Finding the balance – Blog by Bjarni
My journey started in Sydney, I arrived early to get a chance to recover from the long flight, which also allowed me to attend World MS day in Darling Harbour. It turned out to be a great day for me, meeting a lot of nice people amongst them crew 7 who did the Tasman Sea crossing. Listening to their experiences was quite valuable in terms of knowing what to expect, as I pretty much ventured into the unknown with no prior sailing experience.
I didn't really apply with a big reason behind it. I just really had a need to prove to myself that I could still push my boundaries, which made me apply without the slightest hesitation. Having been on deck now with my poor balance, while the boat was moving up and down a couple of meters, holding on with one hand and working with the other, I would say that this trip qualifies, pushing them further than ever before. For me this feels like jumping straight into the deep-end side of the pool and this is only the beginning of our sailing adventure up the east coast of Australia.
Report from Bosun Bertram:
Our Sydney stopover is officially over and last night during the VIVI'd light festival in the harbour we sneaked out in the late hours of the evening. Sailing through the night we arrived to Newcastle early this morning just after 6am - way earlier than anticipated. Averaging 8 knots instead of the expected 6 and speeds up to 13,6 by the genoa and main sail the 65 miles went quickly despite the cold night here in the early winter of Australia. We will spend a couple of days here in Newcastle sailing with local people living with MS before we hurry on north, chasing the warmer temperatures!
Local time on board is 21:00 and our current position is 32'55.310S , 151'45.747E