IN LATITUDES
'Carodon' in 40 feet of crystal-clear Channel Islands water. Left: Light-air departure from the Bay in December. Above: Ashore, parents bring home the bacon. Afloat, Mom brings home the lobster. Right: Catie shares a rainbow and a smile with Sawyer.
ALL PHOTOS CARODON
If you think 'Rock the Boat' is hard at home, try it on a rocking boat!
for COVID), so I was super grateful that our cruising meant learning to swim, even if it was in a wetsuit. He was stoked just to be in crystal-clear water where he could see kelp and fish, and he spent lazy winter days swimming laps around the boat at anchor, moving to stay warm but never complaining because there was just so much to see. He also enjoyed collecting mussels for dinner and searching the beaches for a shark tooth or other treasure from the sea. During this journey I had two amazing crew off and on, both extremely comfortable and capable cold-water swimmers. Catie Barr recently graduated from college and was on a traveling fellowship, where we met both working on the tall ship Matthew Turner in 2021. She essentially was able to extend her travel fellowship by
becoming my crew for the winter. Catie embraced learning to sail and surf with determination and endless enthusiasm. Jack McDonnell, my local diver and boat neighbor, brought great positive energy, surfing and musical talent to the boat. He tried his hand at spearfishing and exploring the underwater kelp forests, where a healthy ecosystem seems to thrive. When there was surf, he took advantage of that, too. I took the opportunity to learn to wing foil, and the winter winds provided perfect opportunities to practice what turned out to be an awesome new sport; quite addictive once you get up on the foil! It was a proper adventure sailing the Islands in wintertime: much more weather-dodging than in summertime — yet the small challenges of doing it in winter
were totally manageable considering how much fun we all had … I'm already scheming the next trip we might do together (Hawaii? Japan?). At the very least, we would readily sail the Islands again in winter. I may, however, have to get a bigger boat because everyone we met seemed to want to jump on board and join the fun. Even during the haulout, we managed to camp on some pretty awesome beaches and visit some hot springs near Ensenada while Carodon was painted at a fraction of the price we would have paid in the US (for both the haulout and the camping). The haulout in Mexico, wrapped around a winter Islands cruise, really paid off in all ways. If you have a couple of months off and are willing to brave some colder temperatures, I highly recommend it! — Heather 3/20/22 Chaos — Beneteau First 47.7 Kelsey Farber Third Gen Is a Charm (Part 1) Seward, Alaska Growing up in Alaska, we had no shortage of adventure and memories made in the great outdoors. However, nothing compared with the times spent out on the ocean in our Express 34 Expressions. We would leave from our homeport of Seward and head to Prince William Sound for three weeks of amazing adventure. Mom would provision, cook, and clean up after two adults, six kids, and three dogs — in 34 feet of space. Fast-forward to many years later. Now a mother of two daughters of my own, I have had the honor to sail that same Express 34 with my husband Stephen over the past few years. Stephen spent his life developing a love and passion for whitewater kayaking, and spent every free moment at the river. He had no prior sailing experience, but a great respect for the water and an eagerness to learn made it easier for my stepdad, Mark, who had an -AY s
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