Kirsten, 14. October 2019
Eat camels and speak giraffe language
If you have a desire to sail long-distance sailing and do not have the boat, the time or the energy to plan it all yourself, you may have the courage to board a ship as crew. Many sailors need help to manage sailing some of the long distance routes. Before making yourself available as crew, you probably think what type of people will I be joining and living among for a long period of time, in a very confined small space, without the ability to go for a walk or to be alone. It is wise to acknowledge and to make it clear that you have to “eat some camels” and you have to learn to “speak giraffe” (to stay within zoology). By that, I mean that one should not be too categorical and one should avoid words like “always” and “never”. One should not have specific expectations to achieve anything specific, but be happy about living in the present and enjoying the present moments. You have to be prepared to drop a dream of coming to the exact island or place you wanted. One must be prepared to change plans along the way. It is important to understand that the weather sets the agenda. On the big ocean, the boat is just a small cork that bounces up and down. It can be a pleasant bounce, if the weather is kind to us, but a damned nuisance if not.
Who are we
Skipper: Jeppe Born 1961 is an experienced sailor. He has sailed since childhood. Started sailing in Naestved Sailing Club (Denmark) in a Junior-boat. Bought his first sailboat in 1987, an 8 m long fast sailboat (Int. 806), which was used for racing and summer vacations. In 2000, he bought an 11 m long sailboat (a Luffe 37) that was used for racing, schooling and for summer cruises. Rhumb Runner is purchased in 2017. With the Rhumb Runner, he now has the ship that can bring his big dream alive, namely to cross the oceans and sail around the world. Jeppe is a thorough man who prepares and plans things in good time. Reading weather maps, investigating others ‘ experiences, puts safety high. He is skilled at interpreting weather forecasts and knows what it will take to cross the open oceans. The great oceans he has yet to cross, but this summer 2019, he tried forces with the North Sea when we sailed to Scotland. Gradually he has become a capable mechanic too. Rhumb Runners many technical installations, pumps and machines have taught him incredibly much. He has himself installed electronics, repaired pumps, prepared the ship for cruising with new epoxy coating, old coating was scraped off and repainted with seven new layers of epoxy. There is no compromise anything. Theoretically, he has coastal Yacht master certificate (Y3) and also the ocean yacht master certificate (Y1). Jeppe works purposefully with things and things happen. Now he is preparing this website so that people we know as well as people we do not know can follow our preparations for the trip and later also reports from the trip itself. Professionally Jeppe is a professor at DTU, where he educates structural civil engineers.
Skippers Wife: Kirsten born 1964. I meet Jeppe in 1985 and I have been with him ever since. My sailing experience confines itself to being a companion wife. I love to cook and make sure everyone has a good time, not least the skipper. The sailing responsibility lies solely on skippers ‘ shoulders, which he takes as a man. I have the right to complain and I take advantage of it when weather and wind are not nice. Surely completely intolerable – now you are warned. And of course, I can sail and enjoy it. I have taken the coastal yacht master certificate (Y3) a few years ago and now I am preparing myself for the trip by trying to learn Spanish. Professionally, I am a doctor, i.e. a general practitioner, specialized in everything. I have my own clinic (general practice) in Norrebro, Copenhagen.
Golden crew member: Mette born 2006. Sea Scout, loves to sail. Tolerates her parents and prefers to sail with other young people. She has agreed to join the round the world trip for about one year. Her core competence is playing the free of hearts card game. In addition, she is skilled at drawing and painting. She throws herself into things, examines everything on the web, tries out and prepares, in other words, she is like her father. Mette has two big siblings who have left home some years ago. They have boyfriend and husband and Mette is soon to become an aunt. We hope they will join us along the way.
Why would we like to have crew join us
In practical terms, it is nice to be a number of people to steer and manage the ship. We often have to sail around the clock on several routes and will of course appreciate and want help. We think it is fun to share experiences with others. It is interesting for us to see things in a different perspective. It is also important, but not essential, for us to have crew with whom we can share the expenses . It is clear that our budget is limited by the fact that we are not working during the time in which we are sailing. With less cost, we can sail for a long time span.
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