THE SILVER ANNIVERSARY Zephyr — Outremer 55 Light Eric Laakmann / Morgan Campbell, Seattle Eric, 28, is a former Apple Watch engineering program manager, while his wife Morgan, 30, is a senior manager in partner marketing. Eric reports that both he and Morgan are lifelong sailors who grew up in cruising families. "I cruised with my family in Mexico and French Polynesia when I was a kid, while Morgan, who is Canadian, cruised Canada's Thousand Islands region, and has also done a Caribbean 1500. "We met about 18 months ago, and fell for each other like a couple of dropped booms," he says. "So hard that we left to sail the Seven Seas. Although when we sailed out the Gate, we turned right instead of left, and faced Neptune's wrath on our way to Seattle. We spent most of the summer cruising to Alaska, where we caught more salmon than we knew what to do with, got chased by brown bears, and went skinny-dipping

'Zephyr'

in melted glacial ice. But we're excited to get warm again." Zephyr is one of the few Outremer 55 Lights built, and she's one of the few French catamarans designed with performance in mind. She'd already been around the world 1½ times when Eric bought her from a family of five in French Polynesia. Their video series is at www.voyageofthezephyr.com. Bow-Tied — Beneteau 45 Philip Jonckheer Palm Beach / Mill Valley + Philip, 66, an investment advisor,

will be sailing south with his son Will, 36, a farmer, friend Mitch Perkins, 63, an ad manager for Latitude 38, friend Jim Tull, 64, a yacht broker, and Dan Theman, 35, a croc wrangler. "We are a group of friends and family brought together by curious circumstances and thrust into the new Stone Age," reports Philip. The Ha-Ha will be a fatherand-son dream sail together, although Dad is also seeking "signs of French culture south of the border." Philip first met 'Torpedo' Tull swimming in a Master's program in Marin, and Tull and 'Perk' met while crewing for the Grand Poobah on his Ocean 71 Big O many moons ago in a hazily remembered Antigua Sailing Week. Philip may not know it, but the closest thing he'll find to French culture south of the border is the iron church at Santa Rosalia that was designed by Gustav Eiffel, who is better known for his tower in Paris. — richard spindler

Sunday, November 18 (2018 Baja Ha-Ha participants.) Door prizes and much more!

November, 2018 •

Latitude 38

• Page 87