IN LATITUDES Tied's trip from Panama to Florida — in next month's issue. Campbell's Sloop — Catalina 34 Susan Campbell Leap of Faith Dana Point My husband's suggestions when we went boat-shopping were: 1) Don't act too excited when you look at a boat, and 2) Never buy the first boat you see. But as soon as I saw the Catalina 34 in Newport that day — the first boat we looked at — I made the decision to buy. We named her Campbell's Sloop and soon found out she was hull #1! Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I'd soon find out. After repairing 500 blisters and replacing the cracked engine oil pan, Campbell's Sloop was ready for Catalina Island. Eighteen years later, I was doing some racing, as well as charters and teambuilding out of Dana Point. During these outings, I was often asked, "How far have you taken your boat?" My answer for the last 18 years has always been 130 miles south to Ensenada (we do the race every year with an all-woman crew), and about 100 miles north to the Channel Islands. I've read many books about cruising to places all over the world, and have done a couple of charters out of La Paz, but I'd never taken off on a 'real' cruising adventure on my own boat. It had always been my dream to explore the Sea of Cortez with my own boat. For a long time, I never told anyone. Then, at a Christmas party in 2018, I told a friend. Once you speak your dream out loud, things start to happen. I purchased a Sea of Cortez guidebook and some Char-
you 85 feet down to Limon Bay and the Caribbean Sea near Colon. We pulled into a slip at 6 p.m. in Shelter Bay Marina, which is a crossroads, transient marina with 90% sailboats from all over the world. It is a busy, full-service facility with a great bar/restaurant, pool and free shuttle bus for the hourlong ride into Colon for provisioning. A fun way to meet other yachties was bringing a bundle of the latest issue of Latitude 38, which I handed out to those "in the know." I met a family of five from Mill Valley on an Outremer 53 (S/V Archer) Archer
headed to the South Pacific, an Amel 53 Super Maramu from Portola Valley, and a Lagoon 450 from the East Bay. We celebrated our transit with ice-cold Balboa beers and an all-you-can-eat rib dinner. Opened in August, 1914, the Panama Canal is clearly an engineering marvel and definitely a bucket-list event for many sailors. I highly recommend The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough for a great read about its creation. — Jim 4/30/19 Look for Part 2 of this story — Bow
What it feels like when long-held fears of offshore cruising begin to dissipate.
CAMPBELL'S SLOOP
ALL PHOTOS BOW TIED
Below: 'Bow Tied' at anchor. Above left: Oversize fenders come in handy when side-tied to a tug. Above center and right: The 'Bow Tied' crew caught some serious fish. Center: Will with an 85-lb amberjack caught off Panama. Right: Dan does a duet with a 38-lb Pargo snapper in the Caribbean.