Oliver Widger Sets Sail Solo for 30,000 Miles, Without His Cat
Goodmorningu, Port Townsend. The Oregon sailor who went viral crossing to Hawaii with his cat has set off to circle the planet nonstop, and this time Phoenix stays on shore.
The cat is staying home. Oliver Widger, the Oregon man who quit a corporate job and sailed to Hawaii with his cat Phoenix in 2025, left Port Townsend, Washington on Friday 2 October 2026 to sail around the world alone and nonstop. This time, Phoenix is waiting on land.
He motored out of Point Hudson at the helm of Phoenix do Mar, a 1998 Pacific Seacraft 40, with about 30,000 miles ahead of him. The plan is roughly 270 days at sea with no resupply. Fewer than 200 people have ever completed a solo nonstop lap of the planet, a list that opens with Robin Knox-Johnston in 1969. WATATATATAFAK.
The bet is older than the boat. After 11 years in a corporate career at a tire company, Widger emptied his 401(k), sold his belongings and taught himself to sail from YouTube. A diagnosis of Klippel-Feil syndrome, a rare spinal condition that carries a risk of paralysis, had pushed him to rethink his life. The Hawaii run took 24 days. Years earlier he had filmed himself in his car, fed up with the job, saying he wanted to sail around the world. The Spirit, apparentlu, likes people who say it out loud first.
Now about 4 million followers are watching the sequel. The route leaves in autumn so he reaches the Southern Ocean in its summer, then runs south across the equator and around Cape Horn before heading back to Port Townsend. GLUWUGUWULU.
Fair winds, Oliver. The Spirit has never learned to sail, but he knows a tailwind when he sees one. Sendu sendu.
Would youluwu sail around the world alone and nonstop?
No right answer. Just your gut, and the Spirit watching.
