Özkan and Özlem Şahin couple, who joined their lives in 2013, has been living on the boat since the day they got married. Having the title of the youngest Turkish couple to sail from Georgia to Syria, the Şahin couple is making preparations for their 7-year world tour with their 12-meter sailboat. Stating that they will act with the motto of ‘consume less’ throughout the world tour, the couple will also draw attention to zero emissions and carbon footprints on their tours. The Şahin couple, who will share their world tour on social media, will start their blue voyage on April 9, departing from Finike district.
“We will go to the equatorial zone”
Providing information about the route they will take, Özkan Şahin said, “I have been living on the boat for about 10 years. Previously, I was in the chemical industry, which was my father’s profession. I quit my job at 37 for some reason. I wanted to live. I wanted to travel the world, Turkey. I couldn’t do these while I was working, so I quit my job. We are currently the youngest couple to have traveled the coasts of Turkey from Georgia to the Syrian border. We just finished the Adriatic. We have been to many countries. Now, with luck, I will start a world tour with my wife on April 9th. We will go to the equatorial belt. We plan to complete this tour in 5 to 7 years.”
“Butterflies are flying in my stomach”
Özlem Ulubay Şahin, who stated that she felt butterflies in her stomach when she thought about the tour they will take, said, “I have been living on the boat for 9 years. After I met my wife, I got married and started living on a boat. We will go on a world tour. This excites me so much. When I am asked how you are feeling, butterflies fly in my stomach. This job has its hard parts. One of them is farewell and what you leave behind. We don’t plan on coming for a long time. It’s what you leave behind. Years later, what you will find and, of course, the longing comes to the fore. When they say, ‘Why are you doing it?’, we cannot explain it very well. We may have many health problems, we are already going to the doctor. The most important thing is psychological preparation. The preparation of the boat is also very important.”
“We were planning for 4 years”
Stating that they have been planning to go on a world tour for 4 years, Özlem Şahin said, “This is not something that can be put into words. This was my dream. When I first got on the boat, I immediately dreamed of going to distant seas. We had been planning to go on this tour for 4 years. When we say the tours we went and the pandemic, we will go out this year if we are lucky. We plan to share this whole trip on social media. We want more Turkish sailors and Turkish flags to fly in the world’s seas.”
“A life on consuming less”
Özlem Şahin touched upon the importance they attach to the environment and said, “There is plastic waste even in the deepest pit of the ocean. I think that making a world tour by sailing is a remarkable factor in terms of leaving zero emissions and carbon footprints. The most important force in sailing is the wind. We get water from seawater. We are trying to build a life of consuming less. I have a dream of turning all the plastics I bought during the world tour into rope and knitting them. Nearly 30 Turkish sailors made the world tour and returned to Turkey. Currently, there are two sailing boats in progress. We are also planning to be third. We will depart from Finike on April 9 with the motto of ‘Living differently’.