As most of you know, one day into our fifteen day journey from New Orleans to Panama, our marine head failed. The crew of Hazel spent the next fourteen days relying on a five gallon bucket to accomplish their daily requirements. One of the first repairs we tackled upon reaching Panama was the marine head. I want to be very clear. Repairing a marine head is the absolute worst job on a boat. I had the privilege of taking on this project, which consumed an entire day. Every hose

Hazel has officially arrived. She is tied up safely at Shelter Bay Marina near Cristóbal/Colón, Panama, the Atlantic gateway to the Panama Canal. As first impressions go, this one was memorable. We met the owner of the marina, who also happens to be the man who built it. He is originally from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and struck up a conversation the moment he spotted Hazel’s home port of Red Wing, Minnesota. A genuinely wonderful man. He even noticed a part on Hazel that needed

Planes Take You From Point “A” to “B.” A Sailboat Takes You Through the Rest of the Alphabet A squall ambushed us today. You can read all you want about them, but until one charges at you in real time, you cannot fully grasp how fast and how fiercely they arrive and then disappear. Hazel was under full sail (main, staysail, and Genoa), happily charging along at 7.5 knots in a steady 20 knots of breeze. Off in the distance, we spotted a long, dark wall. We assumed we had plent