“If I die tomorrow, what will you do for the rest of your life?”
That’s what Malaysian Samantha Khoo asked her Singaporean husband Rene Sullivan in 2017, when he came home late after a long day at work.
“It was really sudden and it took me a while before I answered her,” he told CNBC via video from Langkawi, Malaysia. “I said, ‘Well, if that happens, then I’ll just get my guitar… and then travel the world’.”
Khoo replied, “Why did we wait for me to die for you to do this?”
Living together on a sailboat has allowed Rene Sullivan and Samantha Khoo to develop their communication skills. “If you’re angry at each other at home, just leave… It’s not okay here. You have to put on makeup and say sorry,” Mr. Khoo said.
24 hour traveler
“Here, we’re pursuing these goals. Paying off debt, buying a house, starting a business… We’ve done it all. We’ve done it all. At this point, we still think : When is enough?”
The couple, now in their 40s, were running their own business at the time.
“It’s a change of perspective. Money can no longer be our currency because … it never will. [to be] full. Time becomes our currency – how do we spend time doing what we want? ”
How they started
The first thing the duo did, says Sullivan, was to sell most of their assets, including businesses and real estate.
“We started cutting things down,” he said. “You realize you don’t really need a lot of money – because you don’t pay your employees, you don’t pay rent, you don’t pay for a property, you don’t pay for [credit] card.”
They have since become “retail investors,” says Sullivan.
Sullivan and Khoo, who have been married for 22 years, say the most important thing for them to be able to travel full-time is debt-free.
“We’re not rich,” Khoo insisted. “It’s very important [to be debt-free]. For example, for properties we have purchased, we guarantee that [they were] paid off within five years. ”
The couple bought an old military truck for $3,600 and converted it into a camper van. In three years, they traveled all over Malaysia and conquered “the whole of Thailand”, Mr. Khoo said.
“The best part of van life for both of us is the freedom to not have to book flights, trains, buses or hotels in advance. We can come and go as we please,” she said. said more.
Exploring life on a boat
In 2019, they began planning a six-month road trip to the UK that will take them through China, Mongolia, Russia and Europe.
They are all ready to go when Pandemic caused by covid-19 to hit. So they put their plans on hold.
Earlier this year, many countries reopened their borders to tourists and the couple prepared to hit the road.
“And after that [Russian-Ukraine] war happened. There’s no saying that this is a good time to travel overland,” said Mr Khoo.
When their plans are thwarted, the pair begin to dream of their next adventure. Khoo spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos, and she came across a video about life on a small boat.
“I said, ‘Oh, I can do this,'” she said. Sullivan, however, was not overly concerned.
“I was skeptical of everything – [dealing with] weather and then being in the ocean alone. I am such a chicken,” he said with a laugh.
Compromise? Sullivan agreed to test the sail’s live waters before deciding to buy a boat.
They spent four months at Pangkor Marina in Malaysia, where they worked for unpaid boat owners to gain knowledge of boat life and maintenance.
Sullivan eventually fell in love with this lifestyle. In April of this year, the couple bought a used full-keel boat for $15,000.
‘Bring another 1,000’
While the idea of living on a sailboat is relaxing, Khoo and Sullivan say it’s anything but glamor.
“It’s really a lot of hard work. We’re learning new skills every day,” said Khoo. “This boat is not only our home, it’s our university, our dormitory, our office.”
There’s a popular saying that “boat” stands for “carry an extra thousand,” says Khoo.
“Meaning when something breaks, you spend $1,000 on it.”
Samantha Khoo said: “Sailboat is not only our home but also our university.” The couple added that they are learning new skills every day – like fixing a boat’s water pump.
24 hour traveler
Sullivan added, “Learn about motives and [fixing] By itself, you save a lot. So if you know how to do it, you just buy the parts, and you fix it yourself. “
Sullivan said he learned his skills from other rowers as well as online.
“It’s all available on YouTube… You just need a little more time to learn,” he said.
That’s why the couple have yet to leave the port of Talagar in Langkawi, where their boat has been moored for the past three months.
“People used to say, ‘Go on, you’re ready,'” said Sullivan.
But he says they’re content to take it slow – focus on anchoring the boat, then return to shore for the time being – and review their progress quarterly.
“We don’t put pressure on ourselves because we just want to be 1% better than we were yesterday,” he said.
Become competent sailors
Khoo and Sullivan also run a YouTube channel called 24 hour travelerwhere they document their adventures and interview other travelers.
The couple said being a tourist around the clock is a matter of opinion.
“It’s about… how you can change your perspective and be happy where you are,” says Khoo.
“At Talagar port, as we walk to the main gate, we pass a South African captain, a French captain, a German sailor, an Indonesian carpenter… they become your neighbours” , She added.
“Knowing the boat owners, it’s like traveling the world,” she said.
For now, the couple is focusing on taking “baby steps” to achieve their goal – to become competent sailors and set off for Thailand next year.
“The dream is to anchor our boat in blue water and surrounded by islands,” says Khoo.
