Couple sells everything to move into boat to travel the world

By Megan Carr and Alice Clifford via SWNS

A couple has sold up and moved into a caravan as they plan to sail the world to help those in need.

Karolina Rafalko and her partner of 18 years, Lee Ward, have sold their home, left their jobs and bought a boat to travel.

Lee, a maintenance engineer and Karolina, a dental hygienist, are hoping to take their unique skill sets across the globe aboard their new vessel, Good Deeds.

Karolina, who is 40 and originally from Poland, moved to the UK 20 years ago before relocating to Sheppey, Kent, in 2011.

The pair have now decided to retire early and are preparing to leave everything they know behind for a new life on the seven seas.

Lee, 55, said: “My father was always into boats. He always had one boat or another but he never had a sailing boat.

“We always wanted to go sailing so I sort of got the idea of buying our boat from him.”

After Lee sadly lost both his parents in a short span of just 15 months, he decided that the time was right.

He added: “We got the idea during the pandemic. The lockdown really affected my family.

“I lost both my parents during that time and it was then that we decided life's too short.

“It was then that we decided we wanted to do something worthwhile and help other people as we go.”

Karolina felt the same way having also been recently bereaved.

She added: “Shortly before that I lost my mum as well. She was only 60 years old and when you think about it there are so many things that people put off for later when they retire but time goes so quickly.

“My mum, she hardly managed to retire before she died so that really brought it home to me that you have to do things while you can.

“That's what really speeded up our decision to make this change.”

The couple have been getting their boat seaworthy for the last few months at a dry dock and hope to set sail with their adopted cat, PJ, this September.

The trio are currently living in a caravan in Leysdown, Kent, following the sale of their house and many other of their belongings.

It is this money which is funding their new lifestyle and any work needed on Karolina and Lee’s new home.

However, they hope that once they start travelling across the Mediterranean Sea they can start making a living from their YouTube channel.

Karolina and Lee will also be setting up fundraising pages to help them deliver their dental hygiene and building services to those who need them.

Karolina said: “There are three aspects to the charity work we want to offer.

“One is dentistry. I would be able to offer my expertise on certain issues and offer certain aspects of care that I am trained to do.

“Then following a consultation I can work with more local dentists to help people get the oral care they need.

“Another is Lee offering his help to fix things such as machinery, generators, that sort of thing.

“And the final thing is being able to get out to other charity projects that are already underway elsewhere across the world.”

Lee added: “We could help with water pumps, fix storm-damaged buildings and we are happy to work with other people as well.

“People are already starting to contact us after hearing about our plans on social media so we are certain there will be things for us to do and people to help once we set off.

“Through the power of social media, we will also be able to help smaller communities fundraise through our own Facebook pages and channels.

“For instance, if somebody had a roof they needed fixing or a wall that needed repairing, then we could have quick fundraise online and then use that money to employ some local builders to help us.

“That way the person in need gets the end result they want and local businesses will also get the money.”

Moving onto a boat is a big change and despite their ambitions, there are certain home comforts the pair are going to miss when moving away from the land.

Karolina said: “Not having a garden will be a really big deal for me.

“We love to grow our own herbs and vegetables but on the boat, I will only be able to have one pot of basil or something like that.

“Foodwise I will really miss Polish mayonnaise and baked beans, there isn’t anything like it anywhere else around the world so I am going to have to stock up before we leave.”

Lee and Karolina will also be bringing their senior cat along with them for the adventure.

Adopted by the couple two and a half years ago, PJ is more than accustomed to a life full of traveling.

Karolina added: “PJ has traveled with us by car to Poland and did extremely well.

“It is about a 15-hour drive and once we took him out of his crate he was more than happy just sleeping throughout the journey.

“When we moved from our house to the caravan he adapted to his new surroundings really quickly too so we’re not worried about him adapting to the boat either.

“He even has his own life jacket that we’re getting him used to.”