Media kit

Press

Official language for journalists, producers, podcast hosts, and partners. Use this copy as written. For quotes beyond this kit, email Dave@sailinglifewarriors.com.

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Media contact

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Dave Mortell
Founder / Instructor — Sailing Life Warriors
Dave@sailinglifewarriors.com
(832) 771-3283
NauticEd: instructor profile

Short bio

~90 words

Dave Mortell is a NauticEd Level V Captain Rank Qualified Sailing Instructor/Assessor and PADI scuba instructor who lives and teaches the cruising life aboard a Leopard 45 with his family, Beth and Landon. With 16,000+ nautical miles under the keel — Caribbean, Panama, and the South Pacific, bow now pointed from Vanuatu toward Australia — he helps people trade “someday” for a clearer next step. Sailing Life Warriors: learn, prepare, do life differently.

Long bio

For features and show notes

Dave Mortell grew up with Chicago roots, served in the Air Force, and spent decades in corporate America. Then came a clear decision: do life differently.

In 2022 the family committed to the cruising life. Dave became a NauticEd certified sailing instructor and PADI scuba instructor. They bought a 2021 Leopard 45 and cast off in March 2023. Since then they have logged 16,000+ nautical miles — Florida through the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and across the South Pacific — and are now in the Vanuatu → Australia chapter of the voyage.

Dave teaches the way he cruises: practical, calm, and honest about what actually matters when you are away from the marina comfort blanket. Credentials include NauticEd Level V Captain Rank Qualified Sailing Instructor/Assessor, American National Standards Instructor/Assessor, SLC Instructor/Assessor, Travel & Roving Instructor, and PADI scuba instructor.

Beth brings the people-sense and the “we can figure this out” energy that makes a boat a home. Landon (“Lando”) is homeschooled on the move, with a front-row seat to what it means to grow up with the world as classroom.

Sailing Life Warriors is not theory from the dock. It is instruction, consulting, and story from a family living the miles — for people ready to learn, prepare, and do life differently.

Boilerplate

About Sailing Life Warriors

Sailing Life Warriors is a family living and teaching the cruising life aboard a Leopard 45, with 16,000+ nautical miles under the keel and the bow pointed from Vanuatu toward Australia. Most people keep the sailing dream in a someday folder. They took it to sea.

The work is practical: NauticEd sailing instruction (crew foundations through catamaran, bareboat/SLC, and offshore preparation), cruising consulting for people who want clarity before they cast off, and story from a life underway. Not theory from the dock. Real weather. Real systems. Real decisions.

The Life Warrior idea is quieter than it sounds: you own the outcome. You prepare. You choose. You keep going when the plan gets edited by weather, gear, or timing.

Media contact: Dave Mortell — Dave@sailinglifewarriors.com — sailinglifewarriors.com

Fact sheet

At a glance

Sailing Life Warriors facts
Miles logged	16,000+ nautical miles
Vessel	2021 Leopard 45 catamaran — home and training platform
Current chapter	Vanuatu → Australia
Voyage so far	Florida (March 2023) → Caribbean → Panama Canal → South Pacific
Crew	Dave, Beth, and Landon (“Lando”) Mortell
Instruction	NauticEd Level V Captain Rank Qualified Sailing Instructor/Assessor
Additional credentials	ANS Instructor/Assessor · SLC Assessor · Travel & Roving Instructor
Diving	PADI scuba instructor
Offers	Sailing instruction · Cruising consulting · Books (forthcoming)
Booking / NauticEd	NauticEd instructor profile + sailinglifewarriors.com/m/bookings
Shop	sailing-life-warriors.myshopify.com
Media email	Dave@sailinglifewarriors.com

Talk topics

Conversations we can hold well

Do life differently — from the deck of a life underway

Why most sailing dreams stay in a someday folder, and what it actually takes to take them to sea.

Skills that travel when the charter ends

What matters away from the marina comfort blanket: weather, systems, and real decisions.

Clarity before you cast off

Boats, budgets, skills, timing, and family fit — consulting the dream before money hits a broker.

Family cruising aboard a Leopard 45

Shared watch, homeschool underway, and building a life (not just a passage plan) at sea.

NauticEd pathways from a passage-proven instructor

Crew foundations, catamaran certification, bareboat/SLC, and offshore preparation — taught by someone living the miles.

What “Life Warrior” actually means

You own the outcome. You prepare. You choose. Resilience over perfection — without the hard-warrior pose.

Assets

Logo and headshot downloads

Authentic Sailing Life Warriors marks from sailinglifewarriors.com — not a replacement logo. Use the black versions on light backgrounds and the white versions on dark. Print-quality studio headshots are still forthcoming.