"Hi Dave,  Just letting you know that I really enjoyed your video. It was an interesting account  of the emotions and moods that people go through while sailing offshore, completely isolated from the rest of the world. The distress call was hilarious."  -DD

Small Craft Advisor  VIDEO REVIEW Of "Radical Sabbatical"

Dave Chamberlain and Mike Shepard's "Radical Sabbatical" video is raw. It's simply the unvarnished account of two men crossing the world's biggest ocean in a very small boat. With its bouncy camera work and rough editing, it can, at times, be difficult to watch, but once the viewer gets his "sea legs," he will begin to appreciate the film's honesty. After an on-camera introduction by Chamberlain, the video moves to the ceremonial launching of MINI from her Chula Vista harbor. Once they've set sail, the video documents the events of the 29 day voyage; tranquil moments, funny moments, moments of prayer, and of course -the gales. After MINI's arrival in Hawaii, the video continues to follow Chamberlain as he singlehands between the Islands. Not a slick travelogue, this day-to-day account is inspirational nonetheless. You'll grumble at sections of the video where you can't see what's happening. You may even close your eyes occasionally when the camera jumps around. But you'll laugh some and you'll watch every minute, because this is a true story. If you're like me, you'll also admire the depth and beauty of the relationship between these two who sailed together into the unknown. Shepard summed it up when, near the end of the voyage, he read a passage he'd written in to the log of MINI: "Some day some boy will ask me, 'Mister, are you a real sailor?' I'll tell him, 'No, but I once crossed an ocean with one."