I know I sent in the application, but when I got the call from Sailing Sclerosis offering me the possibility to go on the Oceans Of Hope yacht, I first got really excited but also a bit worried because I never did any Ocean sailing before. I thought to myself, imagine that I am going to sail the Pacific Ocean as my grandfather did many years ago. I will sleep as many nights as I can on the deck and I will look at the stars and think of him...

It was simply a dream come true for me and as close to an adventure as I will ever get, I would be sailing from Tahiti to Samoa! My expectations for this whole journey were sky-high when I left Denmark for Tahiti. I love adventures and this was completely unknown territory.

Tahiti is a beautiful island in the Pacific but the very best part of it was when I met the other five members of the MS crew that I was going to be on the boat with. We more or less instantly clicked and the good karma and the good vibes were there. We rented a car together and went around to see the island. I am so happy to get to know these people.

We signed on the boat and met the permanent crew, which are the most sweet and positive persons you can ever imagine. I am so grateful to have met all of these people, it makes me very happy and I feel alive as ever before.

Moorea is a beautiful island a few hours of sailing from Tahiti. We put the sails up and wow (!) what a wonderful experience. Not far from the shores of Tahiti it is just blue ocean sailing and you can go thousands of nautical miles in almost any direction before you ever meet land. It makes me feel very small and humble and thankful for being alive and actually living this experience. We anchored up in a beautiful lagoon and I slept on the deck looking at the stars thinking about the ones I love and care about. Imagine waking up in the morning under a blue sky with the sun rising from behind beautiful dramatic mountains.

In Denmark I work out. Imagine doing workout exercises in the sun on a boat in the most beautiful lagoon with green water, palm threes and beaches close by and everything around you is just picture perfect. I simply just can't stop smiling and I'm so happy to be a small part of this project.

We went to another lagoon on the North Side of Moorea and here we had ever so much fun jumping from the boom. We also crawled on the ropes and jumped into the water from every angle of the boat, playing was just so wonderful.

This simply just keeps on getting better and better. The people I met, the other MS crew AND the permanent crew, the boat and the whole project about focusing on the positive sides of life. My expectations so far are completely fulfilled and I'm very much looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

Report from Bosun Bertram
Anchored off of Mo'orea at 8 meters depth of water the Oceans of Hope is calmly swaying in the strong current behind the protecting reef. The crew is ashore exploring the volcanic island with all its beauty. As with many of our stopovers it's hard to find words for what we are experiencing here. 

The crew has had four days onboard now and are already settled with the watch schedule and moving the boat around to different anchorages. We are already looking forward to our next sail to Bora Bora, a trip of 120-something nautical miles, which will serve as a small taster before the real 1100 nm leg to Samoa!