A self-confessed workaholic who had risen through the ranks to become wealthy, American entrepreneur Kim Brown seemed to have had it all – a successful business, a husband, a lovely child and a six-bedroom house.
However, after realising that her lifestyle left her exhausted with barely enough time to spend with her family, the 39-year-old decided to trade her life with a new one. So she sold all her possessions, her successful currency exchange business and bought a sailing boat to sail around the world.
“I like to say I had a mid-life ‘challenge’, as opposed to ‘crisis’,” Ms Brown smiles, as she sits inside the cabin of her 56-foot Oyster sailing boat.
“My perspective on life changed when I had my daughter, Sienna. When you have your own business, you never really shut off. I thought that money would make me happy. But I yearned to experience life and reconnect with nature. Having Sienna made me reprioritise.
When you have your own business, you never really shut off. I thought that money would make me happy
“Simon [her husband] and I have always loved sailing. We often spoke of sailing around the world. But we’d always thought we’d need to win the lottery to do that. And I said: what if we sold everything we owned and did it now?”
Things moved fast after she took the life-changing decision. The couple sold their UK house, the country where Ms Brown has lived in for the past 16 years and flew to Gibraltar to begin their exhilarating journey last month, together with their three-year-old daughter and Ms Brown’s cousin, Loryn. From there they were meant to begin their seven-day trip to Malta but a fierce storm soon took over. As waves violently tossed and battered their vessel and strong gusts of wind ripped their sail, the Browns were forced to divert to Algeria. They were welcomed by the Algerians who treated them “like royalty”.
Kim Brown on her 56-foot Oyster sailing boat. Right: Kim with her husband Simon, daughter Sienna and her cousin Loryn. Photos: Mark Zammit Cordina“I was hesitant to tell them I was American. The media makes it seem as if Muslims hate us. In reality, they were extremely helpful and generous and didn’t charge us a dime.”
While waiting for their departure clearance, an Algerian policeman even explained to little Sienna which animals were native to Algeria, while giving the rest of the family a history lesson.
Ms Brown admits she was criticised for taking her daughter out of school but believes that Sienna is being given a privileged opportunity to sample different cultures and broaden her mind.
The family strives to make some sort of contribution to every country they visit. “We try and help out by picking up rubbish or by helping other people. Hopefully, the little things we’re doing might impact someone”.
They keep their leftover scraps of food in the hope of giving them to someone with a garden who can subsequently use them for compost. “At least, it’s not going into a landfill. If we can do it on a boat, people can do it in their house.”
Ms Brown joined the board of the Marine and Oceanic Sustainability Foundation. Conservation and sustainability are key words. The biggest challenge so far, Ms Brown said, was the organising and planning prior to setting off on the voyage. The family also had to learn how to repair and maintain the generator, freezer and other appliances in case they malfunctioned while at sea.
She writes regularly on her website, where she has been inundated by comments from people who are inspired by her gutsy venture.
What’s in the pipeline?
Ms Brown says they plan to continue their free-spirited lifestyle for the next three years but adds that nothing is cast in stone. They will go with the flow, while figuring out a way how to make money since they are using up their retirement fund.
The Browns plan to sail to Sicily and around the Mediterranean before making the 3,000-mile Atlantic crossing to reach the Caribbean.
They were planning to leave our shores this week but are tempted to spend Easter here and enjoy a figolla or two. Then they will once again be off into the vast horizon, in the company of pods of dolphins and long-finned pilot whales and a lone stowaway bird, which might decide to hitchhike a lift on their boat.
Follow Ms Brown’s adventures on www.sailingbritican.com.