The life aquatic

Wan Jinyu and her husband Rolf Nylander sailed from San Carlos of Mexico on Nov 8, 2012 and crossed the Pacific Ocean to reach Hong Kong in March this year. Photo Provided to China Daily

Chinese woman joins husband to live out dream on the high seas. Chen Hong reports in Shenzhen.

Wan Jinyu believes she is bolder than many Chinese women.

She has enjoyed taking rollercoasters and could climb a rock wall up 100 meters when she was 45 years old in 2007.

Also in the same year, she married a Swedish man, then 55, after chatting with him online for three months and meeting him in person for three days.

To mark their five-year wedding anniversary, the couple set sail in a 12-meter sailboat from San Carlos of Mexico on Nov 8, 2012 and crossed the Pacific Ocean to reach Hong Kong in March this year.

They traveled more than 20,000 kilometers, visiting 38 islands and passing a total of seven countries and regions during the trip.

However, before the long voyage, the Chinese woman never drove a sailboat or had any sailing experience on the high seas.

"I trust my husband," Wan told China Daily. "It's his life-long dream to travel around the world in a sailboat. We wanted to make it before we got too old."

Her husband Rolf Nylander has rich knowledge in sailing. He bought his first sailboat 30 years ago. The IT veteran knows radio well and is fond of studying and analyzing the global climate, said Wan.

"He is smart and careful. We did not intend to risk our lives but wanted to live it differently through sailing," she said.

The couple practiced for more than a month before heading out to the Pacific Ocean so that Wan could learn the basic skills of controlling the boat, understanding the equipment and grasping the knowledge to observe climate changes at sea.