AFTER learning he had secured a job on the other side of the world, the furthest thing from finance professional Jonny Harrison’s mind was booking flights.

Instead, Mr Harrison decided to combine his two-year secondment from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Newcastle to its office in Sydney, Australia, with fulfilling a lifelong dream of sailing round the world.

Now, after two years planning the trip, 16 months at sea and having travelled over 30,000km, Mr Harrison and his wife, Kate, have arrived at their destination.

He said: “I do miss Newcastle, but I know that if I get too home sick there is always a Geordie Bay in Perth, and even though I have missed my family and friends back home, you can’t complain too much when you are sitting on a beach in Bora Bora.”

Mr Harrison, an assurance manager with PwC, said the journey was not without problems.

He and his wife had to deal with technical failures and stormy weather conditions between Ireland and Spain, which almost halted their trip.

Describing the journey, during which the couple stopped at 22 countries, in more than 120 bays and harbours, he said: “This truly has been a trip of a lifetime and we have enjoyed every minute.

“There were so many highlights of the trip, but if we had to pick one then it would be the Panama Canal. When we left the UK we were quite anxious about this, as it has a reputation for being scary and damaging many yachts.

“It couldn’t have been further from the truth, and we had a great transit through the canal and loved every minute.

“Being raised above sea level and sailing across a freshwater lake was certainly a strange sensation after so long on the open ocean.

“Other highs included the wildlife along the way. We have swum with sea turtles, stingrays, various types of shark and sea lions, all from the back of our boat. We have also seen whales, dolphins, and a myriad of tropical fish, as well as land-based iguanas and giant tortoise in the Galapagos islands.

“I think the biggest high, though, would just be watching the sunset from the boat when anchored in a tropical lagoon, all by yourself, with blue waters and palm-fringed beaches.

“So many times we have had to pinch ourselves that we were really there.”

Mr Harrison said the experience he gained during the trip will help him fulfil his new role.

“The trip has taught me to think laterally and prioritise, particularly when faced with a repair list of several items on the boat,” he said.

“It has also taught me what you can achieve with a lot of self-motivation and planning, all of which were essential to the trip and attributes I know I will use in my professional career.

“The cultural stretch of both sailing to different countries and working in the Sydney office with different clients and on different projects will also benefit me professionally, in particular when I return to the Newcastle office.”