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His Ship Came In |
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A sales exec swaps the fast track … for the fast boat
A graduate of UCSD, with a master’s degree from San Diego State, Russell Moore spent a decade in the triathlon/marathon field working for Tinley, and launching sports products for Oakley, among others. “I have always been a salesman—I am a walker and a talker,” says Moore. As the watch brand manager at Oakley, he was on the road 24 out of 30 days, meeting the likes of Michael Jordan, and hanging with Rusty Wallace at NASCAR.
Soon, Moore was recruited by the iconic jeweler David Yurman to expand their luxury watch brands. More first-class travel, a big salary, and even bigger expense account dangled before him. But on a sunny San Diego morning, with his bags packed for New York, he hesitated.
“Suddenly, it felt as if I was selling my soul,” recalls Moore. “I needed the job—I had a mortgage—but I couldn’t keep ignoring the angst that I was meant to be doing something different.”
Moore never got on the plane to New York. Where to, then? Moore didn’t have a clear plan.
But he had been rafting down the Colorado River, and was intrigued that the guides were getting paid to run the rapids and sleep under the stars—no suits in sight. He’d also spent time watching dolphins off the beach of San Diego, so when a job consultant asked him what he would do if money were no object, he answered, “Easy. I would take people out on the ocean and show them all the life that’s just off the San Diego coastline.”
And there it was. But the execution was a whole other story. “I had absolutely no model for what I wanted to do. I didn’t have a captain’s license, a boat, or a budget,” he laughs. He got his license and found a group to help him build his rig, a 24-foot Navy Seal-style Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). Then he got certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to take passengers on his tricked-out machine. “The real satisfaction of the whole process is enjoying the laughter of the guests and seeing the way people connect with the ocean experience.”
With champagne on ice, gourmet snacks, dive and snorkel equipment, and a hot shower on the back, his Xplore boat is an adventure waiting to happen. Moore’s uncanny sixth sense for scouting out the pods of dolphins and breaching whales adds to the party. During summer, magnificent blue whales feed in the waters off San Diego. Witnessing one of these powerful leviathans, four times the length of the boat you’re in, is a trip.
Looking back, Moore admits there were times when he regretted his decision. “When you are self-employed you have to master all aspects of the job, even the things you are not necessarily good at. I am working harder than ever for less money, but I know I am on the right path.”
Moore whisks his wide-grinning guests through the aquatic playground, creating perfect moments and adrenaline-filled memories. Now that he is paying his bills, he freely admits, “I have the greatest job in world.” From swimming with 100-pound blue fin tuna off the Coronado Islands and having a blue whale swim under his boat to helping save an unconscious driver at the Thunderboat Races and untangling a Pacific white-sided dolphin from a lobster trap, every day is an adventure.
Looking to blow your kids’ minds?
Moore’s Xplore boat is like a 6,000 pound jetski that turns on a dime—it’s more fun than any amusement park ride. Kids ride low to the water as the boat zigzags through Mission Bay or they can catch air and skim the wake on his three-person raft towed behind the boat. It’s the ultimate birthday party and a belly-laughing afternoon—one that they will talk about for years to come.
Xplore Offshore, Captain Russell Moore, 858-361-9494, xploreoffshore.com
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