Crossing the waters

While watching this pirate ship replica I was struck by the craziness of a handful of men (in the 16 hundreds) boarding a small sail boat like this one and heading off from Europe to sail around the tip of Africa. I'm not sure that the rough seas, frequently poor rations, and the damp working and living conditions would have enticed me into exploring the world.

Perhaps we're too used to the comforts of large cruise liners or huge jet airplanes. Perhaps we've all (although, perhaps not all) become too accustomed to modern living. Do you think we've become too soft; too breakable?