Why sail around the world ?

As you wake in the pre dawn, you slowly become aware of your surroundings. With the wisps of dreams from a long and fitful sleep scattering from your mind you realize with mounting excitement that your dream is in fact a reality, and that the day ahead of you is yours to do with as you please in the tropical paradise/playground that currently surrounds you…

You lie still with your eyes closed and savour the pre-dawn moments, sounds and smells. You become aware of the gentle rocking of your bunk as the boat sways at anchor, timed perfectly with the gentle creak of the fruit hammock in the galley. The familiar and pleasant ache of your body stands testament to the five sunny hours spent in perfect aquamarine waves the previous day, as does the warmth in your skin. It is time to get up. You roll out of bed, pull on your boardies and climb the steps up the companionway. The splendor of the surroundings before you makes you gasp. You are reminded of the quote “Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but rather by the moments that take your breath away” You cannot recall who wrote it, but reflect that if life is measured by moments such as these, then you just experienced a lifetime worth of city life.

You look around you and allow yourself to be immersed in the purity of the moment: The boom of surf crashing on the outer reefs and the whisper of the gentle offshore breeze in the palms on the beach. In the foreground, the brightening sky is reflected off the oily ocean in a kaleidoscope of color, dulled in places as the offshore breeze touches down in rippling goose bumps – almost as if the ocean itself is awaking from its slumber.

The swell has picked up since yesterday, as is evident by the increased surge in the lagoon of the atoll and the push of water up the beach. You wonder how the spot you discovered yesterday would handle the increased swell size and shiver with anticipation as you mind-surf overhead tubular perfection. What will today bring? Surfing is a given, as it has been every day for the past three weeks of this voyage through a non-descript south pacific island chain. Perhaps climb the small mountain on the island and get some elevated pictures of this seemingly endless island chain? Go fishing in the lagoon and spear a nice fish for dinner?

At some point we will go and collect garbage from the high tide line, and add to the photographic collection of the scourge of plastic waste on EVERY SINGLE beach visited thus far. Your eyes are drawn to the beach you arrived at the previous day. Already in the strengthening light you can pick up the telltale line of colourful trash at the high tide line. Your mind reflects on one of the interesting finds of your trip – that that vast majority of beaches you have visited have contained at least one 500ml pop bottle – some with faded labels and covered in algae after years at sea, others looking fresher than ever. You wonder if soft drink manufacturers even realize just how big and far reaching their environmental footprint is, such that almost every beach on planet earth bears evidence of their enterprise.

You decide not to think of such things in this pristine moment.

On a more personal note, why are we ripping up our roots, quitting our jobs, leaving our loved ones and choosing this life of modern nomadcy for three years?!

I believe that life can be likened to the art of writing with a permanent marker, in a book that cannot be edited, filled with blank pages ready to be written upon. If you believe in fate, you will agree that this book of life has a finite amount of pages. You are, at this very moment writing on one of those pages. You will never get the chance to re-write it, and your book now contains one less blank page that it did yesterday… I hope that you are happy with it.

Every human soul yearns for adventure, and longs to make a difference in this world. Why not try and do it all together. This trip is not motivated through lack of other options, nor is it motivated by two guys looking to be surf bums and sail around the world. This trip is about taking firm hold of ones life in a world where work and cultural expectations will rob you of your young, healthy and productive lives by inserting you into a cubicle and expecting you to spend all your time earning enough income purely to survive.

EMBRACE the cliche’s we say! “Carpe Diem!” – “Sieze the day”, “Life is short” and try and make an honest difference in the world. If nothing else, we will have a fantastic adventure, bring awareness to the terrestrial communities of the state of the ocean, and educate younger generations on the hefty environmental responsibility their generation must bear as a direct result of the apathy of ours.

Why is it that life passes faster as one gets older? Physically, time always passes at exactly the same speed. The only difference is one’s perception of it. So why does our perception change? I believe it has to do with learning, routine and inspiration in life. As a kid you are always learning, always looking forward to the next chapter in your life: Junior school, the dance, grade 12, graduation, learning to drive, first kiss, losing your virginity, falling in love. You are learning all the time, not only academically, but also as a person. You are finding yourself in the midst of an ever changing world, and thus the passage of a year is paramount. Years are measured through personal growth and experience rather than by minutes and seconds… On the other side of the coin, appreciate the average adult life: You are in your routine. You commute to work every morning along the same streets, at roughly the same time, to the same office. You take your lunch breaks at the same time, at the same places, and eat the same foods. Is it any wonder that the months pass with barely entering your consciousness, and definitely not your memory? Try to recall what you were up to two months ago? I bet all you remember is something that is outside of your routine..

So this is it! Before settling down and starting a family, why not go out with a noble cause, on a bold and ambitious mission o f education and self learning and truly try and make a difference in the world by addressing a serious issue.

Throughout this voyage, we will be seeking out every opportunity to do presentations and talks at schools, surfrider meetings, sailing clubs and other gatherings of like minded folk. At this stage, the exact format of our trip is still undefined, allowing a little room for the trip to evolve whilst underway. Expect many pieces of writing and continual updates on our photo diary.

So with that, we present our goal. We are 100% confident that this mission of goodwill and exposure with do Mother ocean a huge service. Along with the support of family, friends, and the encouragement of our sponsors, we feel that this mission will sew the seeds of ocean conservation in many individuals and groups.

-Ryan, Brys and Hugh