BOOK
Follow your heart, but watch your back!
Have you ever wanted to get away? Away from it all?
To live simply in nature – away from the things of man?
Dreaming of a better life “out there” award-winning author, Danny Fitz, and his girlfriend, Sam, set out upon a sailing and cycling expedition in the autumn of 2003 that would inspire millions of young adventurers to stop and smell the roses while they are most fragrant.
But when their witty romp to paradise gets rudely interrupted by some shocking news, Danny suddenly finds himself in uncharted waters. From the jungle coves of Mexico aboard a tiny sloop to the top of the Swiss Alps on a tandem bicycle, this tawdry tale of treachery comes with a complimentary happy ending.
Xpedition – A Sailing And Cycling Shocker
Copyright © 2022 by Danny Fitz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For information pertaining to permission requests and speaking engagements, please contact: engagements@xpeditionbook.com.
For all other business matters, please write to the publisher at the following address:
Cruising Life, Inc.
4727 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 601
Los Angeles, CA. 90010-3873
U.S. Library of Congress Registration Number: Txu-2-311-192
Hardcover: ISBN 979-8-9868542-0-5
Paperback: ISBN 979-8-9868542-1-2
eBook: ISBN 979-8-9868542-2-9
Audiobook: ISBN 979-8-9868542-3-6
Edited by Elizabeth Fuller
Cover Design by Cherie Fox
eBook Production by Digital Conversion Laboratories
Audiobook Sound Engineering by Foxtail Sound
Nor’Sea 27 layout courtesy of bluewaterboats.org
My love for you is deeper than any ocean; may you always follow your heart.
Special thanks to my wonderful wife, Darcy,
for supporting me in telling a story
from another time in my life
the way it needed to be told.
With gratitude to Samantha and her family.
Chapter 1: Windows
Chapter 2: Decisions
Chapter 3: The Right Boat
Chapter 4: Loose Ends
Chapter 5: The Baja Ha-Ha
Chapter 6: Shoving Off
Chapter 7: Underway
Chapter 8: The Mega-Pod
Chapter 9: Clobbered
Chapter 10: The Beach Party
Chapter 11: The Final Leg
Chapter 12: Misery Loves Company
Chapter 13: Chumming for Coffee Pots
Chapter 14: The Pie-o-neer
Chapter 15: The Stowaway
Chapter 16: The Port Captain
Chapter 17: Paradise Found
Chapter 18: High Tension on No Worries
Chapter 19: Jurassic Park
Chapter 20: The Wicked Passage
Chapter 21: The Peace
Chapter 22: Jeep
Chapter 23: The Return of Grouchy
Chapter 24: The Pristine Stretch
Chapter 25: The Ice Run
Chapter 26: The Perfect Anchorage
Chapter 27: Honeycomb Cove
Chapter 28: Befriending a Wizard
Chapter 29: The Prison Reef
Chapter 30: Schooled by Experts
Chapter 31: The Shocking News
Chapter 32: Taking it Back
Chapter 33: The Surprise
Chapter 34: The Next Flight to Brussels
Chapter 35: Amsterdamn
Chapter 36: Fantasyland
Chapter 37: The Donau Radweg
Chapter 38: Steel Skies Over the Iron Curtain
Chapter 39: Alpenblow
Chapter 40: The Great Italian Downhill
Chapter 41: Gardaland
Chapter 42: Tears of Joy in a Floating City
Chapter 43: Under The Tuscan Bush
Chapter 44: Swiss Bliss
Chapter 45: Fondue Rendezvous
Chapter 46: The Ultimate Campsite
Chapter 47: Europapark
Chapter 48: The Forest Elf
Chapter 49: Birthplace of a River
Chapter 50: The Victory Party
Chapter 51: The Verdict
Chapter 52: Settling Up in Sedona
Epilogue: Sailing Into Lightning
Based on a true story, from a few decades ago…
Names have been changed to avoid getting sued (again) or worse…
The following work depicts actual events in the life of the author, written as truthfully as recollection permits, with the author’s opinions expressed throughout. No accusations, criminal, civil, or social, are being made herein against any party or character depicted in this book, living or dead. Names and identifying characteristics have been changed and/or removed to respect their privacy and avoid defamation of character, explicitly or implicitly implied. The sole intent of the author and the literary work is to tell a truthful story without harming or disparaging anyone or anything.
By the dawn of the third millennium, cruisers, history’s most decadent breed of explorer, plundered paradise purely for pleasure. With a fishing pole in one hand and a cocktail in the other – they quietly ruled the world.
