With huge sadness we sold Rainbow fortunately to a wonderful man. Neil Ritchie, an Optometrist in Auckland and a reserve naval officer attracted by Rainbow's history was the perfect owner for our boat, totally dedicated and willing to invest a considerable amount of money many times more than we had originally paid to take care of her ageing needs. Rainbow is still in their family today and now at a ripe old age of 105 years old is moored in the Tamaki estuary in Auckland and often seen sailing on the beautiful Waitamata Harbour.

Rainbow Yacht Charters, (of course) from humble beginnings with one 20ft trailer sailer, not that far removed from our original fibreglass sloop grew over the following twenty five years to be the South Pacific's largest operation with some 40 yachts ranging from 26ft to 51ft based in Auckland, Bay of Islands, Fiji's Yasawa Islands and Tonga's Vava'u group.

All that experience making Rainbow ready for sea and the ongoing sailing experiences stood us in great stead. What we had desired in a boat, not just for sailing but also for living comfortably aboard we incorporated in our designs, we built the boats ourselves, We created a ship yard. We sold the boats to private owners offering an investment and personal use opportunity with none of the headaches of maintenance. We rented the boats and returned an income to the owners. We had found a faultless formulae. And one that was a lot of fun doing exactly that which incorporated all the things that made our own hearts sing and in so doing brought happiness and unique experience to people who like us once before had only ever dreamed of taking command of their own boat. Our two children, Justin and Tasha lived very much an outdoor life, they grew up with web feet, sailing terms as part of their vocabulary and boat handling as natural and competently as other children use roller skates.

There were many adventures along the way - we weathered stormy seas much like that first night out from Canada except this time within the realms of business. We rose to dizzying heights during the 1984 heyday of the share market boom as owners of a major national tourism business that operated some 100 rental cars and motorhomes, the fleets of yachts and motor cruisers throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and had began to purchase land to build country club resorts in three locations. Eventually, with the share market and the economy in ruins around us and having held on longer than most new corporates, we had to come to grips with the $1.6m overdraft.

One night of real fear of how to deal with such a debt led me to serious prayer for help from God. There was no one else! At four in the morning I awoke with a solution in my head and was able to present a reconstruction of the business to the bank by noon which resolved all the debt and returned the conglomerate of business enterprises which comprised the Rainbow Group to their original owner/operators.

Starting again with just the boats as our focus and an ageing fleet, Evelyn and I 'just happened' to be able to offer a solution to a fast expanding French yacht building company that needed to sell boats, together we remodelled and re-equipped our fleets with modern new boats and the adventure began again. Not only did we offer weekly sail yourself (affectionately called 'bare-boat' vacations, we offered sailing schools with fleets of match boats and also off shore sailing adventures twice yearly between New Zealand and Tonga and Fij with fleets of re positioning boats.

However, all good things come to an end. Our growth and public awareness internationally caught the eye simultaneously of the world's two largest charter boat fleet operators both vying for the South Pacific destination and we fell for the seduction of a merger. In truth it was the only solution to our own growth and continuous seasonal cashflow difficulties.

All went well until 'something' came to get me. Clearly my time for playing around with boats was up and I was called by what I can only describe as my soul to begin a new life. It started slowly and innocuously enough with a strange encounter in Aspen, Colorado. This experience opened my eyes to a new and distant horizon that I had not been able to see before. In the New Zealand business and tourism world I was well known, in a small country you cannot stay in the same business for twenty five years without making many friends and my world was very much of my own creation. This encounter rocked me with a new perspective which was much like Pandora's box for although initially I did not take it seriously or heed, circumstances and people starting appearing and adding to and extending what had been offered.

No, I am not going to tell you what it was, you can discover it for yourself if really interested - the website of my present adventure - www.wayoftheheart.net has it all under the 'About Us' section.

