First Taste of Sailing Oceans of Hope - blog by Nicola
Today the new crew went sailing for the first time together. First we had a safety tour of the boat, and then we went sailing for a few hours to see how much experience we have. Two of our crew, Christina and Chris have been on the boat for the previous leg from New York, so they are well acquainted with sailing the boat and able to teach us. After the very cold and rough trip from New York, they were happy to be warmer and have some sunshine. Once we left the sheltered waters it was a little rough. I fell over and was helped up by the others, so in the future I will look at the waves before I move to see if it is safe! We took turns at the wheel and it was especially lovely to see Johnny at the wheel and really enjoying it, as he has been very keen to start sailing (and fishing!) as soon as possible.
We went back to calmer waters and enjoyed lunch on the deck of pasta, sandwiches and tortilla chips. Then we went back to the marina and had beers to celebrate our first sail!
I realize I have much to learn, especially as MS makes it hard for us to learn new things but I know the crew will all support one another and be patient.
Last night we got to know each other a little, saying one thing people would not guess about us. So we learned that Jette has organized environmental protests, Johnny has campaigned to release hostages held by Somali pirates, Jens used to work with horses breaking them in and Jerome enjoys white water kayaking, Bertram loves to sing and I enjoy surfing.
On a personal note, I did find the journey from the UK via Miami and the first day on the boat hard. I was tired and emotional, and really missing my husband. The crew all helped to reassure me and phone calls from him and my mum helped too. Today, after a good night sleep I am not sad, just happy to be on the boat, getting to know everyone and all working together. Luckily my husband is coming to Fort Lauderdale also so I am excited to see him on December 3rd.
Tomorrow the weather forecast is for rain, so we will not sail but be cozy on the boat and do some maintenance. Then the boat goes to a boatyard for some routine maintenance for two days so we will explore Charleston, then prepare to sail south!
Report from Bosun Bertram:
Rainy days in southern states! The rain is keeping us inside today having a nice time in our big cozy yacht, and the crew venture on and off the boat to look around the fascinating city of Charleston, watching local football games and getting the first couple of Christmas presents. The day is on the relaxed side before we go full throttle on getting the boat prepared for the next leg in the shipyard tomorrow. As always with maintenance on the boat we need to work around the local contractors, allowing them to do the necessary service on our floating torch of Hope - luckily Charleston has something for everyone to enjoy, and the crew is being warmly welcomed by the local community everywhere they go!
Local time onboard is 18:00 and our current position is 32.788269 N, 79.925167W