Sailing Uma is set to inspire at TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show

Global social media stars, Dan and Kika (a.k.a. Sailing Uma), will be flying into the UK this week to appear exclusively at TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show, sharing the secrets behind their latest boat refit and sailing adventures.

An inspiring couple who took one friend’s advice, “If you want to travel the world, don’t buy a couch”, and instead bought a sailboat. Today, Dan and Kika have a worldwide avid following of nearly 114,000 people tuning into their adventures around the globe.

Both had very different childhoods, Dan being from British-Columbia Canada and Kika from Port-Au-Prince Haiti but they met at architecture school in Atlanta, USA and not long after they graduated, following their friend’s wise advice, they set sail together on their adventure.

By the end of the summer 2014, they had sold the majority of their materialistic ties to their past lives and purchased their new home, a 1972 Pearson 36. They named her Uma, the Portuguese word for number one. The impetus for this name is that all plans in life require a first choice, idea or step.

Over recent years, followers have watched them remove the boat’s diesel engine, using their DIY skills to rebuild and upgrade their sailboat while starting a life at sea.

With solar to power their everyday needs and an electric motor to drive their boat, Uma is 100% off grid. This allows Dan and Kika to continue to observe the world, learn from their experiences and share every step along the way on social media.

Regarding their forthcoming appearance at the Show, Dan and Kika, comments: “This year will be the first time we’ve visited TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show and we can’t wait. We’ve heard great things from our followers and are very much looking forward to our first visit. More importantly, we are really excited to be able to meet visitors and share our story.

“Like many, we started with a five year plan, had a successful renovation company, a place to live, steady incomes and a pretty good life overall. We had everything we needed, but something was still missing.

“In life there are many paths to choose. All requiring a first step, a first idea, a first choice to start with, to guide you on your journey. We hope that our story will stand as inspiration to those wanting to pursue their dreams, to take their own first step, to discover their own, Uma.”

Visitors will be able to meet and hear from Dan and Kika on Sunday 16 September, at 12pm and 2pm on the Show’s Heart Stage in Festival Green.