THE THIN VENEER OF LIFE
I like wild areas on Planet Ocean.
Wild areas are a time machine that take me back fifty, a hundred, or even a million years.
When I visit wild places, I see the world as it was before the developers and destroyers took over.
Unrestrained development is quickly erasing the natural world from which we all came.
Nothing in concrete jungles can compare with the awesome beauty of a rainforest, a crystal clear mountain spring, or unpolluted turquoise waters.
All my adult life I have listened to developers preach their gospel of destruction. In their world view, nothing could be better than a casino on the beach or a high rise condominium where sea turtles have nested for 100 million years. They look at the world through dollar sign eyes, and dollars is all they see.
The petroleum industry is the poster child of the corporate assault on the natural world.
British Petroleum pumped more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico when a blowout protector failed on the Deep Water Horizon drilling rig. That single failure created a massive dead zone on the ocean floor and caused incalculable damage to the environment and wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico.
In response to the failure of the blowout protector, the US government mandated that blowout protectors had to be inspected by third parties rather than allow self-certification by oil companies. In 2019 the Trump administration eliminated the requirement for biweekly inspection of blowout protectors by third parties. Companies are now allowed to self-certify that their blowout protectors are intact and working.
The first cousin of the petroleum industry is the plastics industry. Most plastics are not made from crude oil. They are the by products of refining crude oil and natural gas. Most feedstock to create plastics comes from the natural gas industry.
Regardless of where the plastics come from, the bigger question is where it goes, and the answer is it goes everywhere. There are now microplastics in the water and food supply, and even in the air we breathe. Microplastics are found in the arctic and Antarctic regions as well - in fact, they are found everywhere in the world.
The biggest corporate plastic polluter is Nestle because they are the biggest bottled water marketer in the world. Nestle does not produce water. It produces plastic bottles with 48 different water brands. Nestle has never produced a single molecule of water. Their specialty is marketing and plastic.
Corporations like Nestle have no conscience and no soul. Money is their god, and they will destroy the earth if left to their own devices.
When Joshua Slocum sailed around the world in 1895 in 36 foot long Spray, he did it without an engine. Although his voyage was austere by modern standards, it had zero negative impact on the environment.
In 1895, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch did not exist. Water and air were both clean.
In one hundred years, humanity has trashed the world, and even worse, they have accepted it and gotten used to it. Multinational corporations believe that trashing the world is the cost of doing business.
Less than a hundred years ago, you didn’t need to travel 1,000 miles to find clean water and air.
There are still a few places you can travel back in time to see the world that was and almost is no more. But the places are fewer in number, and it’s harder to get there.
Real Ocean Cruisers have the Luxury of sailing to sacred places like the Galapagos - protected zones where you swim with the seals, black tips, penguins and sea turtles - where you go back in time to the way things used to be. A place where the water is clear and the air is clean, and the animals are not threatened with extinction.
Although the world is big, the veneer of life is exceedingly thin extending a few feet underground to a several hundred feet in the air. That’s all there is, and when you total it all up, it’s not that big.
Planet Ocean is a rare planet - perhaps the only planet - with life. Clear water and clean air is rarer still, and having the privilege of swimming in clear water and breathing clean air is a privilege known to only a few.
The few remaining places on planet earth where the water is clear and the air is clean is now my holy grail. If it exists on Planet Ocean, I want to sail there, and if it’s present on dry land I want to drive there in my Defender 110.
Dirty air and polluted water are not the cost of doing business. They are the cost of abuse and neglect.
We had clear water and clean air 100 years ago, and there is no reason we cannot have it now. The world did not pollute itself. We polluted it, and we can stop.
I don’t want to forget how awesome the world was a mere 100 years ago, and I want to tell the world that clean water and air is the way our planet is meant to be.
That’s all I have to say about that.
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.
