Slowly, my brain let me in on the fact that I had just come this close to dying.

Slowly, my brain let me in on the fact that I had just come this close to dying.

The terrifying physics of going up-mast in heavy seas are inescapable.

When a sailor overcomes crushing adversity, there's a massive sense of accomplishment.

I wanted to break the record, of course, and become the youngest person to sail around the world solo and unassisted.

I was so thankful that my parents trusted me enough and had enough faith in my abilities to let me follow my passion and try to do something great, even if I might fail.

It seems like people my age are over-protected today, even to the point where a lot of parents refuse to put their kids in the position to make important decisions, to aspire to great things, because they don't want to put them in a position to fail.