Part 1 (Written on the last day of 2009)
The last day of the year is always a day of reflection for me. It is a day I look back and remember the good and the bad times, the people I liked and loved … and the people I wished would have a well deserved accident. It is also is a day when I get blindingly drunk and instead of waking up to the New Year with life-altering New Years resolutions, that I have no intention of keeping, I tend to wake up with a thundering hang-over. Will tomorrow be the same? Time will tell.
Looking back at 2009, I see a year filled with work, but in a very enabling way. I left my beloved boat in February to work for Royal Caribbean to make some much needed money, so that I could continue sailing afterwards.
Working on the Vision of the Seas was a lot of fun, rewarding on many levels and it gave me an opportunity to meet some truly extraordinary people like Kely (Paco), Wes, Francesca, Alison, Vinicius, Topi, Sebastian, Steve and Vanessa, Jennifer (Faust), Morten, Konstantin, Petar, Dubravko. When preparing to return to Royal Caribbean I enjoyed Ian and Lee’s generous hospitality and Katharina’s friendship on St. Maarten and while getting my C1/D Visa I had the huge Couchsurfing pleasure of meeting Vicky, Steve and Kim on Barbados. I hope I get to meet all of you again real soon.
I was also lucky enough to meet up with some old friends, largely thanks to the globetrotting. It was excellent to catch up with Naomi, Stein, Frode, Torstein, Peri, Helle, Andreas and Silje. It feels great to know that I have friends scattered all over the Globe.
2009 was a busy year when it comes to traveling. When I look at the list of countries I spent time in, it looks like I haven’t worked at all, but only traveled: Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Belgium, Bonaire, Curacao, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Greece, Grenada, Holland, Israel, Malta, Martinique, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, UK and USA. I’m going to attempt to moderate myself next year.
Part 2 (Written on the first day of 2010)
Definitely hung over, but not too bad. The lumberjacks are leaving my head alone, but I feel like my head is occupying a hat 2 sizes too small. Thank God for refreshing swims in the ocean. They don’t cure it, but they make it more bearable. Bonaire put on a good show last night, so I was able to thoroughly enjoy the end of 2009.
How do I feel about the New Year? … It’s a number thing. I don’t really care or notice a difference. I feel no sense of urgency to accomplish something grand. The only promice I did make, and here we go with New Year’s resolutions, is that I want to put down a 1000 words per day. Hopefully it’s not too ambitious. If it is, I’ll make it a lower number, but my point is to write every day and giving myself a word count goal will hopefully help.
Not a resolution, but a goal I also have is to spend more time with my family. In particular mom, dad and Martin. Hopefully I’ll see more of them than just a few days this year.
A lot of things depend on what I chose to do. Right now I’m supposed to sail back to Norway to return to school, but I’m very tempted to sail into the Pacific instead. Right now I’m 1/3 of the Way around the World and I hate turning back. Galapagos, Marquesas, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Australia, etc. They’re all calling my name. Granted I know it’s a smart idea to return to school and get a proper education, not to mention that I don’t want to sail by myself and I can’t afford sailing around the World right now, but these are obstacles … If I really want to do it, I know I‘ll find a way. We’ll see. I’ll make up my mind in the coming 2 months. I know that if I don’t do it now, I’ll do it somewhere down the line, but right now I’m so close that I can taste it.
To that end I have started looking for crew and have advertised on crewing sites and have some ideas. Hopefully some of you will have an idea or two as well, or even know someone that might be interested. My chief obstacle now is finding one or two people to do it with. If I find someone I can share the adventure with I’ll be very happy and I know it will push me straight into the Pacific. If I can’t, well then I’ll return home to university and start planning the next circumnavigation 🙂
So where am I right now? Well, obviously Bonaire, but in my head? … I’m in a good place. I’m happy to be where I am. The boat is keeping me very busy, because there’s a lot of things I need to fix and get working properly, but with a few, hopefully not too expensive steps, I should be in business. The boat is a fantastic home, with an unprecedented view and if I don’t like the neighbours, all I have to do is lift anchor and move. I continue meeting fantastic people on sailboats and when I was on Aruba I met and befriended Ian and Westa, a fantastic couple, that I hope to join forces with when I sail to the Venezuelan islands. I also met Greg and Emanuelle on both Bonaire and Curacao and hope to see more of them and their 3 kids if I shoot into the Pacific, like they are doing.
All in all I think 2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year, no matter if I sail home or into the Pacific. There are opportunities to be had, things to be seen, people to meet and places to explore, no matter where I go, so I am very happy.
I hope that you can say the same and that our paths will cross this year.
Now I need to dive into the water and cool down, because the heat is stifling. I received some snow filled pictures from and I can honestly say: I don’t miss it. The only place I’m happy to see ice is in my drinks.
Happy New Year! May 2010 be a real odyssey for all of us.