Positive story of determination

Storms Ahead    Rick Dodson: America's Cup champion to Paralympian
by Rebecca Hayter 
 
This is the story of Richard (Rick) Dodson, and his unbridled enthusiasm and zest for life. 
    At the peak of his career, as an America's Cup sailor, he began to notice episodes of double vision, which were the first signs of MS. This, in time, would relentlessly rob him of his marriage, his business, and his beloved sailing, which had seen him become two times world champion.
    He was part owner of North Sails, perhaps the most technologically advanced sailmakers in the world. He thought he was happily married with two young children, but MS changed all that. His marriage ended, his sailing career was over, and day by day, the disease robbed him of his ability to do what he loved doing, sailing.
    Rick hid the disease from his sailing mates, until he could no longer function fully as a team member. When he became unable to compete with able bodied people his enthusiasm drove him to became a Paralympian in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 
    Do not think that this is a tragic tale, rather it is a story of a man who always saw the positive side in everything, and by sheer determination became an Paralympian. The book tells the story of support from family, from the sailing world, its sponsors, and most of all the lifelong mates he had made during his sailing career.
    The author gained insights into Rick’s world by extensive interviews with family, and many leading sailors of his era.
    It is a book that inspires the reader, and makes the problems and issues in our life seem small in comparison.

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Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Storms Ahead – Rick Dodson: America's Cup champion to Paralympian
Author: Rebecca Hayter 
Publisher:  Oceanspirit Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-473-67675-9
RRP: $39.95
Available: print: Boat Books, Paperplus & www.rebeccahayter.co.nz
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