Hanging on the end of a rope.

Either you can grasp on to the end of a rope for your dear life, or you can go climbing.

La vida es asi (life is so), and what we make of our situations, make us the men we are.

In order to be a successful voyager you must be “that” guy.

The guy who changes a racor filter in 20 foot seas atop a 180 degree engine, sleep deprived, sea-sick, burned, and bleeding. Every year (just last week) another boat ends up destroyed on the reef because of inability, weak spirit, or just a lack of common sense. Sure, it can happen to the best of us, but a healthy spirit is what we must concern ourselves with, not our security or comfort.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the more we forge our own freedom, the more we will be rewarded.

Paradise is only a reality for those who take it. It doesn’t have a price tag, exist at the end of a runway, nor come with an umbrella and a slice of pineapple. Paradise is a product of dreams, and if you dream hard enough, with every breath you take, you will find it!

“Paradise” can be on a sailboat, a run-down studio apartment in Tijuana, or nowhere in particular as you find yourself homeless roaming the world with nothing but a backpack and a smile.

My thoughts lately have been with my friend Ryan.

He came to help me in New York with Eleanor. As soon as he got home (Texas) he bought a WestSail 32 (great boat) but it was infested with termites which didn’t show up  on the survey.

He has to tent the boat (F’n expensive). The first hurdle of many I thought to myself, then I offered him a blog at Project BlueSphere because I really believe in him. I also know that my  readers will hold him up when he is down as you all have done for me for so many years.

He is a good young man with a true heart for freedom and adventure. I’m having some problems with my website but we will see his first blog soon.

The other big piece of news is my father is coming for a visit on the 14th. He just turned 83.

As you know, we haven’t spoken for the past 12 years and this is a big emotional deal for me.

This is a picture of him on the set of Walt Disney’s “Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance” with his new daughter (my sister). Judging from the camera angle, I think I took the picture, I would have been about 12 years old.

My father and I are both Alpha-men, and most likely the reason we bashed-heads most of our lives.

We both had difficult childhoods, short tempers, and are loaners. About a year ago my uncle told me he thought my father had passed as he had a stroke and a pace-maker installed a few years prior.

As you know, I was quite surprised to find him alive.

I’m so grateful that I get to put things straight in our lives, I’ve also been actively connecting him with the rest of my family as he was very alone when I found him.

This whole crazy ordeal with Eleanor and my journey to the United States was about this, re-connecting with my father, I’m sure of it.

This is what life is truly about. Helping friends, forgiving, and finding Love wherever we can.

I’m not a religious man, nor is my father really. But the week before I knocked on his door he found himself in a church (for the first time in a long time) praying not to be alone.

I don’t like labels, but the universe does work in mysterious ways.

I don’t really know what to expect during his visit. In some ways I’m embarrassed that I didn’t turn out more “successful” in the classic western idea of success. I was very driven in Hollywood for many years and ended up walking away from my career because I found no joy or reward in it. I love making films, but hate being forced to make garbage.

That being said, I’ve been writing a script with most waking moments. My desire to make another feature-film has resurfaced, I am truly inspired!

My free time these days seems to be something of the past, having two boats in two different countries with no money is a challenge for sure. I’m REALLY looking forward to getting Eleanor down here as soon as possible and moving aboard with Carla.

Some other big news is my sister in law and family from Patagonia are coming to live in Panama for a while.  They are going to help Carla and I finish the restore on Splendid so we can get her sold, and also help with my new film Project. It will be fun having a few kids around to teach to snorkel and sail the dinghy.

I love not knowing where tomorrow leads. I’m so grateful to wake up every day a free man, next to the woman I love, healthy, and alive with inspiration.

Sail far and live slowly friends.

– alex

Published in Alex Dorsey