DANGEROUS DREAMS
Dreams are dangerous things. Sometimes they take over your life.
I spent the past thirty years sailing on the ocean of my dreams. For most of those years, my feet were on dry land, but in my mind, I was sailing the seven seas. I've sailed around the world dozens of times in my mind with Joshua Slocum, Harry Pidgeon, and Bernard Moitessier at my side. I've survived the savage seas of the high southern latitudes with the crew of Tzu Hang as they were pitchpoled in the waters off Cape Horn. I've been with the Pardeys and the Hiscocks as they sailed on their voyages of discovery. I've deployed parachute sea anchors and trailed drogues hundreds of times in the storms of my mind. I've dropped my anchor in Paradise and snorkeled in enchanted atolls. I've even escaped from pirates - buccaneers of the mind who tried to steal my dreams.
In my mind, I practiced sailing around the world for more than twenty years before I actually cast off my dock lines and set sail on my eleven year circumnavigation.
So how did it feel to make my dreams come true?
First, I would have to admit it was a bit scary to drop the dock lines and set sail. This was a voyage of exploration into our unknowns, and unknowns were in abundance. During the trip around the world, we often ran out of wind, sometimes we ran low on diesel fuel, but we never ran out of unknowns.
I didn't know how much the trip was going to cost. Working for eleven years in Saudi Arabia paid for my boat and supplied me with enough freedom chips to weather any financial storms that came our way. I knew that the trip was going to cost a lot of money, especially with college coming up for my kids. Some days, I wondered if I could really afford to make the trip, but on most days, I KNEW THAT I COULDN'T AFFORD TO NOT MAKE THE TRIP. The currency of my youth was in short supply, and having an awesome adventure with my family was worth any price. And how do you count the richness of your life anyway? Dreams or dollars? Which will it be. I'll take my dreams any day.
Second, I had never made an ocean passage before I started the voyage. I had only sailed my catamaran six times before I started out on the trip. I was unproven and my yacht was unproven.
The biggest things I had going for me were that I had a positive attitude, a positive family, and I had already sailed around the world dozens of time in my mind. I quickly learned that sailing a catamaran isn't rocket science, and if we can do it, anyone can. A conservative amount of sail and a positive attitude will take a sailboat just about anywhere you want to go.
Third, in my mind, I was afraid of pirates, tsunamis, and hurricanes. As it turned out, we never met a pirate, we survived one global tsunami in Thailand totally unscathed, and there was nary a hurricane that threatened our eleven year voyage. The worst thing that happened on the entire circumnavigation was a car accident in New Zealand that broke two legs, fractured five ribs, and punctured one lung. It took me out of commission for nearly a year, but it didn't stop the voyage of Exit Only. After the fractures healed and I learned to walk again, we set sail for Fiji and continued sailing for nine more years before we completed our trip around the world.
Dreams do come true, and making them happen is within the capability of ordinary folks who have extraordinary dreams. A positive attitude and unstoppable persistence allows anyone to sail on the ocean of their dreams. All they have to do is do it. All you can do, is all you can do, but all you can do is enough.
It's a lot of work to live your dreams, but that doesn't matter, because when you live your dreams, your life is worth living. Your life keeps getting better, and before long you realize that there is no limit to how good your life can become.
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.
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.
