Meet Captain Rob
This is your Captain speaking
A biography of Captain Rob Mathews
When you listen to Rob's voice mail greeting you hear an excited New Zealand accent. You also get an insight into his lifestyle I'm either on the water, in the water or under the water. It also gives you an idea of why Rob made Hawaii his home over sixteen years ago.
Rob is a true ocean junky. The longest period of time he has spent away from the ocean in the last 20 years has been six days and that was when he was rafting the Grand Canyon.
It was never his long term strategy to carve a career from the sea. If that had been the plan I doubt he would have spent seven years at university obtaining two degrees (chemistry/psychology and chemical engineering). As Rob quips, I had too many hobbies and no money. So I just figured out a way to make my hobbies pay for themselves.
As a result of that philosophy, Rob owned and managed a surf and ski shop, manufactured surfboards, windsurfers and fiberglass panels for hot rods. He become a Padi scuba instructor and a boat captain delivering boats around the world, logging over 25,000 open ocean miles. And oddly enough, his interest in investing lead to a successful career on Wall Street that spanned twelve years.
Rob works the weirdest hours of anyone you'll likely ever meet. When asked how and why he does it, Rob said, The US market opens at 3:30 am Hawaii time, the foreign exchange markets trade 24-hours. I've been doing it so long now I don't even think about it. I go bed about 8:30 most nights. If I'm up past 10:00 pm I run around high-fiving people like I'm a party animal. As long as I get a four hour stretch of sleep at night and a nap during the day, I'm golden.With a laugh and a slight wink, Rob added, It also pays for my expensive hobbies.
Rob's adventures and travels have taken him from the war-torn shores of Timor to the cut-throat world of Wall Street. Along the way he has amassed a world class arsenal of colorful stories which he eagerly shares. A bit embarrassed, Rob chuckled, I do what I love and get paid to tell stories...it doesn't get better than that.If you were to ask Rob if a secret to success exists, you'll get an I'mmediate and emphatic answer. Heck, yeah. Passion! Follow your passion with unwavering belief and success will find you.
Rob's passion and his love affair with the ocean are evident on every charter. He exudes a happy, confident excitement. He has a gift with sharing his energy and making people comfortable in and around the ocean. In Rob's words, I really get off on feeling peoples energy and excitement go off the Richter scale. It's an amazing thing.
Rob is in Pig Heaven with Dreamer Yacht Charters one of the last small-group niche operators in Hawaii. The groups are small so you can interact, meet people, tell some stories and really have fun. Rob laughed when he told the stories of several trips this year of guests that could not swim. Introducing those folks to the underwater world was a life changing experience for them. When they climbed back aboard their excitement changed the energy of the whole boat. It's was a mind blower I guess, that's why I love what I do.
After the day's charters, while the sun still shines, you'll find Rob surfing, diving, playing tennis, reading, or attempting to write travel articles.