Suffice to say that a year later while cruising the Canal du Sud in the south of France, I encountered a Voice inside to which I had hitherto been unaware. Over a week this quiet, yet persistent voice left me in no doubt that I was following a path that would not benefit myself or anyone else to the fullest extent possible and that I had to make a choice. There was, as I have since discovered, never offered any tangible justification nor reasoning, nor any logic to what is suggested or inferred. It is as if the requirement called for by way of entry to this new world is one of pure trust and faith and that the 'test' is whether we accept the challenge.

Without really understanding any of it, Evelyn and I, with no idea of where we were going or what we might 'do' next, decided to let go of our shareholding in Rainbow Yacht Charters to the larger corporate partner and ask to be relieved of the business. After twenty five years we both walked away from the family business which had supported us both in lifestyle and so well with only one two year old laptop as our 'golden handshake'.

Sounds familiar, didn't we do something like once before?

Sometimes life seems to be an endless replay of a series of circumstances that have a common thread, sort of 'Groundhog Day" spread out over time to a point where it is only in hindsight that it becomes apparent that we have been going round and round and never really getting anywhere. Well, in this circumstance my life went from circles to a definite spiral leading to a new level of awareness, consciousness if you like and new experiences which although have a similar and very familiar outward appearance are remarkably life changing on the inside.

"Didn't we have a free skiing week offered to us?" Evelyn asks.

We had purchased a Fiji timeshare a year before and this was the sweetener. I called from the restaurant where we were having lunch and, "Yes" the voice replied, "today is exactly one year since you purchased and the offer expires today".

"We'll take it" and next morning free as two birds released from a cage we flew to Queenstown for a week of fabulous skiing and wonderment.

What we had stepped into in that moment in the restaurant was the beginning of a new way of life. Coincidence or synchronicity, whatever you want to call it. It is powerful and delightful to live in and so different from where we had always been. In the motel we decided to open ourselves further to chance or the spiritual world which was starting to impact on our every move by coming up with a new life and business. We wrote each idea as they came to us on a 'yellow sticky' and stuck them on the door of the bathroom. We agreed that whichever was left still there by check out was that which we would seriously explore.

Some nine 'good' ideas came up. Only one remained at week's end. We had always had the dream to promote the South Seas ad the voyage that Rainbow took through film evenings and to do so in the USA and Canada. Coincidentally, our original voyage had for the most part followed the original 1950 air routes of the Air New Zealand flights in Sunderland flying boats between the US and New Zealand. So we approached them with the great idea and they were enthusiastic. And so was birthed Sailing Tales of the South Pacific.

Why are some undertakings hard and difficult and others flowing with grace and ease? There are times when you know that what you have done is the right thing. It is blatantly obvious that support is coming from somewhere else and you can do nothing wrong. In less that three months we had TVNZ build us a beautiful one hour documentary with awesome sound track of evocative island music from accumulated footage donated by grateful island tourist offices and film archives. We designed a very flexible and easily erected yet very professional stage setting, built versatile equipment suitable for presentation to crowds in ballrooms and theatres or small groups in miniature venues. We wrote copy, designed and printed a beautiful twenty page brochure to accompany the presentation and through enthusiastic sources we found sufficient funding to pay for everything and still had funds left over for the hire of a motor-home in the US for five months.

Evelyn, our 17 year old daughter Tasha and I flew with 1100 kilos excess baggage to the USA to mount a major promotion that would cover some 4,500 miles and introduce the South Seas and sailing as a way of life to thousands. I recall some 3,500 people come to the shows. Originally we tried just the film as a stand alone event but after three showings realised the audience needed a personal touch. Evelyn and I become stage presenters and took the show to another level retelling in concert with the film the very journey that you have read through in this book. What a pity Rainbow Goes To Sea wasn't available at that time.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind from every event no matter whether we had 2OO plus people or just 2 and yes, we did have a few of those, was that always someone would come up to shake our hands and tell us that we had changed their lives through our courage and our tale, giving them the encouragement to break from the conformity of everyday life to move into trust and faith and do what their hearts were crying out for. Not necessarily following the dream of running away to sea but just striking out for personal freedom in some form or another.

