ELIXIR OF YOUTH

MAX CAMPBELL DREAMS OF A WORLD CIRCUMNAVIGATION WITH FRIENDS, BUT FIRST THEY MUST RESTORE A 50-YEAR-OLD SWAN...

- MAX CAMPBELL

We set out to cross Biscay in January. I had a stinking cold, and my crew, Harry and Chloë, were new to bluewater sailing.

Over the past year we’d worked harder than ever to prepare Elixir for this journey. Our departure was two months late, but we were doing it. On board there was an air of excitement, mixed with nervousness and fear. I felt alive again.

My own introduction to bluewater sailing consisted of 10,000 miles, single-handed in a 22ft sloop. I return home at 23, after two Atlantic crossings and 14 months without standing headroom or a toilet. Arriving back in my home town of Falmouth is anticlimactic. The first days are emotional. Yet, I find that my life in Falmouth doesn’t bring the same excitement as I’d found aboard Flying Cloud.

I return to work and become swept up in the humdrum of employment. It takes months for me to find my feet in society again. As routine starts to take over my life, I begin to dream up plans for another adventure.

That single-handed experience has changed my life in such a positive way. It’s enlightening to spend weeks in your own company. Taking a step back from society and surrounding myself in nature altered my outlook on life. I want to do it again, but this time, to share it.

A NEW BOAT