Waves as high as hills, 4 hours at the helm knee deep in water, “Fruity” 60 knot winds, meat paste sandwiches for lunch & tinned beef stew and powder mashed potato in plastic bowls for dinner, rain dripping on your food, no G&Ts on deck at sundown, sea sickness, wet wipes instead of showers and two toilets with zip up plastic doors – the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is not about luxury travel.
Hi, my name is Nicky Bakonyi and I live in Sydney, Australia with my very supportive husband and five lovely kids.
Back in January 2009 whilst thumbing through a magazine I came across an eye-catching advertisement with the heading ”The Challenge of a Lifetime“.
The challenge in question was a round the world yacht race and the attached photo had 18 sailors hanging over the side of the yacht each with their own little yellow sticker .
There was a doctor, a funds manager, a farmer, a carpenter, a taxi driver, a soccer mum, a cinematographer and one with the question “You?” That might have been the end of it as I’ve only sailed once before, but then something rather exciting caught my eye; ’ No sailing experience? No problem’…did it really say ‘No sailing experience, no problem?‘..…well, that was it.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. Do the thing you think you cannot do
There comes a time when everyone has their mid-life crisis and this would be mine. For the last 23 years I’ve been a full-time Mum but now I feel ready for a new kind of challenge and an adventure where I’m certain I’ll be looking fear in the face.
For the next six weeks that familiar life will be put on hold as I’ve signed up for leg 6, which is San Francisco to Jamaica through the Panama Canal
My little yellow sticker will read ‘fundraiser’ as I aim to raise funds and awareness for the The Black Dog Institute www.blackdoginstitute.org.au in memory of my brother Ben.
As I pull on my brand new sailing boots I’ll be taking a giant step out of my comfort zone. Mark Twain is to blame as he once said
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
On Tuesday 20th April I’ll be joining the Clipper fleet and as we sail out of San Francisco harbour and catch the trade winds heading south I’ll be doing what Mark Twain did best,
Exploring. Dreaming. Discovering
and having the adventure of a lifetime!
