A Canadian couple who traded their conventional lifestyle for an adventurous life on the open seas is shedding light on the challenges they face, from navigating perilous storms to being stranded far from land. Leah and Kyle Mackenzie, hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, decided to leave their full-time jobs and sell their home in pursuit of a life of exploration aboard a sailboat.

Leah, 36, and Kyle, 34, were once caught in a financial struggle, barely making ends meet despite their hard work. In a bold move to break free from the daily grind, they purchased a sailboat in 2017, embarking on a journey that would take them across the globe.

Today, the Mackenzies reside on a 44-foot sailboat valued at $78,000, along with their three pets. Their floating home is equipped with essentials for life at sea, including solar panels for power, an induction oven, an electric stove, and running water facilities complete with two toilets, a shower, and even a dishwasher.

“All of these things allow us to be pretty much fully self-sufficient,” Leah shared with the Daily Mail. “We’re powered by the sun and driven by the wind,” she added, highlighting the sustainable nature of their new lifestyle.

It has everything they need to survive at sea: solar panels for energy, an induction oven and electric stove to cook, running water – including two toilets and a shower – and even a dishwasher.

‘All of these things allow us to be pretty much fully self-sufficient. We’re powered by the sun and driven by the wind,’ Leah explained during a recent chat with the Daily Mail.

‘It’s not anything like having a home kitchen with proper appliances but I love to cook and we eat well, so it does the job.’

While at first they kept their home and rented it out for extra income, they eventually decided to sell it and ‘cut all ties to land’ so they could focus on their adventures at sea.

A couple who sold their home to live on a sailboat and travel the world full time has opened up about the harsh realities of their lifestyle

Leah, 36, and Kyle Mackenzie, 34, purchased a sailboat in 2017 and they now live in a $78,000 44-foot water vessel with their three pets

Leah quit her job as an auto mechanic while Kyle still works remote as an accountant, and she explained that their cost of living has dropped immensely since they made the move.

‘At sea only having one income is more than enough to get us by,’ Leah said. ‘You realize how little a person actually needs to be happy and survive when you’re living like this. 

‘There are some months where we spend $0 but others we spend a lot, like if we have to do major repairs or if we need a huge provision before heading off grid.

‘But it’s still less than having a mortgage, car payments, cell payments, streaming services, food delivery, etc. Living in a city and really adds up quick.’  

Since moving onto the sailboat they’ve visited 23 countries and traveled over 30,000 nautical miles together.

They’ve sailed through glaciers in Alaska, all down the west coast of Canada and the US, Central and Latin America, transited the Panama Canal twice, and did a loop around the Caribbean.

‘We’ve been to countries and places that are so far off the map the only way to reach them is by sailboat,’ she shared.

‘I love being able to reach the world’s most untouched corners where not many other humans will ever see or experience. 

I t has everything they need to survive at sea: solar panels for energy, an induction oven and electric stove to cook, running water and even a dishwasher

‘All of these things allow us to be pretty much fully self-sufficient. We’re powered by the sun and driven by the wind,’ Leah explained. The inside of the boat is seen

‘Some of these places feel like another planet – they are completely remote, cut off from the rest of the world and absolutely beautiful.’

They recently achieved their most extensive endeavor yet: crossing the world’s biggest ocean, the Pacific, going from Panama to French Polynesia, which took 35 days at sea with no land or other people. 

Leah admitted that their lifestyle is ‘not all cocktails and bikinis’ and that she and Kyle have had ‘plenty of moments’ where they’ve ‘questioned why they’re out there.’

She explained that some of the biggest downsides are having to be away from her friends and family back home and losing out on ‘comforts’ like being able to order something on Amazon or have food delivered to her door.

In addition, she said explained that the boat needs ‘constant and relentless maintenance’ and it takes extensive work to keep it up.

‘This lifestyle is full of the highest highs but also the lowest lows,’ she reflected.

The interior of their boat is seen

Leah quit her job as an auto mechanic while Kyle still works remote as an accountant, and she explained that their cost of living has dropped immensely since they made the move

‘Boats break all the time, and we need to be mechanics, plumbers, electricians and know how to jury-rig something while being thrashed side to side in a storm and sometimes upside down at 3am.

‘We have to be okay living in a world where something is always broken, and we have to prioritize what needs fixing now, what can wait, and what we can ignore until it catches fire.’

It also takes meticulous planning to ‘keep yourself alive when you’re 1,000 miles off-shore.’

‘You need to be self reliant, no one is coming to your rescue in the middle of an ocean crossing if something happens,’ explained Leah. 

The couple have been put in a slew of dangerous situations over the years, as Leah recalled one time when the winds changed suddenly during a storm and they ‘lost all steering and control of the boat’ and were left just drifting in the middle of a stretch of ocean nicknamed ‘the dangerous middle.’

Thankfully, they were able to repair their snapped steering cable and disconnected rudder.

‘Also, navigating foreign waters where there are no charts [is hard],’ Leah added.

They’ve sailed through glaciers in Alaska, all down the west coast of Canada and the US, Central and Latin America, transited the Panama Canal twice, and looped around the Caribbean

‘We’ve been to countries and places that are so far off the map the only way to reach them is by sailboat,’ Leah shared

Even so, she vowed that the pros outweigh the cons, gushing: ‘The ocean is our living room and islands are our backyard, so there’s always something to do and something new to see. 

‘Yes it’s challenging, but for me, the pros definitely outweigh the cons and we plan to keep doing this until its no longer fun or feasible.

‘This allows me to travel the globe on a budget, taking my home, belongings, and pets with me… seeing as much as I possibly can and expanding my view of the world while constantly experiencing new and unique things.

‘I love learning about different cultures, meeting new people, trying new food and drinks and experiencing things I never thought I would in my lifetime.’ 

They recently commissioned a new catamaran and are now on their way to the Philippines to pick it up, and once they get there they plan to ‘slow down a little.’

‘We’ve been moving really quickly this last year and we’ve covered a lot of nautical miles,’ Leah shared.

‘It’s been challenging and exhausting, but the reward at the end will make it all worth it.’