As part of his retirement plan, ocean-lover Noor Azli Adnan decided to sail the South China Sea

Cekli and Kamarul on their epic voyage. Photos: Noor Azli Adnan

While many of us hope to travel to exotic places, it was always Noor Azli Adnan’s humble dream to sail across the South China Sea ... a heartfelt desire that he finally accomplished aboard the Bahtera Perak VI in April at the age of 62!

“I love to be near the water and have always enjoyed activities like swimming, scuba diving and fishing,” says the sexagenarian, fondly known to his family and friends as “Cekli”. “I am also a certified PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and, since the early 2000s, I have been coaching divers so they can obtain their scuba certification. To complement these hobbies of mine, I decided to have my own boat way back in 1997, especially since I was (and still am) living by the sea in Brunei.”