Defying 'slow burn' of multiple sclerosis to chase a sailing dream

SYDNEY to Hobart sailor Ian Law is proof that multiple sclerosis cannot stop you if the desire is big enough.

Ian Law

IAN Law is proof that multiple sclerosis cannot stop you if the desire is big enough.

Law, 49, who has been living with the condition for more than 10 years, will not let the illness prevent him from fulfilling his dream of sailing to Hobart aboard Kiss Goodbye to MS.

The furthest he has been on a yacht before he sets off today is the Melbourne to Stanley race down the Tasmanian west coast for 150 nautical miles.

The Sydney-Hobart is more than four times longer and certainly more treacherous.

"It's a challenge," Law told The Australian. "Tiredness will be a major factor I will need to manage over the next five days. My condition right now is what I term on a 'slow burn,' still manageable with the medication I'm taking.

"Many people with MS are quite visible in the community.

"But there are also many more whose symptoms are not so obvious.

"This race gives me the opportunity to raise awareness of MS."

Having never stepped on to a keel boat two years ago, and now finding himself heading off to Hobart, Law admits it has been a steep learning curve.

"There's only one way to prepare and, that's to sail, and then sail, and then sail a bit more," he said.

"While I'm aware of the dangers the race can throw up, I'm looking at this as a bit of an adventure, of being a part of a good bunch of people doing something worthwhile and useful."

Skipper Tony Warren is by far the most experienced on board, having raced the two-handed 5500nm Melbourne to Osaka race three times.

This will also be Warren's fourth trip south.

Warren needs little reminding of the dangers of Bass Strait.

On the return journey from Tasmania 16 years ago after a Melbourne to Burnie race, he was the sailing master aboard Apache when it rolled full circle, in easterly winds up to 70 knots and 7m waves, just south of Port Phillip Heads.

"That was probably the scariest moment I've been in on a boat," Warren said.

"The forecast for this race is a bit of a mixed bag weather-wise but, given the right conditions, Kiss Goodbye to MS is a downwind flyer and capable of staying with the 50-footers in the fleet."

Simon McKeon, 2011 Australian of the Year, and an MS survivor, is the boat's patron.

The disease affects the central nervous system and can, to varying degrees, interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses throughout the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.

To support the crew's fund-raising campaign for MS research, log on to http://kissgoodbyetoms.org.au and follow the prompts