Must an Adventure be Extreme?

Bertie Gregory, National Georgraphic

When 41-year-old Kirsten Neuschäfer, won the 2022 Golden Globe Race, a sailing race, a single-handed global circumnavigation, my heart skipped a beat (many actually). Thirteen sailors started but only three finished after 235 days, 5 hours and 44 minutes, over 30,290 nautical miles (but who’s counting). Kristen’s win is a triumph because she is the first woman to win it. She became a hero when she took extra time going off her course to assist in saving the life of another competitor.

Only production boats between 32 and 36 feet long designed prior to 1988, having full-length keels with rudders attached to their trailing edge, can compete. Strength and sturdiness are more essential in this race than speed. Sailors only use the technology that was available in 1968, the first year of the race. Celestial navigation, paper charts and ship to ship/shore radio are acceptable—no cell phones, autopilots, radars, or satellite communications. Competitors predict the weather by reading the winds, air pressure and clouds. Having supplies delivered underway or seeking repairs on land eliminates a competitor. It is a pure and very raw challenge, placing adventure ahead of winning at all costs. It is an extreme adventure in everyone’s eyes—sailors and non-sailors alike.

Kirsten describes herself as a someone committed to living a life of adventure, and I certainly agree (shouting wildly for her success). What she accomplished was oceans beyond my own sailing adventure. However, it also compels me to ask—does living a life of adventure require severe risk to one’s own life? Does it require ‘jumping off a cliff’ when others back away for self-preservation? Has Kirsten’s achievement put my sailing adventures to shame? Or does the media’s promotion of her story bully us into thinking our own lives are inconsequential?

From my perspective, Living a Life of Adventure requires curiosity and the willingness to probe, wander, and search over the horizon. No one else can define your life of adventure. It is an attitude and lifestyle that we give ourselves—our personal permission to venture beyond what is comfortable. Our adventures may not be hero’s journeys that give way to celebrity or riches, but they are own undertakings that bring us joy and satisfaction of trying. No matter the size or success of it, every one of our chosen adventures is a worthy endeavor.