It’s a family affair

by Mission Ocean on 30 Jan 2017 It’s not uncommon for sailors and seafarers to claim that saltwater runs in their veins. We even wrote that old cliché into the introduction of the pack that we have now sent to hundreds, perhaps even thousands of potential sponsors, partners and foundations. Yet it was visiting family in the UK over the Christmas period that reminded us just how much that adage actually applies.

My mother comes from a family of seafarers, mostly fishermen. On Christmas Day, my grandfather lent me a book with a whole chapter devoted to his own grandfather, who founded one of the first and most popular nautical colleges in Liverpool, before the First World War, called Darby’s Nautical Academy. The book describes with great affection the old Victorian terraced house which hosted the school, and in which the Darby family also lived.

It’s not difficult to imagine boys and men studiously poring over maps in the front room, or swotting up for their steamship certificates on the kitchen table, and apparently my great-great-grandmother would even sell tea to the students at lunch time. The school was taken over by my grandfather’s father, who ran it until his death after the Second World War.

I’ve no idea how many students passed through the doors of Darby’s Nautical Academy, but I like to imagine that many of them went on to sail the seven seas, having been set in good stead by those lessons (and that tea).

My grandfather followed suit and, amongst many varied and exciting positions held across the globe, was responsible for the dockyard apprenticeship scheme in Malta in the 1950s. My mother was born in a naval hospital there, a place I was thrilled to be able to visit last summer, before the family set sail for Hong Kong where my grandfather worked in international trade. On their return to the UK, they never lived far from the sea, and my grandfather taught at the Glasgow Maritime Academy (now part of the City of Glasgow College), and Warsash in Southampton.

But the salty dogs aren’t just on my mother’s side of the family; my father was born in Singapore, and spent months of his young life at sea, sailing back and forth from England. His father oversaw metalwork refit projects, notably working on some of England’s most famous naval vessels in the Portsmouth Dockyards, including the HMS Ark Royal and Invincible.

I studied languages at Oxford, and came down to France initially to teach for the British Consulate. Then somehow I ended up working at a large shipyard in Marseilles, first as an assistant, and later as a project manager. Trudging up and down the steps of an engraving dock, or crawling into tanks to inspect this weld and that spot of rust were not on the syllabus at university (unless I fell asleep in that lecture). And yet something about the shipyard atmosphere just felt right, like a comfy old boot, and when I really sit and think about it, I guess I can only attribute that to my genes.

Henrique’s family hail from a small farming town near Lisbon, Portugal. His parents came to work in France before he was born, and so he grew up here, learning both French and Portuguese from an early age (and later English, Spanish and Italian!) Living in Cannes, Henrique was drawn to the sea, and began sailing well before entering high school. We both have many different reasons motivating us to circumnavigate the globe, but Henrique often evokes a desire to follow in the footsteps of the great Portuguese explorers Bartolomeu Dias and Ferdinand de Magellan.

We are both incredibly grateful for the support that our families have already demonstrated towards our world tour project. Henrique’s parents have tirelessly attended and helped to run all of the events we organise to raise awareness of marine pollution in our local community. His mother even hand-washes the gloves that we lend to our volunteers at beach cleans!
My parents and big brother have met our plans with unending enthusiasm, encouragement and ideas, and helped us organise a litter pick with friends from their canoe club, on one of England’s most beautiful beaches. And both of our fathers have already booked their spaces to help out on board, despite the fact that both suffer from seasickness!

It’s hard to express how important it is for us to be able to count on the support of our nearest and dearest in this adventure. I’ve often heard and read that no one should set sail to run away from ‘real life’, and that is certainly not the way we feel. Whilst we have some fantastic experiences to come, and we can’t wait to cast off the lines and head for the horizon, we are also very thankful to have such a wonderful bunch of people waiting for us on shore when we come home.

Mission Ocean is Henrique Agostinho and Laura Beard. Their three-year plus mission is to share their love and respect for the ocean with others, through education, and scientific research. Neither is a stranger to the water, so they have combined all their skills and passions into this bold, courageous and inspiring project. Sail-Worldcruising.com is delighted to be with them for the journey of their lifetime. You can also find out more on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/missionocean06