Oliver Widger, a 29-year-old former tire company manager, is capturing the attention of over a million TikTok and Instagram followers as he sails from Oregon to Hawaii with his cat, Phoenix, after quitting his corporate job.
Now more than halfway through his journey, Widger spoke with The Associated Press via Zoom on Wednesday, reflecting on his decision to chase a “ridiculous dream.”
“The world kind of sucks and, like, I don’t think I’m alone in how I felt with my work,” Widger said, per AP. “You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like you’re just making ends meet, you know what I mean? And I think people are just tired of that and working really hard for nothing and want a way out.”
His story resonates with followers, as he noted, “It just feels so good to put positive energy out in the world, like people finding inspiration in it too,” Fox Business reported.
Four years ago, Widger was diagnosed with Klippel-Feil syndrome, a condition fusing his cervical vertebrae and risking paralysis.
“I have a spine of somebody who’s like 115 years old,” he said, recalling how the diagnosis “shook up my world and changed my perspective on everything.”
Hating his job, he quit abruptly with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 in debt, saying, “I knew one thing: I’m buying a sailboat. I’m sailing around the world.”
Widger liquidated his 401(k), bought a $50,000 sailboat from the 1990s, and taught himself to sail via YouTube while living on rice and beans to save money.
“I didn’t know anything about how to sail,” he admitted.
After months of refitting the boat on the Oregon coast, he set sail in April and went viral the same day.
“I went viral on the same exact day I set sail,” he said. “I’m crossing an ocean, and then I also went viral at the same time. And it’s like these two crazy things.”
His “Sailing with Phoenix” posts show him battling waves, fixing a broken rudder during a storm —“the most violent thing” he’s endured—and marveling at dolphins and flying fish.
“I am in the middle of the ocean, you know what I mean? And I can’t put my guard down,” he said.
Widger uses a satellite phone and an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) for safety.
Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Harms of the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii emphasized the EPIRB’s importance, saying, “That’s a really critical piece for anybody that’s getting motivated by his story to go set off on their own adventure,” per AP.
Widger, expecting to reach Honolulu by May 25, is preparing for Phoenix’s arrival, ensuring a mobile vet certifies the cat’s health to avoid Hawaii’s quarantine.
Meanwhile, his followers have donated more than $68,000 via GoFundMe, far exceeding his $10,000 goal to pay off debt.
“All I gotta do now is get to Hawaii,” he said.
Reflecting on his transformation, Widger told Fox Business, “I am unrecognizable in comparison to who I was a year, a year and a half ago. A completely different person.”
He hopes to inspire others: “Everything I’ve done I thought was impossible. Whatever your dream is, just go, just do it.”