Emboldened by technologies that would have astounded early explorers, they paraded around a predominantly peaceful planet. Up until recent times, the seas were uncharted, the natives were hostile, and owning a seaworthy vessel, let alone having the means to venture upon it, was unfathomable for the average man. That all changed. In the wake of globalization, cruisers took the helm.
Aboard fiberglass kingdoms of exquisite grace they crossed great oceans chasing the sun, to the distant anchorages of the brave new world where the fruits of paradise still hung. For at some point in history, impossible to pinpoint precisely when, the cannibals of yesteryear began accepting credit cards in lieu of eating men.
AUTHOR
Danny Fitz is an American writer and motivational speaker that lives in Northern California with his wife, Darcy, and son, Luke. He and Sam remain friends to this day.
Through edge-of-your-seat narration, occasionally witty humor, and a tenacity for extreme travel, Danny’s goal is to inspire his readers to do something remarkable with their lives – no matter what perils may befall them.
His follow-up book, The Corporate Pirate, chronicles a sailing trip down the East Coast and an RV trip back to California while holding a corporate job. Once again, Danny is caught up in a real estate debacle when he finds out the house he’s in contract to buy was the scene of Arizona’s worst health violation. Wait, what? Rat and tarantula hoarding?
Danny Fitz was raised in Dixon, California and has one sibling, a brother named Tim. After graduating from Dixon High School, he attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where he graduated from the School of Engineering with a minor in German. To finance his education he interned at an aerospace company in California and an automotive company in Munich, Germany.
After several years working for large corporations, at age 27 Danny Fitz co-founded Fluid Solutions Inc., an industrial automation hardware and software company with pump controllers, VFD controllers, programmable logic controllers, and alarm notification software. After global success, Fluid Solutions was acquired by a market leader in 1999. Danny Fitz has since spent decades leading sales and marketing business units, writing scripts for video productions and global marketing campaigns for large corporations.
Danny Fitz has always had an affinity for writing – winning awards and accolades throughout his life. After taking an adventurous break from the corporate world in 2003, the subject of the book Xpedition – A Sailing and Cycling Shocker, Danny felt inspired to encourage others to take a transformational journey, especially at a young age. Authors that inspire Danny’s writing style and zest for extreme travel include: John Steinbeck, Paul Theroux, and Ernest Hemingway.
Xpedition – A Sailing and Cycling Shocker was published Cruising Life, Inc. in 2022. Danny is currently working on a follow-up book, The Corporate Pirate, that chronicles a sailing trip down the East Coast and an RV trip back to California while holding a corporate job. Once again, Danny is caught up in a real estate debacle when he finds out the house he’s in contract to buy was the scene of Arizona’s worst health violation. Wait, what? Rat and tarantula hoarding?
JOURNEY
S/V Marylee is a modified full-keel aft cockpit Nor’Sea 27 built in 1979. With 3,100 lbs. of molten lead poured into her single piece hull, the Nor’Sea 27 has the strength and stability of yachts twice her size.
And her modest 3’10” draft means she can anchor in the electric blue shallows nearest the beach – where deep draft vessels dare not venture.
Best of all, she was designed by Lyle Hess to be highway legal; she’s a world cruiser that can be trailered like a ski boat.
Greeny is a Rodriguez Tandem bicycle. Having been ridden from Canada to Mexico, Montreal to Boston, and on several tours around Europe, she has over 10,000 miles of fully loaded touring on her.
She’s equipped with front and rear racks, a handlebar bag, a bell, and a drum-style drag brake used to control her speed on steep downgrades.
equipped with front and rear racks, a handlebar bag, a bell, and a drum-style drag brake used to control her speed on steep downgrades.
Greeny is a Rodriguez Tandem bicycle. Having been ridden from Canada to Mexico, Montreal to Boston, and on several tours around Europe, she has over 10,000 miles of fully loaded touring on her.
She’s equipped with front and rear racks, a handlebar bag, a bell, and a drum-style drag brake used to control her speed on steep downgrades.
PHOTOS
REVIEWS
"Exhilaratingly Fun!"
“Highly recommended. One of my all-time favorite adventure-travel thrillers. Xpedition is composed fast-moving vignettes – that takes readers on a joyous ride – and the italicized prose writing style is very clever. This work is destined to become a global best-seller – and hopefully a major motion picture. I laughed so hard my stomach still hurts.”
"Great book!"
“Felt like I was right there with them on their crazy, amazing, and sometimes scary adventures! A must read!”
"A wonderful adventure"
"A whirlwind journey across oceans and continents"
"Awesome book. Great Adventures!"
"A really good book."
"I'm a Danny Fitz fan."
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