Voyage in Search of Meaning - Sail With Me

Hello, my name is Guylian. I am a human being from the Netherlands, and I've set my mind on an incredibly ambitious yet adventurous voyage into the unknown.

After leaving the military, I struggled to adapt to everyday “normal” life. Depression took hold and dragged my life to an all-time low, a place where I simply no longer cared.

Water, agua, H₂O, changed that. I started stand-up paddleboarding as a last attempt to quiet my restless mind, overflowing with negative thoughts. It worked. As a temporary fix, it gave me just enough peace to face daily life, endure the pressures everyone feels in modern Western society, and move from merely surviving back into truly living.

I’ve always read about great Dutch explorers and their quest to chart new passages. Many of these journeys began with capitalist goals, but the stories I remember always ended up being about human resilience, the art of improvising and adapting to the ever-changing forces of the ocean.

That spoke to me. And since then, I’ve felt compelled to begin my own voyage. Not to reach a particular destination, but to explore the journey itself, and discover who I am through it.

Sailing brings me peace of mind, anchors me in the present, and fills me with complete serenity. When I’m out there, I feel disconnected from the modern world. The wind propels my vessel. The state of the sea guides my bow, always changing, always teaching.

And because so many people I know battle the same demons I did, each in their own way—I believe I can make a difference. By undertaking this voyage and learning more about myself, maybe I can help others too.

In a perfect world, I’d take everyone with me, to have them experience nature as I do. But that’s the beautiful complexity of being human: we each experience life differently.

I’m raising funds for this voyage not to turn it into a pleasure cruise full of coastline views and endless cocktails. I’m raising funds to equip myself and my boat with the safety gear I need to live and tell this tale. I'm fully aware of the risks. Even with today’s technology, nature always has the final say. But I aim to increase my odds by being well-prepared.

What I already have:

What would be nice to have:

Even if I don’t raise a cent, I’ll still go. Just with less gear, relying more on time-worn tools that have proven themselves over centuries of exploration.

My first course will take me from the Netherlands to Portugal, where I’ll sail my boat throughout the winter before making the crossing to the Caribbean. From there, the destination is truly unknown! I plan to depart at the end of August to safely cross the Bay of Biscay.

On this journey, I hope to learn enough about myself to help others find peace in modern society. I know I’m privileged. I understand the difference between growing up in the Netherlands or another Western European country versus other parts of the world. But I also see how bad mental health has become—even in wealthy economies. I am living proof of this. Life can feel like hell even when your basic needs are met.

P.S If you’d like to help support this cause, you’re always welcome aboard. Come sail with me. Tell me about your life. Share your view of the world.

Thank you for reading all of the above. To stay up to date with the journey, I’ll create a YouTube channel where I’ll share occasional video footage. I won’t be posting regularly, as I have no interest in becoming some kind of internet persona, I genuinely don’t care about that. I’m sharing the footage solely for those who are following my journey and for anyone interested in doing something similar one day.

I hope you have a great life. Live it to the fullest, and stay healthy. Guylian