(MAXING OUT MEDIA, 2008; 82 MINUTES, DVD; $19.95 PLUS $5.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING IN THE U.S. AND CANADA; $19.95 PLUS $10.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL.
REVIEW BY WAYNE GAGNON
Maxing Out; Red Sea Chronicles is a homemade documentary that follows the Abbot family as they sail from Salalah, Oman, through the Gulf of Aden to Bab el Mandeb (Gate of Sorrows) where they enter the Red Sea, and then north to Port Said, Egypt, on the Mediterranean. Dave Abbot is the captain of their 39-foot catamaran, Exit Only, and a retired eye surgeon who spent eleven years working in Saudi Arabia while dreaming of sailing around the world with his family. Dave, his wife Donna, their son David, and his wife Sarah sailed from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific and Indian Oceans to Oman where this adventure begins. As they sail up the Red Sea they share many of the sights and sounds of this exotic region, dodge pirates, wait out weather, and tour some of the oldest sites of civilization in the world, many of which we’ve all read about in history books as kids, and see today in contemporary news media.
There are moments when the viewer may think they’re watching home movies, but David, the chief videographer and editor, does a good job of keeping things from becoming too (for lack of a better word) schmaltzy. The overall quality of the piece is such that it can be seen in short segments on Bob Bitchin’s TV show Latitudes and Attitudes. In addition to the 82 minutes of travelogue, like most DVDs there are over 40 minutes of special features that include information on cruising in a catamaran, some useful things to know if you plan on cruising in the Red Sea, boat management in stormy weather, and more.
Like many others, when I was much younger I would fantasize about sailing around the world. But, also like many others, as the years went by that dream was tempered and now I spend summers cruising the Great Lakes, which is pretty cool in and of itself. However, while watching this I found that those old dreams are being stirred up out of the silt at the bottom of the slow moving river of time. I dare say that Maxing Out; Red Sea Chronicles could have the same effect on anyone else who has ever put a similar dream on hold.
