I needed something special that could give me the motivation to fight my cancer until the end, until declared “cured”. I have a number of matters, such as my family, friends, my dog, that motivate me normally to continue the daily struggle called life, but now I needed something special in addition. I used to sail, even over oceans, but sold my boat many years back. My condition gave me something to long for again much stronger and I felt homesick for sailing again. With every operation, every chemo session, every blood sample taken, every rest that I took, every time I went to bed, I escaped in sailing the seas again.
To be the owner of a sailboat you need to have money, and we had nothing. In 2002 we lost all we had in a case of fraud. We lost millions, houses, other belongings, material and immaterial matters. Everything that we worked for in our life was lost. It was only in 2009 that we won our first court case in a range of others that would follow. Since that time we had a 650.000 euro bank guarantee in our possession supplied to us by the criminals as per court order.
But the criminals had our money and appealed. Last week, November 1 2011, after two years of waiting for their decision, The Supreme Court decided against the original for us favorable verdict that we had in our hands. No more quiet visits to marinas to see third hand boats that we could possibly afford when the Supreme Court would have confirmed our original judgement we had in our hands since two years. Our case was so strong and we all believed we would sail again.
Quietly I had selected my Rival (see picture). I would go to the broker selling it as soon as we had the final Court’s decision in our hands. I wanted the sailboat independent from my condition. If the treatment failed, I would still sail away and choose a seaman’s grave somewhere. The title and purpose of this web site was very much intended to post my articles of all the distant places I would visit along my last journey.
Today, November 1, 2011, no hope for sailing anymore, never, no hope for a normal life again a life where we could actually afford to eat. Rest me to either steal a boat or to fight my cancer with no more dreams…
