Spanish people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are taking part in a world-first voyage that arrives in Barcelona on 5^th October.

Oceans of Hope, the 20 metre yacht undertaking the first global circumnavigation with a working crew of people living with MS, aims to change the perceptions of MS by showing what is possible when people with a chronic disease are empowered to conquer their individual challenges in a meaningful community.

Oceans of Hope will be berthed at Marina Port Vell from October 5th to 12^th. More than half of the 100 crew living with MS who have taken part in the global voyage have flown to Barcelona to celebrate Oceans of Hope’s return to the Iberian Peninsula. Several of them have chartered local yachts, which will form a flotilla to greet Oceans of Hope in style when she arrives. The yacht and her crew will also attend the world’s largest global sclerosis conference ECTRIMS 2015, hosted in Barcelona, from October 8^th – 10^th.

At least 700,000 people in Europe have MS and there are over 47,000 people living with MS in Spain, a debilitating neurological disease of the central nervous system that interferes with nerve impulses within the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. People with MS are typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 years, although the onset of symptoms may be earlier.

Jesús Calderón, 45, and Silvia Rueda Gúzman, 28, are two Spanish crewmembers with MS who joined Oceans of Hope before reaching Barcelona and who will be available for interviews upon arrival.

When: Monday 5th October (arrive by 1.45 pm)

Where: OneOcean Port Vell, Carrer Escar, 26, Port of Barcelona
What: Oceans of Hope crew, including Spanish people with MS, celebrate returning to the Iberian Peninsula
Who:

• Spanish crewmembers Jesús Calderón and Silvia Rueda Gúzman, both of whom have MS
• Mikkel Anthonisen, founder of Sailing Sclerosis Foundation and Oceans of Hope

• Other members of the global crew, including those with MS

 
Enquiries or interview requests contact:

Liv Elbirk
Communications Manager
+45 29921091
liv@sailingsclerosis.com

Sailing Sclerosis - Oceans of Hope
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www.sailingsclerosis.com

Notes to Editors

Additional information, blogs, and latest news is available. Alsojoin us at www.facebook.com/OceansofHope or on Twitter: @SailSclerosis

Pre-recorded footage of Oceans of Hope’s treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean filmed by a documentary crew is available on request.

Hi-res images are available for free editorial use at www.w-w-i.com/oceansofhope/

About multiple sclerosis

• 2.5 million people are living with MS worldwide
• Over 47,000 people in Spain have MS
• It has been estimated that there are about four women with MS for each man.
• MS is the most common disease of the central nervous system in young adults
• People with MS are typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 years, although onset of symptoms may be earlier
• Every five hours, a new case of MS is diagnosed in Spain.
• 50-80% of people with MS cease to work full-time within 10 years of diagnosis
  
  

About Oceans of Hope

• Oceans of Hope has taken 17 months to travel around the world
• The yacht has travelled 28,000 nautical miles (52,000 kilometres)
• The journey began in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 15, 2014 and left the Iberian Peninsula on August 2
• Oceans of Hope has visited Kiel (Germany), Portsmouth (UK), La Rochelle (France), Lisbon (Portugal), Boston (USA), New York (USA), Miami (USA), Montego Bay (Jamaica), Panama City (Panama), French Polynesia, American Samoa, Tonga, Auckland (New Zealand), Sydney (AUS), Newcastle (AUS), Gold Coast (AUS), Cairns (AUS), Darwin (AUS) and Singapore where she was shipped to Ambarli in Turkey by a Maersk container ship in order to avoid piracy off Africa’s shores, the Gulf of Aden, as well as the monsoon season in the Arabian Sea.
• The international crew is rotated regularly to give more people a chance to sail on the vessel and to create networks around the world between people living with MS and the sailing world
• At present, the six crewmembers aboard Oceans of Hope are from Spain, Denmark, New Zealand, France and USA