In a recent interview with Uncloseted Media, Kelsey Granger, a trans woman living in the US, shared why she decided to leave the country and live at sea after Trump’s re-election.

Many American trans and non-binary people are considering moving to escape the hate that surrounds them, fueled by the new president’s rhetoric and actions. In 2023, a poll found that 43% of trans adults wanted to move from America, and 8% had left already.

Sharing her story, Kelsey Granger recalled how she loved The Little Mermaid as a child, and she saw herself in the main character, Ariel. Now, at 32, Granger lives at sea in her boat, far away from America and her hometown, closer to Ariel’s life. She spends her days swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and enjoying the sunset from the deck of her boat.

@tanukiprincess Life is beautiful 😍 #liveaboard #bahamas #catamaranlife #ocean #sailing #beauty #takeabreak #seaturtle #shark #trans ♬ Paradise – Bazzi

Although she is living the dream life, it comes from a place of fear, as she decided to set up her home on the boat for self-preservation. As a trans woman, she did not feel safe in America, with attacks against the trans community on the rise since Trump was re-elected last November, so she decided to live at sea.

Before becoming a seafarer, she worked in the automotive industry in Texas. In 2022, she started taking sailing lessons and moved to her boat on Grapevine Lake.

Then shortly after, Texas’s Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a list of people who had changed their gender marker on official documents. That was the first moment when Granger knew that she had to leave. “I was just like, ‘Y’all, we gotta get out….I know enough about queer history to know what happened to my sister and my brothers,’” she told Uncloseted Media.

In December 2024, she took the final decision and set sail to travel to the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic. She isn’t living alone; in this catamaran sailboat, she lives with her two partners and her dog, Turbo. 

Kelsey Granger spends her day as such: she wakes up with a coffee, watches the sunrise, and then heads to work selling yacht charters. In her free time, she swims, peddles stingrays, and rides her one-wheel through coastal towns. The people of the ocean have been more accepting of her and her polyamorous family. 

@tanukiprincess Life can be so beautiful 🥰🫡 #shark #liveaboard #bahamas #catamaranlife #sailing #adventure #ocean #island #catamaran #eagleray #turtles #relax #beauty #stingray #turtletok #takeabreak #sharks ♬ Thank You for Being You – OctaSounds

To deal with her transition, she has stockpiled her HRT for 10 months, but once she gets closer to the end of her supply, her partner will have to get it for her. Granger fears that her passport would be at risk if she were to enter the country, especially as trans people’s documents are being rejected for changing their gender marker.

Although Granger is not completely free from transphobia now, she has the “privilege of a tourist”. Moreover, she is never where she is for longer than three days. 

Granger wants people to know her story as she wants them to see that things can be okay. “The reason that I’m okay with outing myself in this way is because I want the trans community to be okay and it can’t be okay if every story we read is about somebody getting attacked, is about kids getting their health care ripped away from them, is about adult trans people living paycheck to paycheck. It’s really important that we survive,” she said.

@tanukiprincess Art trail, boaters and live aboard a make art and leave it on the trail 💕⛵️ #catamaranlife #love #peace #life #ocean #liveaboard #sailing #adventure #trans #satisfying #catamaran #trending #art #trashart ♬ Who You Share It With – Layup

Kelsey Granger is still living life to the fullest, riding the waves, hiking new landscapes and making and seeing art on her way. She plans to save up enough money to fix and refurbish a new boat so she can give it to another trans person to join her on her nomadic lifestyle and to keep her community safe.