There are several choices that have created shifts in my life and a few that stand out above the rest. Moving to London one week after graduating high school to work and live away from home for the first time in my life, and deciding to move to the other side of the world for three years to study Landscape Architecture in Melbourne, Australia stands out the most, which I decided after reading blog posts from websites like https://www.riderslodge.net/2020/10/how-to-choose-the-best-travel-destination-for-the-first-time/ about finding the best places to travel to. I was nervous to move to Melbourne, but it’s such a beautiful place and has so much to offer. If anyone is thinking of visiting there or making a similar choice to me in moving there, do some research on the place to fully understand the area, such as looking at the best restaurants in north melbourne!
I am now about to start a new amazing adventure and to top it all off get to do this together with the person I love.
These are big choices that have had a great impact on my life and they have shaped me as a person but there are also the thousands of small choices we make every day. The majority of them don’t have any greater impact on our lives and pass us by without notice.
In January 2011 I made a series of small choices that clearly changed my life;
1.) I listened to my mum’s wise advice to absolutely go on a small trip to New Zeeland, even though my travel budget didn’t allow it.
2.) I chose to eat at the nearest restaurant available which happened to be a taco place called Mexicali Fresh, where the very friendly staff invited us out to party with them.
3.) A friend got lost during a wild night out, and the search for her ended up on a super yacht.
4.) I got in to a silly argument with a lovely friend which ultimately kept me on the super yacht where I met the Delos crew.
The next day I was off on my first adventure on Delos sailing to Waiheke Island, New Zealand.
I did not know then that these choices would end up being some of the best I have ever done – they led me to Brian and the start of this incredible sailing adventure.
The plan is to, during roughly seven months, make our way up the Australian coast and leave Darwin by the beginning of August. Then continue the sail north to Indonesia through the Spice Islands, Raja Ampat etc. then head towards Philippines, Malaysia and eventually Thailand.
I followed my heart falling in love with Brian, knowing that we would not be able to spend time together for a long time. It would be months without seeing each other, weeks at a time with only satellite email as communication. We would live two completely different lives, Brian sailing the South Pacific and me finishing my degree in Melbourne. I would lie if I didn’t say it was extremely difficult and incredibly painful. But looking back, completely worth it! I managed to make so many friends along the way that I know will be friends for life. I did my best to save money (which is hard alongside earning a degree) so I could see Brian. I actually looked into completing a certificate in hospitality to try and find part-time work in some of the amazing restaurants I had visited, but ended up not quite having the time to fit it in. Not with finding time to see Brian as well.
It would take a year before we got to spend more than a few weeks here and there together but every chance I got I flew from my student life in Melbourne to meet Delos on her adventures through the South Pacific Islands. I spent 5 amazing weeks in Fiji and got to experience my first passage from Fiji to Vanuatu, before it was time to fly back home to Melbourne, this allowed me to find some nice places for Where to stay in Fiji for the future! A half a year later I met Delos in Ghizo, Solomon Islands, where I experienced my first wreck-dives and another really cool passage from Solomon Islands to Australia. This time I stayed on the boat for 3 amazing months sailing down the Australian coast, diving The Great barrier reef, and spending endless lazy days at Hamilton Islands 5 resort pools.
The crew in Fiji
Sunset cruise Hamilton Island
I am now back on Delos after 1 year. It seems like it was only yesterday that me and Brian watched Delos getting pulled out of the water to the dry storage in Bundaberg. A lot has happened since then. I managed to finish my degree, travelled through America for 3 months and I also had the chance to work and visit family and friends in Sweden.
Thanksgiving with Brian’s family in America
When I have talked to people about this sailing adventure the question I get the most is how much have I sailed before? And to be honest my sailing experience is not very high, which is a little nerve racking, but I feel really thrilled to learn! And I think the previous shorter trips with the boat have only heightened my excitement about what’s to come.
The second question is will it be hard to be in such a confined space with these people for months at the time? I have known the Delos crew for about 2 and half years now and they are such amazing people. But if I do need to find my own space one of my favourite spots on the boat is the bow, a place filled with peacefulness, ease and an incredible view!
We are now going on this adventure together and I could not be happier!
