In 1994 I got lucky. I sailed Ardevora, a 55ft Ron Holland designed ketch, from Hong Kong to Alaska via Japan, Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, arriving in Sitka in the autumn, seven months later.

That voyage sits at the core of everything we have built. I still count the people I sailed with as the greatest of friends, and hardly a day passes without one of us reflecting on the experience in some way. It was profound and empowering. We shot a film of the journey, which sat on a shelf for decades. You can see it here.

After a decade of mountaineering and climbing, it was this trip more than any other that changed me. It taught me what the ocean gives to those who go: friendship, enduring commitment, respect for the wild, and the transformative power of adventure. It sticks with you. It changes you. It expands life.

Arksen began on the ice cap in Greenland, standing beside my eldest son. Struck by the scale and fragility of that immense icescape, it was impossible not to feel a sense of urgency: to build a way back to the ocean for humanity. Arksen is our best effort to do so, a company combining purpose, philanthropy and products designed to go the distance.

I hope that in Arksen you find the inspiration, the motivation and the community to help you set off on your greatest adventure, and that in doing so you find your most playful, engaged and fulfilled self.

Stay curious, choose your horizon, and commit to the beginning. The rest is the adventure.

Remember that time is not fair.