Honolulu (AP) – Halfway by sailing through the Pacific with just his cat named Phoenix, Oliver Widger has thought about the reason why he thinks that his many disciples – more than a million on Tiktok and Instagram – are attracted by his story to leave his job from 9 to 5 and to embark on a trip from Oregon to Hawaii.
“The world sucks and, as, I don’t think I am alone in what I felt with my work,” Widger, 29, told the Associated Press on Wednesday via Zoom. “You can win $ 150,000 a year and you always have the impression that you join the ends, you know what I mean? And I think people are just tired of that and work very hard for nothing and you want to go out.”
People are inspired by someone who has found a way out, said Widger, who is part of an increasing number of people who have made such trips in recent years.
The diagnosis of diagnosis four years ago with a syndrome which included a risk of paralysis made him realize that he hated his work as a manager in a tire company, a job forcing him to be shaved and to wear pressed shirts. He heard of people who sailed from California to Hawaii and decided that it was life for him.
He suddenly left his job with “no money, no plan” and $ 10,000 in debt.
“I knew one thing: I buy a sailboat,” he recalls. “I sail in the world.”
He liquidated his retirement savings, learned to sail mainly via YouTube and moved from Portland to the Côte de l’Oregon, where he spent months reacting the $ 50,000 boat he bought.
Now Widger exploits the power of social media to finance his round sailing dream from the world.
Since he made the sail in April, the followers have settled on his publications on social networks “Sailing with Phoenix” to see videos of him and his first feline companion who fights against waves and the access of sea mast, appreciating dazzling sunsets, telling repairs of delicate boats or simply reflecting to life at sea.
As he discussed his trip with the AP, a net bag with bottled water and snacks were swaying wildly above his head while the boat was swinging.
So far he has recalled the protruding facts of the trip, including the wonder of the speed that the Dolphins have cut in the water and finding flying fish on the deck. There have been stretching when there were no birds in sight for days. It can be difficult to sleep when the boat creaks while shaken by waves or to stabilize a boiling pot for the MRS on which it has survived.
There were painful moments like when a rudder failed and the boat bowed on surfing for three hours when it made repairs, and the moment when it locked itself in the engine compartment and made its way with a key.
Widger admitted that he was relatively inexperienced as a sailor, but he implemented security measures and communication backup plans, including a satellite phone and an emergency tag.
LT. CMDR. Jesse Harms of the American Coast Guard in Hawaii did not closely follow the trip, but said that it was relieved to hear that Widger has the emergency position indicating Radio Beacon, known as Epirb.
It is an essential tool for rescuers to locate the position of a sailor in an emergency, especially in the Pacific, the largest ocean, said Harms.
Widger’s journey offers a good opportunity to educate the public on sailing safety, such as the importance of carrying a personal flotation device each time the top of the boat, closely monitoring the weather and recording emergency tools like EPIRB, said Harms.
“It is a really critical play for anyone who is motivated by his story to go on his own adventure,” said Harms.
Until his arrival, probably in Honolulu, Widger ensures that everything is in place to prevent Phoenix from undergoing forty Hawaii animals. A mobile veterinarian will register on the health of Phoenix when he arrives, he said.
In addition to managing the practical aspects of daily life on a boat, it faces viral in the middle of the ocean by creating content from social media and making decisions concerning the merchant that his fans want to buy.
He attributes all this to his neck problem, which “rocked my world and that changed my perspective on everything”. He also hopes that he can be an inspiration for anyone who is in a rut.
“Everything I did, I thought I was impossible,” said Widger. “Navigation in the world is such a ridiculous dream. Whatever your dream, go ahead, do it.”
