Oliver Widger, an Oregon man who stop his job at a tire firm and liquidated his retirement financial savings to set sail for Hawaii together with his cat, Phoenix, reached his vacation spot Saturday, welcomed by cheering followers on the finish of a weekslong journey that he documented for his mass of followers on social media.
Widger, recognized on-line as “sailing_with_phoenix,” was additionally greeted by Hawaii Gov. Josh Inexperienced on the Waikiki Yacht Membership on Oahu, acknowledged he was nervous dealing with the gang, which included reporters. Widger stated he was feeling “really weird” — not seasick, however, “I just feel like I have to, like, hold on to things to not fall over.”
He turned a web-based sensation together with his story, which adopted a prognosis 4 years in the past with Klippel-Feil, a syndrome that carried a threat of paralysis and made him notice he disliked his managerial job. He stop his job with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 of debt — and the aim of shopping for a sailboat and crusing world wide.
On this picture supplied by Oliver Widger through his Instagram account on Thursday, Could 15, 2025, his cat, Phoenix, sits inside their sailboat someplace within the Pacific Ocean as each make their method from Oregon to Hawaii.
Oliver Widger / AP
Who’s Crusing With Phoenix?
He stated he taught himself to sail largely through YouTube and moved from Portland to the Oregon coast. He spent months refitting the $50,000 boat he purchased.
“I think a lot of people are, you know, you’re grinding at your job all day long and it doesn’t really matter how much money you make at this point, everybody’s just trying to do enough to get by and that just wears you out,” Widger stated. “It’s just the world’s in a weird place, and I think people have seen that it’s possible to break out.”
Crusing with Phoenix welcome social gathering at Waikiki Yacht Membership
Oliver Widger, 29-year-old Oregon man who sailed from Oregon to Hawaii, arrives on the Waikiki Yacht Membership, on Saturday, Could 24, 2025 in Waikiki, Hawaii.
Michelle Bir / AP
The scariest level of the journey got here when a rudder failed, Widger stated. Highlights included seeing dolphins and whales and intervals of calm Pacific waters. “Being in the middle of the ocean when it was completely glass in every direction was an absurd feeling,” he stated.
Widger stated he by no means actually felt alone, since he was speaking with associates by means together with video convention. However he additionally lamented not experiencing the open waters in a method that different sailors — who didn’t have entry to instruments like Starlink web satellites — have in years earlier than.
He stated he could journey subsequent to French Polynesia. However he stated he had been targeted on attending to Hawaii and never on what he’d do after that. He stated he additionally must make repairs to his boat.
On this screengrab taken from a video posted on Oliver Widger’s Instagram account on Saturday, Could 3, 2025, Widger talks to the digital camera someplace within the Pacific Ocean as he and his cat, Phoenix, sail from Oregon to Hawaii.
Oliver Widger / AP
What’s Klippel-Feil syndrome?
Klippel-Feil syndrome, or KFS, is uncommon skeletal situation wherein two or extra cervical vertebrae are fused collectively, in line with the Cleveland Clinic, which causes abnormalities within the backbone.
The dysfunction is congenital, that means an individual is born with it. Nevertheless, some individuals go undiagnosed till later life when signs worsen or first change into obvious, in line with the Nationwide Group for Uncommon Problems.
“It took three years of battling fear and facing the reality that, as a result of my cervical spine condition, I’m at risk of paralysis,” Widger stated. “That truth pushed me to finally choose a life worth living. I hated my job. I despised the corporate machine.”
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