MFSA082: Bon Voyage

What an extraordinary time we are living through. With a global pandemic raging, it seems the whole world is focused precisely on a single little organic particle. I have high hopes that the collective undivided attention of the best and brightest minds on earth will bring us through the current storm of uncertainty, despite what feels at the moment like considerable turbulence and disruption. While settling in to close quarters for an extended period of time with limited provisions may not be universally seen as a good time, I can think of at least one group of people who pay large sums of money for the experience, with some even seeing it as the height of minimalist luxury. I am of course talking about bluewater sailing. And so with necessity the mother of invention, we have through the combined power of imagination and technology recently embarked on a transoceanic journey, plotted out on an oversize world map on our dining room wall, and supported by the realtime sailing simulator Sailaway. Leaving behind the empty parties and strung out streets of lockup life, we set sail from Rodd Island in Sydney a week ago. Having worked our way up the NSW and Queensland coast with favourable winds, we are scheduled to arrive in New Caledonia this evening. Hard to say where this journey will end, but while we are on it we will do the best we can to make use of the time, sense of the circumstances, and see some sights along the way. Bon voyage!