I keep thinking that five years ago, I could have done this voyage standing on my head, but this blue water cruising is taxing and very tiring and non-stop. I was low, I felt weak and fragile with very little stamina.

There is a question growing in the back of my mind: Is this because of MS?

I seem to have recently spent one really bad 24 hours not being able to sleep. Just because I did not get into the routine of on watch/off watch. So after nearly 18 hours I could not sleep!!! The boat was rolling too much, my bed was too small, everyone kept interrupting what little sleep I was having and it was too hot during the day. The straw that broke the camel’s back was my night watch with Captain Kristian and Sandy. The evening was very damp and everything seemed to be wet. My shorts were wet, my pants were wet, my feet were wet (this one really did drive me nuts) and my t shirts were all wet. Then as a result I was cold!!! Aaaargh!!!This made me even more tired and even more grumpy for approximately eight hours.

However, like a true captain, Kristian helped me solve the problem. He fixed my bunk with a section of wood so I didn’t keep rolling out. After that I slept like a baby. With a good six hours of sleep under my belt, everything seemed so much better. So a very big thank you Kristian!

On Oceans of Hope you could fall into a pattern very easily: Get up, then eat, do your watch, then go to sleep, then eat, do your watch, then eat, go to sleep yadda yadda yadda... (I think you get the picture). It's important to treat it not as an endless treadmill of shift patterns, but an opportunity to spend time with people in different ways.

However small or silly, encounters of humour throughout the day are what it is all about. It does take energy, but it is important to make that effort, not just for yourself, but for other people too.

Having a silly giggle after a great lunch with a fellow crew member is vital, especially if you are feeling low, so thank you Bertram.

Anyway, after all that I feel that I may be starting to get a rough concept of why I'm on board.

Getting a little lost in life, whatever the reason is perfectly acceptable.

Not having a master plan is also acceptable. Or to stop the hum drum conveyor belt is ok too.

To stop and re group is an essential way to restore energy.

You have to take yourself away, you have to give yourself a break, give the soul a little permission to stretch again.

I do appreciate that sailing across the Pacific is a little extreme, but simply acknowledging the whole process of pausing or reflection is essential for us all.

Whether you are fit and healthy today or not. Please, JUST STOP …..... Just for a minute, for a cuppa, to perhaps share a joke, or just get out of bed, however impossible it may seem. Break a routine or a way of thinking.

However mundane or magnificent your efforts, what is most important is that this effort is, at very least recognised. Opportunities should not be wasted, but every effort should be made to embrace them as if they are a new friend that has just walked into the room. 

Uanset hvor hverdagsagtige eller storslaaede dine anstrengelser er, saa er det vigtigste, at denne indsats, som det mindste, bliver anerkendt. Muligheder maa ikke spildes, saa hver indsats burde omfavnes som var de en ny ven, der traeder ind.

Report from Bosun Bertram:

Nine days at sea now and our fresh provisions are starting to run out. We are down to the last few avocadoes, almost no tomatoes and certainly no lettuce. The only meat left is in our little trusty freezer for the last few days, and the last melon died on us yesterday. Somehow the yoghurt is still staying strong, and of course there is plenty of onions, apples and cucumbers. A long time at sea challenges your gastronomical creativity, but as always we are surprised with continuous delicious meals. I'll tell you, the freeze dried food is still stowed away nicely under my own bunk, and we don't plan to take it out at all! This is also closely connected to the blessed weather we are experiencing. Cooking is doable in our galley as we have only had following winds and waves for the last 1,600 nautical miles and it doesn't seem to be changing for the next week. Sailing at 8 knots average with the wind out of the East-Southeast at 20 to 25 knots, and should be steady for at least another five days, only turning slightly more south - perfect!

Local time on board is 12:30 and our current position is 7,36.5S , 117,55.88W.