Oceans Of Hope is our boat, there is no doubt about it! We were anchored in a lagoon at Bora Bora when two cruise ships came in and tourists started pouring out. They went around the island in helicopters, on jet skis, speedboats and local outriggers. They past by us smiling and waving and of course we smiled and waved back. They saw the beautiful orange colour on the sides of Oceans Of Hope, just like the sky at sunrise and sunset when the sun is behind the horizon. Just a few years back I was the one who past by the anchored ships and wondered where they came from and where they were going. I was just sitting on Oceans Of Hope smiling and waving back at the boats passing us with the feeling deep inside that this is actually “my” boat. I talked to some of the other crew members and they had the exact same feeling!

We are now four days away from Bora Bora and apart from some birds, dolphins and fish we haven't seen another living soul. It's almost like we are completely alone in the world. We are a ten people self-sufficient unit taking care of each other, watching each other’s backs and rising to the occasion whenever necessary. Everybody is working together, taking their turn and making sure that things “work” in spite of the close quarters. This is exactly how it is supposed to be also on a bigger scale than ten people on a boat in the middle of the Pacific. It makes me very happy to be part of this and get back the feeling that it actually does matter! These people will always be my friends.

However, in the middle of the daily chores it is very easy to “forget” that Sailing Sclerosis is a huge project. Sailing around the world is certainly not easy and we are doing it!

Report from Bosun Betram
Symmetric spinnaker, grilled freshly caught Mahi Mahi and good old seaman’s school in the cockpit are some of the highlights of these days. As we are flying the big balloon, we find the time to reel in a big beautiful Mahi Mahi. Great teamwork put the stunningly coloured fish into an amazing dinner of fresh steaks on the BBQ in the cockpit. Other worthy skills of the sea are being taught as the crew get a chance to tackle the sheets and halyards. Pretty knots (although admittedly some of them useless) are being shown off for both admiration and frustration to those of us who can't wrap our heads around the more tricky ones.

Local time onboard is 01:20 and our current position is 15'51.501S 162'44.569W