"WEST OF THE EQUATOR" is a satirical account of one man's spiritual journey in search of Paradise, as told by his spirit guide, Ian - formally a well seasoned West Indian merchant sailor who narrates the story of a Chicago stock trader who goes to the West Indies and buys a 75' catamaran to set out in search of ultimate happiness — Paradise. Instead, he finds - a female captain who turns out to be the love of his life, chaos, mayhem, and eventually true happiness - only after he's contracted a tropical illness, been imprisoned for an illegal substance for ten days which turns out to be sage tea, shot in the foot in a shoot out between the Gendarmes and two drug dealers, caught at sea in the hurricane of the century and he doesn't know how to sail, and stripped of absolutely everything he owns along the way. In this humbled state, he discovers that he is in fact the island, his life the vessel, and that everything he'd ever truly needed had been aboard all along. A very fun, satirical look at life in Paradise and the Zen of sailing.

"WEST OF THE EQUATOR: In Search of Paradise" is published by Frederick Fell publishing (www.fellpub.com) released October, 2005 and will be produced as a major motion picture in 2006 by Paradise Productions - Producer Jeff Apple ("The Recruit" & "In the Line of Fire"), to be directed by Ted Kotcheff ("Law & Order," "Weekend at Bernies," & "Switching Channels")
 

"In West of the Equator, sailing is the perfect venue within which Rob, the trader from Chicago, learns through a spectacular set of circumstances to open his mind to a higher level of existence and come to peace with himself. But, only after surviving against the odds the strongest hurricane to hit the West Indies in decades, drug dealers, a smitten fiancee, corruption, but most of all, himself. He is able to shed the weight of his former existence through learning that the magic of life is in the journey, not the destination. The proof of this, as shown to Rob through the adventure of sailing, the wild ways of the Caribbean, and one very special woman, is something we all need to understand better. West of the Equator does this magnificently and makes for a great read."

Scott Franz - Owner of the infamous classic yacht, Ticonderoga