It's the little things - Blog by Peter
Yesterday it was a day of fatigue. Better to say I had a miserable day. I was depressed. Nothing went right. Fortunately there was also a highlight. I made pancakes for lunch. At home, eating pancakes is just a quick dish we eat when we don't have enough time to make a proper dinner. Here on the Oceans of Hope it is a welcome treat. It tasted good and it was appreciated.
After an early night watch, 21.00-00.00 I had a good sleep although I slept at the 'wrong side'. This morning I made 'wentelteefjes'. You can probably translate it to French waffles. For me it is a Dutch treat my mother always made from old bread we didn't want to eat anymore. How simple things can give you so much joy.
It is these things I rediscovered and learned to appreciate again. These little things you don't even think about in a normal daily routine. Such as a daily fresh shower. I am looking forward to when we arrive in Auckland. All my clothes are stinking filthy and they need to be washed. But I don't worry about it. There are more important things here on the OOH.
This morning we hoisted the spinnaker. That is quite something. All hands on deck. All eleven crew members were needed to accomplish this job. Now we have 300 square meters more sail. Auckland here we come!! The more we reach our goal the more I'm reflecting on this trip. I already know that I love the sea and I love sailing. I also know I will never be a sailor for the long and bigger trips. And yes I miss my wife, children and friends a lot. More than I can say.
Sailing with the OOH stood high on my bucket-list. I wanted to accomplish something big for myself. It was and still is a once in a lifetime experience. I will never forget it. Amazing what people with disabilities, like MS, can accomplish. Believe me when I say that a trip over the endless ocean is teamwork. You can't do it alone. I really hope that we made a contribution to our society and changed a little bit of the mostly wrong image of people with MS. Oceans of Hope contributes to changing this image and I will continue this ashore.
This trip isn't over yet. We have some days left in Auckland and surroundings. And I am sure that we will see some of New Zealand and have fun together. After we have arrived in Auckland and have cleaned the OOH it will be available for local people with MS.
Thank you Sailing Sclerosis, you gave me the opportunity to be part of this project. Thank you fellow crew members, I will never forget you in my life. Thank you family and friends who supported me and made this trip possible.