How The Name Was Chosen

Two years ago during a trip to Arizona, I visited an Indian reservation. Walking along a row of small booths from which Indian artifacts were being sold, I stopped at one of the booths. Sitting behind a table in the booth was a wrinkled, leathery faced, old Indian man making silver jewelry. As he looked up he pointed to one of his creations hanging on the booth wall.

It was beautiful in its simplicity. Attached to the netting that he had stretched over a rigid leather hoop were black beads, black feathers and an arrow head. At the bottom of the hoop hung more black beads and feathers. The old man said it was an Indian symbol of great power.

"Everyone needs a Dream Catcher" he said. "When you hang it in the area where you sleep, it will screen out the bad dreams, and filter in the good dreams." I bought it and decided, at that moment, on the name I would give the boat that I hoped to purchase to sail around the world. The name was the perfect tribute to my wife's comment and it reflected the spirit I hoped the voyage would represent - a good dream that had been turned into a good plan.

I named my boat Dream Catcher. It is the boat on which I will pursue and catch my dream. And the Dream Catcher that I purchased from the old man now hangs in the salon of my boat.