Team challenge

With so many wonderful posts these days I couldn’t help but come out and offer just one small post. Many of you know that as founder of Smith’s School of English I believe that our school’s success depends on some very simple principles. Indeed one such principle is K.I.S. (Keep It Simple) another is T.E.A.M.  I believe TEAM can do anything and live my life knowing that this is true.  One of the driving beliefs in my life is to be Restless, to never be satisfied, to always try harder and with this Restlessness, to dream.

You all know me quite well and as such know I have many dreams. Some of those dreams are income related others are supportive in nature and then there are those that are simply, mine.  One of the “mine” dreams I have is to see how far I can sail a boat. With this dream in mind I have been spending my spare time training to sail in harsh conditions. Last year I posted a video about my sailing in Osaka bay. Today I have a video of me joining one more young man to make a T.E.A.M. with the dream of sailing 1050 Nautical Miles (1,944 kilometers) from Hamilton Island to Sydney Australia.

We set off in a boat called a Sydney 38. This boat would normally be raced with a crew of 8 people. To sail it with only two sailors for 1,900 kilometers is indeed a fine dream.  I promise you if you want to do something you can.

The first day was very pleasant and the islands of the Great Barrier Reef were truly beautiful. From the second day on we had some very hard nights. The winds blew up very hard and seas rose up maybe 15 feet above our deck. Luckily each day was pretty calm and we had the chance to rest a little whenever the sun was up. We even took some videos. But sure enough once that sun started to set up came the wind again and away went the camera. Time to work.   I assure you that when fighting to keep your bum on the bucking deck of a 38 foot racing yacht in 40 knot winds, pitch black dark, trusting your compass setting, your sailing buddy getting his 90 minute sleep  below decks, a howling wind lashing furious sea spray in your salt swollen eyes and doing everything you can just to hang onto the course agreed upon by team, you do start to think about important things.  I kept getting stuck with the same thought. T.E.A.M. Together this mate of mine and I will overcome adversity, achieve more than many could ever imagine. We will make it and have fun on the way. We are both stiff  sailors. We are trained to handle this weather and the boat is sound. We are not afraid. We are safe.

Together Everybody Achieves More.

Mark Smith.  Founder and Navigator.