I am a hard core expatriate who lived outside the United States for twenty-eight years.
During all of those years of travel, I became an expert at packing my bags to the hilt. I was allowed two eighty pound bags, and everytime I went overseas, I carried one-hundred and sixty pounds of luggage. Half of that weight was in books. There was no other cost effective way to get our books to their destination.
Now things have changed. I carry nearly all my books on my tablets and smart phone. I easily carry ten tons of eBooks on my electronic devices without a problem.
When I was sailing around the world on my thirty-nine foot catamaran, books were a real problem.
I had an extensive library of essential nautical books that were needed to sail safely around the world. There were books on navigation, storms at sea, anchoring, weather, radio communications, engine maintenance, manuals, medical books, and other subjects necessary to safely sail a family of four on an eleven year circumnavigation.
My wife had her cookbooks, language learning books, and books to read for fun.
Both of my children were doing high school studies on the yacht, and they had lots of heavy books as well.
Unfortunately, all of those books added weight to the catamaran slowing it down and degrading its sailing performance. If we didn't have all that extra weight slowing us down, we might have been able to sail around the world in ten years rather than eleven.
Thank God for eBooks. On my next sailing voyage to Australia, my catamaran will be much lighter because we will have eBooks on board. There will be smart phones and tablets all around. Everyone will be able to have as many books as they want, as long as they are on their electronic devices.
I am preparing for a driving trip around the world on my Land Rover Defenders. I have even less space for books in my Defender than I do on my catamaran. But that does not bother me in the least. I can download books on any subject from Amazon any place on the planet where I have an internet connection. And if I plan to go to a remote location, I will download the books I want before I go out in the bush. Life just got better for those of us who do expeditonary travel.
Books just got a great deal lighter, and that is good news for people around the world.
Shipping is free for eBooks, and they can be sent anywhere on planet earth without a hassle.
You don't have to take eBooks through customs in Bongo Congo. No troublesome import restrictions or govermental hoops though which you have to jump. You don't even need an importer. All you need is an internet connection.
When I lived in Saudi Arabia, the selection of books and magazines was limited because of censorship.
If a book was objectionable to the authorities, they simply did not allow it into the country. Magazines and periodicals were censored by ripping out the offending pages or blotting them out with giant magic markers. When you purchased a magazine, sometimes pages were stuck together where the magic marker acted like glue when it dried.
It was always exciting to thumb through censored periodicals to see exactly what had been blotted out from the eyes of the general public. One of my patients was a government employee who had to decide which articles and pictures need to be censored, and after he made his decision, he turned his minions loose with their black magic markers to do the dastardly deed.
Things are different now in closed societies. Censorship became more dificult with the advent of internet. Censorship of eBooks is non-existent. This is good news for everyone who wants unresticted access to information and literature around the world.
As a person who writes eBooks, it blows my mind that my writing can be read by people from one hundred and ninety-six countries. My eBooks are read by people of all races and religions, and my books travel freely across all borders.
I write eBooks without borders.
When I fire up one of my Defenders and start a driving trip around the world, you can be sure that I will have at least ten tons of ebooks on my smartphone and tablets.
Life is good.
My Defender 100 in this picture is packed in expeditionary mode. The weight is maxed out, and everyone is allowed to carry one heavy book during the expedition. But if they have eBooks, they can have as many books as they want since eBooks don't weigh anything or take up any space.
Awesome music video that captures the essence of what it's like to sail offshore in a catamaran around the world when conditions are less than perfect. David Abbott from Too Many Drummers sings the vocals, and he also edited the footage from our Red Sea adventures. This is the theme song from the Red Sea Chronicles.
Sailing up the Red Sea is not for the faint of heart. From the Bab al Mandeb to the Suez Canal, adventures and adversity are in abundance. If you take things too seriously, you just might get the Red Sea Blues.
If you like drum beats, and you like adventure, then have a listen to the Red Sea Chronicles Trailer.
Flying fish assault Exit Only in the middle of the night as we sail through the Arabian Gulf from the Maldives to Oman. And so begins our Red Sea adventures.
Sailing through Pirate Alley between Yemen and Somalia involves calculated risk. It may not be Russian Roulette, but it is a bit of a worry. Follow Team Maxing Out as they navigate through Pirate Alley.
Stopping in Yemen was just what the doctor ordered. We refueled, repaired our alternator, and we made friends with our gracious Yemeni hosts. We also went to Baskins Robbins as a reward for surviving Pirate Alley.
After you survive Pirate Alley, you must sail through the Gate of Sorrows (Bab Al Mandab) at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Gate of Sorrows lived up to its name with fifty knots of wind and a sandstorm that pummeled Exit Only for two days. Life is good.
Captain Dave and his family spent eleven years sailing around the world on their Privilege 39 catamaran, Exit Only. During the trip, the crew shot 200 hours of video with professional cameras to show people what it's like to sail on a small boat around the world.
The Red Sea Chronicles is a one hour and twenty-two minute feature film showing their adventures as Exit Only sails through Pirate Alley in the Gulf of Aden and up the Red Sea. The professional footage documents their experiences in Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, and the Suez Canal. It chronicles the rigors of traveling in a remote section of the world rarely visited by cruisers. Exit Only dodges Yemeni pirates, fights a gale and sand storms in the Bab al Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The crew explores deserted islands on the western shores of the Red Sea, and learns to check the cruising guides for land mines before venturing ashore.
The Red Sea Chronicles also has outstanding Special Features including an Instructional Video on Storm Management that tells sailors how to deal with storms at sea.
And don't forget the two Music Videos: "The Red Sea Blues", and "Captain - Save Our Souls".
The Red Sea Chronicles is a first class adventure that stokes the sailing dreams of both experienced and wannabe sailors alike.
Join Team Maxingout as they sail through Pirate Alley and up the Red Sea
See what it's like to cruise on a catamaran before you spend a bazillion dollars purchasing one
After watching the Red Sea Chronicles you will be able to see yourself sailing on the ocean of your dreams
Although I like the feel of a paper book in my hand, I love trees even more. When people purchase an eBook, they actually save trees and save money as well. Ebooks are less expensive and have no negative impact on the environment. All of Dr. Dave's books are available at Save A Tree Bookstore. Visit the bookstore today and start putting good things into your mind. It's easy to fill your mind with positive things using eBooks. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pull out your smart phone or tablet and start reading. You can even use electronic highlighters and make annotations in your eBooks just like paper books.
