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Flashback to 1996…

Norbert receiving the medal of honour from an Austrian official during his official farewell ceremony at Vienna City Hall

โณ Wow, unbelievable but true! Exactly 30 years ago, in 1996, I began my career as an extreme sailor. How time flies!

After my official farewell ceremony at Vienna City Hall, where I received the City of Vienna’s Medal of Honor ๐Ÿ…, I had numerous press appointments and was extremely nervous! Virtually all the major Austrian media outlets reported that a civil servant tram driver for Wiener Linien was giving up his job ๐ŸšŠ, i.e. his secure life, to become the first Austrian to sail around the world single-handed on a sailboat just 7.5 meters long. โ›ต

Norbert on his boat during nonstop from Djibouti to Suez
Nonstop from Djibouti to Suez

Flash forward to 2026. In light of my experiences over the past 30 years, based on my courage to change and the upcoming launch of ANT ARCTIC LAB ๐ŸŒ, my successes but also my failures, I would like to encourage all of you, my fans and followers, and say to you, โ€œLive your dreams, don’t be afraid of change!โ€ ๐Ÿš€ Life flies by, and in the end, we are left with memories of a life lived with all its ups and downs, victories and defeats, or we are left with a long list of ideas that were never realized, projects that were never attempted, and with them, many โ€œwhat ifs.โ€

Norbert on his boat at the arrival in Grado in July 1998
Arrival in Grado, July 1998

๐ŸŒŸ I sincerely hope that over the past 30 years I have encouraged many people to โ€œlive their lives,โ€ to realize their dreams so that they can say afterwards, โ€œIt was just great, a fulfilling life,โ€ or even โ€œI tried, but it was different than I thought,โ€ or โ€œIt just wasn’t meant to be!โ€ ๐ŸŒŸ

In any case, you are left with the certainty of having pursued your dreams, ideas, and visions, and that alone is an indescribably great feeling๐Ÿ˜Š. That’s why I can’t wait to set sail again to try the impossible. ๐Ÿ’ชโ›ต๐ŸŒ

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