Imagine:

Almost 2,000 nautical miles east of Galapagos and still more than 1,000 nautical miles to Nuku Hiva. Not a ship in sight. Just the endless South Pacific Ocean.

Imagine:

Alone on watch, alone on deck midmorning. No engines, no music, just a murmur from Helmuth, the autopilot, and the roar from the bow waves as the good ship Oceans of Hope surfs down the huge ocean swell.

Imagine:

The blue ocean with an unbroken horizon, sometimes a school of flying fish escaping the Oceans of  Hope, small waves with a white crest and underneath everything the constant oceanic swell that lifts Oceans of Hope three meters up and sends her roaring down the slopes.

Imagine:

Nine people on board a 20 meter yacht cutting through wave after wave. Nine people unknown to one another 14 days ago. Now we are slowly unfolding our life history and dreams and plans for the future. Every day respect, tolerance and team spirit seem to reach new levels.

Imagine:

Right now 11 pm. We are watching the old Danish movie S/S Martha in the cockpit and even eating delicious popcorn. Unbelievable?

I am called Doctor Morten Number 2, crewing Oceans of Hope from the Galapagos Islands to Tahiti (the previous doctor on board was also named Morten). I should give you a health report after 11 days at sea. It is going to be short as everybody is in good health. Minor injuries, gastritis, small wounds - nothing serious. None of us has been seasick, no excessively sunburns, no gastroenteritis, no heatstroke. Everybody seems very careful and responsible, moving around on the boat and handling the sheets with great concentration.

Right now Helmuth the autopilot is the only one seriously sick, leaking oil from the hydraulic system. We have found the leak and will try to order the spare parts today for a repair.

The spinnaker has been up for several hours today.

So as Kristian says: “Not a bad day at the office”

I personally have my own inner swell of missing my wife and children very much. Like the swell, the feelings come and go and vary in intensity. So as much as I enjoy every day on board, I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends again at the end of the month.

Love from Doc. Morten no.2.

Report from Bosun Bertram:

8 o' clock - spinnaker up! 9 o' clock - breakfast! And the day is on! We fly the symmetrical spinnaker of almost 400 square meters in every hour of daylight at the moment. The crew is getting very routine at setting the big balloon every morning and taking it back down every evening - not without problems but with a calm attitude and a safe approach. Setting the biggest sail available way out in the Pacific, still a thousand miles from shore, is always carefully considered. But our crew shows great skill and have clearly earned their nickname as the "Spinnaker team.”

We average 9-10 knots during day and 7-8 knots at night, where we fly the genoa with the mainsail. Our course is due west, going straight for Nuku Hiva!

Local time onboard is 11:00 and our current position is 8,22.58S , 124,4.87W.