A physiotherapist and her partner who fell in love with sailing after tripping around the Pacific Islands have revealed how they gave up the daily grind to raise their 21-month-old baby on a boat.
Billie Woods, 34, and her husband Cam, 32, went on a sailing adventure to visit friends several years ago, and after they fell in love with the lifestyle, the couple decided to buy their own boat and commit to living on it full-time.
‘I come from a family of sailors, but I never grew up sailing,’ Billie, from Albany in Western Australia, told FEMAIL.
‘The trip sparked a dream in me to live and sail the world on a yacht. So I started looking at boats online and just thought to myself: Why not just do it?
‘The worst that could happen was that it didn’t work out and I’d have to sell the boat.’
A physiotherapist and her partner who fell in love with sailing after tripping around the Pacific Islands have revealed how they gave up the daily grind to raise their 21-month-old baby on a boat (Billie and her daughter Lakey pictured)
Billie Woods, 34, and her husband Cam, 32, went on a sailing adventure to visit friends several years ago, and after they fell in love with the lifestyle, the couple decided to buy their own boat and commit to living on it full-time (their family pictured on board their boat)
Billie stumbled upon ‘Jandu’, her 42 foot Swanson boat online in 2015, and bought it in Sydney after she flew over from Western Australia to have a look at it.
‘I sailed it back to Albany with my sailor friend Maurice and Cam,’ she said.
‘Cam had never even been on a sailing boat in his life, and while I knew how to sail, I didn’t have any real-life experience.
‘We had Maurice with us for the trip, during which time we learned a lot. By the time we got home, Cam and I were addicted to boat life.’
Billie (pictured with Lakey) said she grew up in a family of sailors, but never had much experience with it until the trip
Rather than return to their regular jobs and lives, the couple gave up where they were renting and instead moved onto the boat full-time.
‘Jandu’ stayed stationary in the marina for many months while Billie and Cam worked on the boat, and the couple saved money by living on it and restoring it simultaneously in preparation for a big trip.
‘We replaced the decking and plumbing, re-did the bathroom, installed hot water and re-did the electronics,’ Billie said.
During this time, they also had their little girl, Lakey Moana, who now lives on board with her mum and dad.
The couple (Billie and Lakey pictured) bought their own boat in 2015, and spent the next few years restoring and repairing it
‘We replaced the decking and plumbing, re-did the bathroom, installed hot water and re-did the electronics,’ Billie said (Billie and Lakey pictured on ‘Jandu’ now)
In January 2019, the family of three ‘finally’ set off on their journey with a nine-month-old Lakey.
‘We left the marina in Albany and spent the year sailing up the Western Australian coast,’ Billie said.
It’s a simple life and boat life is a lot cheaper than regular life
‘We spent most of our time at both the Abrohlos Islands and the Montebello Islands, and explored lots of places in between.’
Cam and Billie said they avoided marinas where possible, and instead pulled up in unspoiled deserted spaces.
‘A typical day revolves around what activities we want to do that day (surfing, diving, sailing, exploring islands/beaches, hiking), and catching dinner for that night (we have a huge supply of dry foods on the boat, and we stock up on fruit and veg when we come into shore),’ Billie said.
The couple also only budget for $1,000 a month – including food, diesel, petrol, a meal out when they get back to the mainland and anything they need for the boat.
‘It’s a simple life and boat life is a lot cheaper than regular life,’ Billie said.
‘We also tend to avoid the towns and the temptation to spend money – unless we need to stock up on dried foods.’
Speaking about the challenges of raising such a small child on board a boat, Billie (pictured with Lakey) revealed it’s hard when it’s rough and Lakey gets seasick
Speaking about the challenges of raising such a small child on board a boat, Billie revealed it’s what you might expect.
‘Keeping Lakey entertained when we are on long passages is hard,’ she said.
‘If it’s calm, it’s generally fine, but if it’s rough at all, I end up spending most of my time down in the boat with a seasick child.’
She said the only other challenge is that they can sometimes feel ‘far away’ from friends and family.
She said the only other challenge is that they can sometimes feel ‘far away’ from friends and family (the boat pictured sailing in WA)
However, the family (pictured) said they love the freedom that being on board offers them – both insofar as they can travel where they want when they want and they can spend more time with Lakey
‘Being on the boat offers us so much freedom though,’ the 34-year-old said.
‘The freedom to travel where we want, when we want – and to spend time with our baby.’
Billie said she and Cam also love being self-sufficient and having solar panels for their power, as well as a water maker.
‘The minimalist lifestyle is also very enjoyable,’ she said.
‘We don’t carry unnecessary things on board, we just have what we need.’
Billie explained that they plan to continue sailing for the first half of 2020, before Cam returns to work temporarily to top up funds for their next trip (their boat pictured in WA)
Speaking about whether they will return to regular life, Billie explained that they plan to continue sailing for the first half of 2020.
Cam will then return to work temporarily to top up funds for their next trip, which will see them explore more of Western Australian’s south coast before heading east to Tasmania.
Their long-term goal is to move to New Zealand and regularly re-visit the Pacific Islands.
‘We would love to have some land with a big edible garden one day, but I don’t think we could ever fully give up the boat life either,’ Billie said.
‘It will all be about having a sense of balance in the future.’
To follow Billie and her family’s adventures, you can find her on Instagram here.