Airdate: Living the Dream

Nine will screen a new lifestyle series Living the Dream, in which husband and wife /producers Dan and Maxine pose the question, “Have you ever dreamed of escaping your life and sailing off into the sunset?”

Dan and Maxine are rookie sailors who quit their stressful TV jobs, buy a boat and sail a thousand nautical miles from their home in Sydney to explore the Whitsunday Islands for five months.

The result is a unique piece of film making that is part reality show and part travelogue and showcases a disarmingly honest account of the meltdowns, breakdowns and nerve-wracking close calls they encounter.

Maxine says: “The real challenge of making the series came in editing it after the filming was done. Coming face-to-face with our own frailties was confronting, but Dan and I made a pact that the story was king and the viewers deserved to see us both at our most vulnerable.”

Highlights of their five-part adventure include close encounters with some of Australia’s majestic water mammals, helping out with a turtle rescue, and a visit to Shaggers Rendezvous, known as “schoolies for old people”.

Living the Dream is sure to be an inspiration for lounge lizards everywhere to get up off the couch and follow their dreams.

Episode 1
Strong winds and a relentless current force rookie sailors Maxine and Dan to turn back on Day One of their great sailing adventure. Undeterred, Dan pushes on without Maxine, overcoming a mechanical problem with the sail drive to finally reach the Whitsunday Islands. Reunited at Airlie Beach, the couple have a heartwarming encounter with a whale and her calf and Maxine takes a dip, ignoring warnings of hammerhead sharks.

3:30pm Saturday, January 27 on Nine.