FIRST YOU THINK IT, AND
THEN YOU DO IT
During Gulf War One, we were hunkered down in Saudi Arabia playing
Riyadh roulette. Nearly every night after the sun went down,
the air raid sirens would sound, and Scud missiles came into
Riyadh. We would head for our "safe room" just in case one
of the scuds hit nearby. The first scud that came into
Riyadh made the windows in our house rattle, and that was enough
motivation for us to take a six week vacation from the war.
After eleven nights of scuds, we were evacuated out of Riyadh to
Torrejon, Spain by military aircraft. From Torrejon, we flew
on commercial aircraft back to the USA.
Things have a way of working out in my life. I explain it to
people like this: it's as if I fall through a trap door backward
and blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back, and I land on
my feet and keep on walking. That's exactly what happened to
us when we arrived in the USA. We took a war and converted it into
a family adventure. It was time for the Miami Boat Show, and
we made tracks to Miami Beach to troop the docks.
We checked out the multihulls at the boat show, and we found a
spacious Privilege 39 catamaran. We inspected every nook and
cranny on board and immediately sensed that we were on the
threshold of a new adventure. This sea going catamaran
looked totally bullet proof, it was certified for offshore
voyaging, and we knew that it was up to the task of taking a
family of four around the world.
When we left the boat show, I had a clear picture in my mind of us
sailing around the world in a Privilege 39 catamaran. I had
never sailed on multihulls before, so I chartered a Privilege 39
in the British Virgin Islands to see what it would be like to
cruise on a cat. For an entire week, we sailed through the
BVI, shooting video and taking photos of our short adventure.
When we returned to Riyadh, I looked at that video footage
hundreds of times visualizing what it would be like to
circumnavigate in a Privilege 39. I finally took a leap of
faith and ordered a new Privilege 39 from the factory in France.
I committed myself to step out in the direction of my dreams
regardless of the consequences.
After I ordered the catamaran, I continued working in Riyadh for
another year to finish paying it off. Then I quit my job and
set sail on the ocean of my dreams.
First I thought about buying a catamaran, and then I did it.
First I thought about sailing
around the world, and then I did it.
That's the way adventures happen. First you think it, and
then you do it.
Life is good.
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