In June 2023 Jenny Decker took time out from her job as a trauma nurse and sailed out of Kona, Hawaii, beginning her solo voyage around the globe.
Jenny’s mission is to bring awareness to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a progressive and fatal disease that has left her mother partially paralyzed. Jenny was diagnosed with CMT in her late teens.
It is estimated that about 2.6 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease.
About Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
CMT affects the function of motor and sensory peripheral nerves, causing weakness, numbness and the wasting of the muscles below the knees and the hands. Jenny has made it clear she will not give in to CMT although it is truly a race against time. There is no cure.
Jenny acknowledges that she must take extra precautions when moving around her vessel as it is no longer possible to depend on her legs for balance and strength. She uses her arms to move about the boat and keeps tethered for safety.
Romeo, her 6-pound, seventeen-year-old Maltese Yorkie who accompanies Jenny is not much help. He sleeps most of the time, which makes him an excellent companion but a poor second mate.
Ready to See the World
Jenny’s 1984 Bristol 35.5C is named “Tiama” which translates to “freedom” according to people in the Marquesas Islands. They are a group of volcanic islands located in French Polynesia which is on her list of about 25 “stop overs”.
Jenny has a three-month supply of food onboard plus hospital trauma kits. Relying on her experience as a trauma nurse, she has volunteered her time and nursing skills resolving multiple medical emergencies on many of her stop overs.
Arriving in Kiribati
Upon arrival at Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean, Jenny estimated that she had logged over 7000 miles in solo. The countries visited after Kiribati were American Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Jenny plans to stop in about 25 countries for a total of 20,000 miles. Jenny is also on course to be listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as being the first person with CMT to circumnavigate the globe.
The circumnavigation is estimated to take approximately three years and will involve visiting ports of call in about 25 countries. She is planning her route along the equatorial line based on storm season projections, with a goal of remaining in safe zones.
She made a stop at Christmas Island which included emergency repairs, then proceeded to Pago Pago after being impacted by Hurricane Dora.
A Close Call with a Waterspout
Jenny departed for Sorong, Indonesia on October 7th, 2024. It is the largest city in Indonesia and the capital of the province of Southwest Papua.
As Jenny was heading from Biak to Sorong, she had a close call with a massive waterspout less than one mile from her boat. Waterspouts are tornadoes that move from land to water and have the same characteristics as a land tornado. Luckily, she made it to port before the ‘big one’ formed.
Jenny will be sailing through Indonesia preparing for an Indian Ocean crossing about June 2025. Patient Worthy will be following her crossing.
She will round the cape of Africa via the Caribbean then head through the Panama Canal and back to Hawaii.
Jenny considers the highlights of the trip to be her moments with villagers noting how content they are living with very little. Jenny says that friendship does not require speaking the same language. It happens when you share love, joy, and kindness.
On the other hand, Jenny must keep her vessel in good working order. She is now at a point financially where she must take time out from her trip and work on a short-term nursing assignment.
She is grateful for the many contributors to her voyage and is asking for help towards maintenance and repairs through her Just a Lap GoFundMe page or viewers may contribute directly through the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation.
Jenny’s mantra is “solo but never alone”. Her voyage is called Just a Lap. Truly an understatement.
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