The choice of an Indian family to sell all they had to travel on a boat is a bold and unusual decision guaranteed to spark wonder and admiration. The family includes a husband, a wife and their teenage daughter. In 2022, Capt. Gaurav Gautam (Retd.) and his wife Vaidehi decided to quit their well-paying jobs and shift their base to their 42-foot sailboat, Reeva. They always had the passion to travel the world and sample various cultures. But they realised that this would not be feasible if they did not make a bold move. And so, they sold their house, car, and other belongings to finance their escapade on a boat. They arranged homeschool for their teenage daughter, Kaeya.
The name of their Instagram account is 'The Reeva Project' and they keep posting short clips from their journeys.
The couple disclosed how they sold almost everything they owned, downsizing their possessions from 6,000 kg to 120 kg, to fulfil their dream in one of their posts from the previous year.
Posted by The Reeva Project, the text overlay on a video read as "We quit our jobs to live full-time on a sailboat. We sold off nearly everything we owned to make this dream come true. This is our home sailing vessel Reeva."
While introducing themselves in the caption of their post, the couple said, “Hi. We are Gaurav, Vaidehi and Kaeya and we live on our 42ft sailboat Reeva. In 2022 we quit our well paying jobs, decided to homeschool our 12-year-old and move to an alternate life at sea. We sold nearly everything we owned and brought down our luggage from 6,000 kgs to 120 kgs. There was no point in holding on to things we couldn't keep on the boat.”
It has been a challenging journey but the experience has been nothing short of amazing: “Things have never been easy, we had to pave our own path, as there was no precedence of a liveaboard family from our part of the world. But nevertheless it has been an amazing 20 months.”
On Instagram, The Reeva Project has over 8,000 followers.
With the resolve to live a simpler, more meaningful existence, they set off on a journey full of uncertainty but also possibility without end. As they venture out into the unknown, one can only envision the amazing things and memories in store for this brave Indian family.
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