The Danish yacht, Oceans of Hope, has set sail from Copenhagen on a historic global voyage. It is the first ever circumnavigation of the world by a yacht crewed by people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Oceans of Hope is the flagship of a campaign by the same name, organised by the Sailing Sclerosis Foundation. The aim of the 17-month project is to change perceptions of MS by showing what is possible when people with a chronic disease are empowered to conquer their individual challenges.
The crew who set sail from Amaliehaven this afternoon on the 61,000-kilometre (33,000-nautical mile) voyage have been involved in establishing an active network across Denmark of groups of people with MS who sail on a regular basis. Through sailing events organised during stopovers in the 20 ports of call they want to widen those networks between the MS and the sailing worlds and help create a valuable legacy for the Oceans of Hope project.
The route will take the yacht from Copenhagen to Kiel, Germany, for the first stopover from 19-22 June, followed by Amsterdam, Netherlands (26-29 June), Portsmouth, UK (3-6 July), La Rochelle, France (10-14 July), Lisbon, Portugal (25 July ñ 2 August) and across the Atlantic Ocean to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where the crew is due to arrive on 8 September. Oceans of Hope will take centre stage at the joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS conference, the world’s largest annual international conference devoted to basic and clinical research in multiple sclerosis.