He cheated death by a whisker while rafting in Sikkim in 2003. But it has not dimmed Tapas Chaudhuri’s adventurous spirit. As a member of a Sea Explorers’ Institute expedition from Sikkim to Siliguri, he was rafting on the Teesta River when his rubber boat turned turtle. “The waves had casually tossed me from my boat and I was hurtling down the river’s course,” recalls an animated Chaudhuri.

For a while it seemed that the price of adventure would be his life since surging rocks and debris were battering him and he was in imminent danger of a deadly collision with a boulder. Fortunately, he was rescued by fellow team members. The experience only made him more determined to participate in further expeditions on behalf of a unique institute that has championed the spirit of adventure and sport for 20 years now.

The Sea Explorers’ Institute was founded in 1986 by a handful of eager beavers assisted by industrialists like Jeet Paul and B.M. Khaitan. The legendary magician, P.C. Sorcar, also pitched in money to form the institute. “Right from the beginning, the aim of the institute was to encourage youngsters to go on perilous voyages,” recalls Sheuli Chatterjee, secretary of the organisation. She describes her involvement as willed by God and emphasises that the same applies to nearly 9,000 students who have undergone training in adventure sports and training courses offered by the institute.

As the name suggests, the institute principally focuses on marine activities. Several daring marine expeditions have been undertaken and each has a separate nuance although a common thread of exploration and the urge to know runs through them.

The Maitree Yatra was the first exploration undertaken by the Sea Explorers’ Institute in 1988. It consisted of a sailing expedition from Calcutta to Rameswaram led by the founder of the institute, Pinaki Ranjan Chatterjee. More than 6,000 km were covered by eight voyagers from the Sea Explorers’ Institute and a couple of Indian navy personnel.

Sailing on the high seas and turbulent rivers has provided many an intrepid explorer with moments to cherish. One of the most thrilling expeditions was a sailing expedition from Calcutta to Bagna on the Bangladesh border in 2005. A team of eight explorers under the leadership of Tapas Chaudhuri set out from Outram Ghat on January 12, 2005. As Chaudhuri puts it, “It was an expedition with a difference since there was the lurking fear of the tsunami that had just wrought havoc and also because the boat was non-motorised.” The team members had to negotiate the boat past numerous huge fishing trawlers to enter the creeks of the Sunderbans.

“After Namkhana, the going became increasingly tough as we battled reverse currents, choppy waters and a strong north easterly wind,” he says. Careening down crocodile infested waters is also firmly etched in his mind. “We saw hundreds of them and ran the risk of being attacked by man-eating tigers when we would camp at midnight hardly 100 meters from the land,” he recalls.

A notable feature of the Sea Explorers’ Institute is that it attempts to temper adventure with a sense of responsibility for the marine environment. Indeed, all the expeditions (10 to date) have had a very strong marine research orientation.

The Sunderbans expedition studied the effect of pollutants in water at different spots in the estuaries. As Chatterjee puts it, “The planet earth is three fourths water and any adventurous activity entails a social responsibility.” In keeping with this philosophy, the institute has groomed youngsters from schools, colleges and universities to appreciate the marine environment.

Kayaking is one of the principal sports that the institute actively encourages. Members are trained rigorously before they embark on expeditions. The most notable kayaking expeditions have been to Andamans in 1991 and Nicobar in 1992. The Nicobar expedition was unique since it was the first time that an Indian team sailed to Indira Point, the southernmost tip of India that was wiped off the map during the tsunami in 2004. “If there is one particular achievement that we cherish, it is this one,” recalls Arindam Bose, team leader of the expedition. It was adjudged the best offshore adventure of the year in 1992 by the Yachting Association of India. “I had been inspired by Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki expedition when I was young and the Sea Explorer’s Institute gave me an opportunity to indulge in my passion,” he says.

A workshop organised recently on the role of adventure sports in youth development outlined new plans for courses in seamanship and navigation.

Sports like deep sea diving are also being pursued at the institute and an endeavour to reach out to more people is being made, says Bimal Karak, a member of the institute.

“For an organisation that is committed to exploring the rivers and oceans, we have certainly been riding the waves for the past two decades but we still have miles to go,” says Chatterjee.