At the heart of our project is our desire to demonstrate that, without any experience of sailing, the will to learn and to achieve precise objectives is all that is required for us to achieve our ambitions: “where there is a will there is a way”. That is the challenge that is posed by our association.
As the sea is a realm of the unforeseeable, with its bad temper and dangers, we ought to acquire some relevant knowledge before our current expected departure date of November 2008. In fact, we aim to go through a period of intensive sailing instruction (for roughly a year and a half) so that we will be capable of navigating the waters of the globe. Just as no sailor is able to say that they know the seas inside-out, we will not be able to state conclusively that one and a half years of apprenticeship will be sufficient for us to become excellent navigators. However, according to certain sailors, this length of time should be long enough to allow us to get to know the basics of sailing.
Being sportsmen ourselves, we are used to action, endurance and acheiving objectives. Climbing, snow-boarding ontop of high mountains, cycling etc all this has led to us having a certain taste for living in the present. The difficulties in this type of sport are numerous and we are conscience of the fact that we will encounter many throughout the duration of our trip. However, just as every problem has a solution, these obstacles should not be insurmountable. Our willpower will enable us to tackle all the forthcoming obstacles.
Moreover, whatever the weather, long journeys or just tiredness itself, mean that the challenge is more mental than physical. Despite all this, these 600 days of communal live onboard our boat, with the near certainty of fallouts and friction, does not worry us, rather, on the contrary- this aspect is an integral part of the challenge, the key is to not underestimate it.
We face a lot of obstacles and we are well aware of this. However, good things don’t always come to those who know how to wait and sometimes one has to seize the bull by the horns.
We have studied all the facets of this ambitious project whilst taking a step back and viewing it objectively, and we are absolutely convinced of its feasibility - within our 600 day timescale.
When there is a will there is a way ...