For the past six decades, I have been an Unstoppable, Consistently Positive, Endlessly Persistent, Doer of Dreams.
Everything that I do, I do on purpose, and when things don't work out, I keep on keeping on.
I don't know if I will ever be rich and famous, but I know that I will live my dreams. And given the choice between riches, fame, and dreams, I will take my dreams without hesitation.
I wear many different hats and have many different names. Some people call me Dr. Dave. Others call me Land Rover Man, Positive Thinking Sailor, Positive Thinking Doctor or Encourager In Chief. I call myself an Unstoppable, Consistently Positive, Endlessly Persistent Doer of Dreams.
I served in the navy with a friend who was an Unstoppable, Consistently Positive, Endlessly Persistent, Doer of Dreams.
This particular individual became hooked on offshore sailing while he was in high school. He raced on an SORC yacht as a member of the crew, and he had the right stuff to be a go fast offshore racer. He was extremely competitive, highly motivated, knew what you had to do to make a sailboat fly over the waves. He was also probably the most positive person that I have known.
By the time he graduated from college, he made a plan to sail around the world on his own sailboat. The question was how he could buy a sailboat and finance the trip.
He looked at his options and decided that the best way to make it happen was by becoming a naval aviator. He joined the navy, went to flight school, and became a flight instructor in Pensacola Naval Air Station.
He lived a frugal life style as an aviator, and within a few years, he paid cash for a Tartan 30 sailboat that he would sail around the world. Purchasing the yacht depleted his cash, and he needed to work longer to outfit the yacht and save up his Freedom Chips for the voyage.
He sailed the Tartan 30 to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico where he proceeded to outfit the yacht. In the day time he flew P2 Orion and S2 aircraft, and during his off duty hours and on weekends, he worked on his small yacht.
Not only did he work on it, he also lived on his sailboat rather than spend money on housing. Living on the Tartan 30 meant that he could save money quicker for the trip.
Saying that he had a singleminded purpose was an understatement. He was absolutely fixated on getting his Tartan 30 ready for the voyage. He was Unstoppable.
I helped him mount his self-steering RVG wind vane on the stern of his yacht, and I also helped mount the life raft on the foredeck. He remained undaunted by a "To Do" list that was a mile long, and every day he checked a few more items off the list until the job was done and he was ready to drop his dock lines and set sail. It was exciting to work with someone who was unstoppable.
He was also consistently positive. He was the first person I ever met who was never down.
When life gave him lemons, he made lemonade. Every challenge made him stronger and became an opportunity for growth. He was an expert at turning bad things into better things. And even when the weather was miserable with tropical storms dumping gallons of rain on deck, he always was positive.
Storms presented an excellent opportunity to check for water leaks in his decks, hatches, and portholes. I cannot remember ever hearing him say a negative thing. He was the living personnification of what it means to be consistently positive.
He was also endlessly persistent. Getting a boat ready for sailing around the world involves infinite attention to detail. You must get things exactly right the first time. Close is not good enough. He knew what needed to be done to prepare his sailboat for the trip, and he was endlessly persistent in getting the job done.
Finally, he was a Doer of Dreams. He had a compelling dream that would carry him through all sorts of adversity.
Within two days of setting sail from Puerto Rico, the sailboat was struck by lighting south of the Dominican republic vaporizing the hardware at the top of the mast.
When he sailed between Galapagos and French Polynesia, his sailboat collided with a whale.
When he sailed in the Agulhas Current in the Mozambique Channel off the coast of South Africa, his sailboat capsized. During the capsize he lost his life raft overboard, and he bent the mainsail boom.
In spite of all these challenges, he sailed on with a single-minded purpose, because he was a Doer of Dreams.
After a four year circumnavigation, and after returning to the USA, he took a job as a pilot in the airlines, which was also one of his dreams. He always told me that I should get a job that I enjoyed so much that I would be willing to pay someone to allow me to do it. He told me that he was the luckiest man in the world, because he got to live his dreams.
He was an awesome role model, and he made me a better person because he taught me that it was possible to become an Unstoppable, Consistently Positive, Endlessly Persistent, Doer of Dreams.
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.
