Today is a very bittersweet day, and one that I have been avoiding for a while. This is the first blog that I have not written from the comfy navigation station within S/V Khulula, and also the only blog that I have written from chilly Vancouver.

While Brys and Hugh plan to sail across the Atlantic, the last ocean of the expedition, I have been in Vancouver slowly getting settled back into life on land, and looking at starting a “real” job in the near future! The tropical tan is fading, and the world is still (not rocking). I can shower every night and don’t have to catch dishes mid flight while trying to cook dinner – the stove is flat and stays flat. Vancouver is stunning and beautiful, and has the chilliest temperatures I have experienced for over two years. Also, finally being in the same city as my beautiful wife is a huge bonus.

So, many must be wondering, why, oh why, Ryan has left the life on the high seas and settled back into life on land? Well, this has always been the plan: That I sail across two of the three oceans to South Africa, returning to Canada after year two to start getting all the OceanGybe ducks in a row. Over the past two years a few details have fallen through the cracks – admin and paperwork for OceanGybe Awareness Association, a pile of garbage study videos, interested travel type movie clips, sponsor engagement, public awareness meetings – the list goes on and on.

Has there been a fallout? I know some of you are thinking it! No, not at all – Hugh Brys and I have been through some incredible times together – some really tough times, some absolutely spectacular times. The moments of sheer perfection in empty lineups, mixed in with the hectic moments of nervousness in the midst of deep ocean storms, all united by a purpose and common mission to make this a better world, has forged a bond of friendship between the three of us that will last forever. I will miss them, the boat, and the lifestyle. I will be rejoining the boat on a number of occasions over the next year, and then for the final leg across the potentially stormy north Pacific back to Vancouver in 2010.

One of my major tasks for OceanGybe for the next year is to shine things up for the end of the physical trip next year. The end of the physical trip heralds the start of the next step – to share what we have discovered: From the lifestyle of adventure, to the huge amounts of plastic trash we have found on every beach we have visited, no matter how remote. We will compile the garbage study results from all the beaches we have visited and inventoried, study the results and present them to the public and the media. After doing an initial rollup in South Africa, I can say the initial results are truly mind blowing,

To enable this transition, we need a member on the ground (literally!). That member is me. There will be more updates on the website, increased interaction with our sponsors, a stepped up presence on our facebook group (we have been terrible at this!) and more exposure to our message.

Stay tuned for a blog about our presentations and surfboard give aways (thanks Sitka, the under privileged kids loved them) from Cape Town South Africa. It was a fantastic experience interacting with some very aware and motivated groups that were very helpful and enthusiastic to get the message about Oceanic pollution to the South African public. More on this in a later blog.

This summer (northern hemisphere), as Khulula rests out the Atlantic hurricane season, we plan on doing a “Cape-Town style awareness push” in Vancouver and surrounding area: Slideshows, School presentations and media interviews. The image format will be the fantastic life of adventure, stories on the soaring highs and crushing lows of sailing around the world on a little boat, and the tainted paradise of remote islands covered in ocean borne plastics. Also, we are working with Gamut Productions and Oak Bay Johnny Productions on putting together a movie/documentary series from the hours and hours of documentary footage that we have shot, and have yet to shoot.

My role from now on in is to support the movie making effort, increase our presence on our website, get the ball rolling for the summer awareness push, as well as be a contact for any person or organization that wants to know more about the OceanGybe expedition. So, if you need/want to contact us for any reason, I am the guy – ryanjrobertson@gmail.com