The Danish yacht, Oceans of Hope, has set sail from Copenhagen on a historic global voyage. It is the first ever circumnavigation of the world by a yacht crewed by people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Oceans of Hope is the flagship of a campaign by the same name, organised by the Sailing Sclerosis Foundation. The aim of the 17-month project is to change perceptions of MS by showing what is possible when people with a chronic disease are empowered to conquer their individual challenges.

The crew who set sail from Amaliehaven this afternoon on the 61,000-kilometre (33,000-nautical mile) voyage have been involved in establishing an active network across Denmark of groups of people with MS who sail on a regular basis. Through sailing events organised during stopovers in the 20 ports of call they want to widen those networks between the MS and the sailing worlds and help create a valuable legacy for the Oceans of Hope project.

The route will take the yacht from Copenhagen to Kiel, Germany, for the first stopover from 19-22 June, followed by Amsterdam, Netherlands (26-29 June), Portsmouth, UK (3-6 July), La Rochelle, France (10-14 July), Lisbon, Portugal (25 July ñ 2 August) and across the Atlantic Ocean to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where the crew is due to arrive on 8 September. Oceans of Hope will take centre stage at the joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS conference, the world's largest annual international conference devoted to basic and clinical research in multiple sclerosis.

The Sailing Sclerosis project, Oceans of Hope, aims to change the perceptions of the disease, inspiring people with multiple sclerosis to overcome their own personal challenges by telling the stories of those taking part, including the highs and the lows, and hosting sailing events in ports of call during the first ever global circumnavigation by a crew with MS.

The Sailing Sclerosis Foundation and Oceans of Hope project were created by Dr. Mikkel Anthonisen, 47, is a specialist at Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, in Denmark. A doctor, psychotherapist and sailor, he has been working with multiple sclerosis patients for the last four years. He established Sailing Sclerosis after meeting a patient in 2013. Having heard the man, a former blacksmith, had sailed before being diagnosed with MS he encouraged him to get back on the water to help counteract his depression. This was the beginning of a programme which now has groups of people with MS across Denmark sailing regularly.