From Heartbreak to Headwinds

Three years ago, my world quietly collapsed. I was due to get married In Italy, then out of nowhere it all ended, the breakup left me not just heartbroken, but hollow — unsure of who I was without the future I thought I was building. I realized I had two choices: stay stuck or start moving. My way through the breakup wasn’t therapy or distraction — it was pushing myself mentally and physically, tapping into something raw and resilient that lives in all of us when we’re backed into a corner. That first Christmas alone felt unbearable. I couldn’t stay home, surrounded by reminders of what was lost. So instead of decorating a tree, I found myself deep in the Himalayas, climbing through ice, snow, and altitude on the Three High Passes Trek in Nepal. Somewhere between Gokyo Ri and Kongma La, something shifted. I realised that pain could be a compass — and mine was pointing toward challenge, toward growth, toward the edge of what I thought I could handle.

Since then, challenge became my driving force for adventure. I ventured into the world’s largest cave system in Vietnam, stood in awe among the wildlife of the Galápagos, and let my love of running carry me across the jungles of Borneo with Maverick Races. Each experience chipped away at the old version of me and revealed something new: someone who could endure, adapt, and even thrive in the face of discomfort. So when I heard about the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race — raw ocean, shifting crews, no experience necessary, just guts and grit — I knew. This was the next horizon.

Then, in July 2024, scrolling through Facebook one evening, I saw an advert for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. At first, I wasn’t even sure it was legit (spoiler: it is 😉), but something about it grabbed me — an incredible, wild adventure, completely out of my comfort zone, and exactly the kind of challenge I’d been chasing since Nepal. It spoke to that same raw resilience I’d been learning to trust — the voice inside that says, you’re not done yet.

There was just one problem: it wasn’t cheap. I had a full-time job and no real obligations outside of it, but still, it felt like a stretch. Then, in November, redundancy came up at work. After 11 years climbing from customer service to management, I didn’t get the kind of payout you dream of — but I got a push. And sometimes, that’s enough. By January 2025, I’d signed up for the Clipper Race. It was happening. I was all in.