Little did we know then that we were again being set up. By the time we reached the mid west the audience attendance and interest had seriously dropped, most not even caring there was such a place as the South Pacific and 'New Zealand' became very much a place that was located off the coast of Canada somewhere in the Atlantic. Scary but true. Our funds were at an all time low, the residual money was almost exhausted and out time of contract with the airline supporting the travel costs was over. What to do?

At what turned out to be our last night of presentations in Flagstaff, Arizona we were advised by some very persuasive people to go to the close by town of Sedona for the Easter break - they even helped by organising us with parking with friends alongside beautiful Oak Creek that runs through the town and magnificent red rock canyons. Perhaps we should have been suspicious? We went and they were right, we were enchanted. It is hard not to be awed by such magnificence. The great red rocks and awe inspiring canyons at the end of what is geologically known as the California plateau are comprised of iron oxide and produce a palpable energy field that every visitor to Sedona can feel.

That evening after discovering a flyer in the local grocery shop, I took myself to a channelling evening. Someone was bringing through information for a new book to be written. I was curious, Evelyn stayed home. It was very interesting all the more because of the supernatural nature of the way the message was 'delivered' and the incredible information that was given. Highly sceptical but very impressed I asked the man who brought the message through to join us for breakfast next morning as much because there was no way I was going to be able to establish any credibility with Evelyn if I tried to explain what I had heard.

This was the day my life changed. Events and circumstances that had been leading to this point from the moment I had the Aspen experience culminated that morning in a local diner over breakfast. I was set up. No doubt about it.

Robert Shapiro, almost as wild a man as Dennis Langtry who sold us Rainbow, see there it is again, stood over the table and looked down at us. The restaurant was full. Our booth was at the far end of the room. Robert's booming voice first asked,

"Well, what are you going to do?"

I said "Good Morning",

Robert repeated his question. Other diners looked around. Clearly he said,

"Your present venture has come to an end, obviously you have no future and you are broke, on top of that your relationship has almost run its course!"

I noticed that many diners were shrinking under their tables in case he turned on them next but he was just there for us.

It took a bit to swallow where this was all going and unfortunately what he had said certainly rang of truth yet he had never met us other than the few words I spoke with him the night before. Robert finally sat down and a lot of people started to breathe again. I asked if he had any suggestions and he asked another question,

"Don't you think it's time to give back?"

"Give what and to whom, you have just highlighted that we have nothing much left." I responded.

"You have been here for almost fifty years, in that time you have had many experiences and gained much wisdom about how the world operates, it is time to offer that experience back to where it came from - God".

Now, this was a struggle. "OK, so how would we even begin to do that?" I asked, trying to buy time to find a way out of this.

He suggested we determine what we wanted in life, then visit the Airport Vortex (one of the more powerful energy centres in Sedona) and tell the Universe want we could offer to it not we wanted to get but what we could actually give.

Once we had put our offer forward we should then leave town and let the Universe take care of it. Little did we know how short a time that was to be.

After spending the better part of that day talking and meditating on what the sum of our lives up until that time had really been about and what we could each separately offer 'back' we both determined that we would like to play a role in the expansion of this new, to us, arena of Spirituality in some communication way and offered to dedicate our lives to help spread the word.

Ten days later we met O'Ryin Swanson, publisher and originator of SEDONA Journal of EMERGENCE! a well-respected ten year old New Age magazine, who had a mission to expand the publication of her Journal into Australia and New Zealand. She asked if we were the ones she had been looking for!!! How strange, it was her house that I visited that night where I met Robert. It certainly wasn't what we had in mind but then it seldom comes as we envisage does it? With no understanding of the publishing business, of spirituality, of how to select content, or any funding we accepted the challenge, and from the moment we said 'Yes' our lives changed. Literally within the hour Spirit had us on a 'fast track' programme of education into the myriad of pathways into the world of the New Age.

Evelyn and I embarked upon this new adventure with all the curiosity and willingness of a couple of innocents with no idea of what lie ahead. From that April in 1996, my wife and I went into an amazing series of life changes and exciting shifts in consciousness that continue for me to this day. Concluding our promotional activities as promised it was in late May we returned to New Zealand in possession of a complete spiritual magazine that was ready to be offered to a a new market, if indeed one existed.

