Media release.

Vancouver Island, Canada, resident bluewater sailor, adventurer and authorAndrew W. Gunson has just released his latest title,

SLOW BOAT TO PANAMA: Mexico to the Galapagos and Panama. The fourth book in Gunson’s “Naked Canadian cruising series” chronicling his latest deep sea voyage sailing on a 53 foot ketch, Maiatla II, to the enchanted Isles of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands.

Andrew and his eager crew depart Chiapas, Mexico on the Pacific coast, determined to cross the 1000 miles of trackless open ocean that lay between them and their intended destination, the legendary Galápagos archipelago that straddles the equator some 660 miles off the coast of Ecuador.

Despite months of meticulous planning and preparation, from the onset, the crew is plagued with light winds then mechanical breakdowns which would culminate with the loss of their navigational computer followed by the failure of the vessels main engine. Powerless with the nearest land being over 500 miles away, the captain and crew struggle against strong equatorial currents that seemed determined to sweep the vessel past their intended destination and out into the vastness of the great Pacific Ocean.

Then as they approached the outer reaches of the Galápagos Islands, a series of vicious gales and lightning storms materialize with the south-east winds which seem to conspire with the currents, threatening to drive the stricken vessel ashore, to shipwreck the Maiatla and her crew upon a desolate volcanic isle ruled by marine iguanas and lumbering tortoises.

Undeterred, the crew battles on until a full 11 days after departing  Mexico, the Maiatla drops anchor in the protected waters of Puerto Baquarizo  on San Cristóbal Island, Galapagos, just in time for Christmas celebrations but there is little time for sightseeing as the vessel required repairs. With visitors permit in hand, Andrew and Janet Gunson along with a cast of crew, would spend the following three months exploring and island hopping throughout Galápagos.

Join the Gunsons and crew as they ride horses up an active volcano and tour the hinterlands of one of the world’s great tropical islands, Isla Isabela. Or harness up and strap yourself in as they repel hundreds of meters down and ancient magma tube.  Wander with giant free roaming tortoises. Swim with black marine iguanas, green sea turtles, sting rays, hammerhead sharks, playful sea lions and precocious Antarctic penguins.

Take a mid ocean skinny-dip hundreds of miles from land accompanied by hundreds of friendly bottle nose dolphins and a pod of pilot whales. There is never a dull moment for the crew of the Maiatla as they attempt to complete the final leg of a four year journey from Vancouver Canada to the gateway of the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal.

Andrew and Janet Gunson have been married for over thirty years and have been liveaboard sailors and cruisers for almost as long. Their home of choice is a 53 foot center cockpit sailboat named Maiatla where for 10 years they lived and raised two children in various locations along the British Columbia coast while ranging as far south as Mexico and west to the Hawaiian islands, adventures that would later come to print in the Voyage of the Maiatla with the Naked Canadian and The Tahiti Syndrome Hawaiian Style. 

Their most recent voyage commenced in October of 2012, which saw them departing Ladysmith harbour, Canada, bound southward along the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. Over the subsequent three years, they ventured further south on a quest, visiting México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and then Costa Rica. After a disastrous run-in with corrupt customs officials, and with his arm in a sling and a damaged boat, they fled Costa Rica during a gale to run 805 kilometres (500 miles) north up the coast, reaching the safety of Chiapas, México.

Slow Boat to Panamá: México to the Galápagos Islands and Panamá, is the tale of the continuation of this voyage, their fourth season exploring Central America—a journey which would prove to be their most thrilling voyage to date. 7”x10” paperback. 426 pages and 117 pictures and maps.

Slow Boat to Panamá: México to the Galápagos Islands and Panamá, along with Gunson’s other titles are available in hard copy or eBook version from Amazon.ca. or at your local retailers of nautical books.

Order direct from the Author and save! @ gunsonaj@hotmail.com

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