A HOWLONG man with terminal cancer has spent the past six months travelling around Australia on a luxury 46-foot yacht he paid for with his life insurance policy.
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Malcolm Goldsmith was diagnosed with stage-four Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer in 2020. He spent the past two years enduring chemotherapy, something that he describes as "hell."
"Chemotherapy takes everything away from you, your strength and ability to even want to live," Mr Goldsmith said.
"I was told I was going to die. It was this or palliative care."
"I wanted to do something I had never done before, so I bought a yacht with my life insurance policy to spend what I assume may be the last of my life."
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The former computer technician found the whole experience healing and ticked off many goals while living on the sea.
"It was a healing experience; I swam with wild dolphins, turtles and rays. I was in awe, having to remind myself this is real. I'm doing this, with just my cat and I," he said.
Although it wasn't all smooth sailing, the 50-year-old said he has found his calling.
"I didn't know how to drive it, but I learnt pretty quickly when you've got it in your head that you're dying, a few rough waters, it didn't faze me," he said.
"The yacht itself is a dream, pure luxury, a floating apartment, and I discovered I quite like this way of living."
Mr Goldsmith is separated and has three adult children.
"We want Dad home," his 18-year-old son, Ashlee Goldsmith, said. "It's been difficult watching him do this alone."
The yacht remains moored at the Gold Coast harbour after Mr Goldsmith found another lump in his throat last month.
When asked what's next, he said: "A skin cell transplant, yep, that's a pretty big tick. It's hard to want to keep going and I know what comes next will be grueling, but now I want to fight for it. My time on the boat reminded me that life can be good, it's not all bad, it is worth hanging on too, it is worth the pain."
Throughout the stint, he met many people and saw places he wouldn't have experienced otherwise; he didn't get to the Whitsundays due to rushing home but "one day, I'll get there".
"It's opened my eyes to how big the ocean is. My favourite place was Port Stephens and being so far out at sea. You couldn't see land."
