Now we are at our final destination, Panama City, and we are leaving Oceans of Hope sometime today, to return to our various doings in life. Lives that are all different, and are lived under different terms and in different conditions. But none of us will go on in life without being affected by the 23 days of intense company on board Oceans of Hope. Company that despite differences has been united in a strong teamwork, where the focus has always been to handle the challenges, rather than building barriers.

Of course we had challenges in the team, and of course we had talking in the corners, I don’t think you can avoid that. The talking in the corners has functioned as a valve to get unavoidable irritations out. But we all seem to have been able to balance it, so the pressure has been let out without anyone having to be negative behind each other’s back. If you put a term on it, it’s about “gossip”, and then everyone is quick to say that gossip is negative; you don’t gossip and so on. There are many sayings on gossip. My view on gossip is that it can’t be avoided, gossip is a part of our behavior, and we use it knowingly/unknowingly to confirm the social relations we are in.

We have been very good to handle the talking in the corners /the gossip, which is why it has never become a problem. It is probably very connected to the positive and proactive atmosphere there is around the whole Oceans of Hope-project. And of course the good people we have had on board. Therefore we have avoided some of the traps it can create, to be so many people in so little room. So my goodbye to Oceans of Hope is a great thanks to have been a part of this fantastic setting and this fantastic team.

A last word from me. I have sailed for many years, and for many years I have worked with leader-/coworker development. I have to be honest and say that one of my worries/challenges, before I stepped onboard Oceans of Hope was, how it would be to “leave” the responsibility to others. But it didn’t take long at sea before I felt completely safe. It is hard to describe, but as a sailor I experience a very bodily feeling around the boat. You could say that it is a trinity consisting of the surroundings, the boat and myself. When these elements meet in an optimal correlation, it gives a very special climax and my body is filled with content. I am fascinated by this state.

The prerequisites for me to experience this state, are the perfect settings. On board Oceans of Hope I have experienced this state a number of times, because the settings have been so competent, set by the permanent crew of the boat. I have never before on board a sailboat felt so comfortable and left with so much underlying competence. Thank you to the permanent crew for this!

Good winds for the future – we will probably meet somewhere out there!

Report from Bosun Bertram:

Last day with our crew who sailed with us all the way from Fort Lauderdale in the states, crossing the Caribbean Ocean to Jamaica and on to Panama, through the historic canal. It is once more a day of sad and joy, where we say goodbye to good friends and look forward to making new ones. We have had a fantastic start on new year and we will dearly miss the leaving crew. Looking forward we now have four days in Panama City to prepare our next journey to the Galapagos Islands with our new crew of excited sailors! 

Local time on board is 13:45 and someone shut down the navigation software again, so I am without coordinates. We are docked in La Playita Marina in Panama City.