On return to New Zealand, not knowing the market potential, we were amazed when we assembled a mailing list of 10,000 names in just six weeks. Coincidence after coincidence led us from person to person and into a world that seemingly had existed side by side to the sailing business that we had been completely unaware of.

Using past experience of marketing intangible objects such as a sailing holiday, we used the remains of our funds producing a flyer to mail that offered a subscription to this new magazine. I totally overlooked the need for the money to fund stamps for the 10,000 postage and we were completely broke.

Imagine then our astonishment two days later when the New Zealand Post Office offered, for the first time in the country's history, a one-day-only FREE POST offer! For us that was a gift of $5,000 worth of stamps. Out went our offer with our 10,000 handwritten addressed envelopes. Within two weeks we had received some 650 subscriptions providing nearly $50,000 of start up capital. We started to once again believe that we were doing what was right. Life is all about trust.

By November, I knew the Journal had to be based in Australia. I also knew that it was a time to make another change in my life releasing our 28 year old marriage bonds. While my passion was aroused by the new world and people I was meeting, for Evelyn who had the responsibility of getting this monthly publication together, life had become an endless and exhausting task which while she excelled at it, she never really had the same emotional passion to a spiritual awakening. We had come to a parting of the ways. Circumstances once again created the motivation in the most bizarre way but I could not resist the beckoning. After so many years, a lifetime of adventure together, of highs and lows and two beautiful grown up children it was a most difficult time for us both and as I was the instigator I felt the emotional impact of leaving for years afterwards.

In February of 1997, I brought the Journal to Australia. Since then the spiral of growth, both personal and with the Journal and the accompanying business has continued unabated. Together with Suzanne, a wonderful Australian lady who shared my new found excitement I have had my second bite of the fruit of life. Another ten years have past on an even wilder roller coaster of a ride than that of the previous experience.

Suzanne and I now live on the Gold Coast close to Brisbane, Queensland and continue to produce a publication to satisfy a growing readership of this ever expanding circle of people desperate to discover what life is all about and willing to go beyond traditional religious boundaries to find out.

We have a vibrant spiritual travel business that keeps us annually globetrotting to Israel and Egypt, France and other sites of spiritual interest, we offer our own Retreats and workshops both annually in Bali and in Sedona.. How much better than this can it get?

Most importantly we are personally experiencing incredible shifts in our consciousness, almost it seems, in tandem to the frequency of the Journal. Each shift presents us with experiences and understanding that are then supported by beautiful articles and wisdom from teachers and spiritual leaders around the world. Our experiences form the themes that shape the Journal. Like sailing into the unknown, it is an amazing journey that keeps expanding ahead of us.

We now know that our role is to fully expand the exploration into higher consciousness that is occurring throughout society and to provide a variety of non-religious, non sectarian information that will support people. Our aim is to provide our readers with the confidence to take back their power, accept responsibility for what occurs in their lives, understand that life is totally their own manifestation and that as grand spiritual beings having an human experience, they have the power within them to bring Heaven to Earth in every moment.

The journey into consciousness, the awakening of the soul and the experiences that I have passed through shedding behaviour patterns as I return to acknowledging the Power under whose auspices I live and breathe really have been beyond ordinary comprehension.

How could I have ever imagined such an adventure would eventuate from that original experience in Aspen, meeting a funny little man in a bookshop?

So to cut short an otherwise incredible tale of adventure and intrigue into a world that is so different from the lives that many lead and perhaps in so doing ruin a perfectly great way to start a new book, we'll leave it at that.

As a final note to sum up when someone once posed to me the big question, "Why are you here?" I can answer...


Thank you for sharing this life with me and the adventures of the little boat, Rainbow that led me to an Awakening in Consciousness that has made this life one of the best gifts of which I could ever imagine having been the recipient. Until we meet again then, bon voyage ...and oh yes, the new book, The Power of WOW has been already been started.