone and we are looking forward to reaching Boston tomorrow. This is the goal we set out to reach and we are ready for it!”
Members of the local MS community in Boston will be sailing with the Boston Harbor Sailing Club to welcome the crew of Oceans of Hope at the end of their transatlantic voyage and the Boston sailing community is also invited to come out and meet the yacht as she sails down the Charles River.
Oceans of Hope will be berthed at the Marina at Rowes Wharf until 16 September.