Adventure - All Creatures Great & Small

Sheridan Lathe recalls her early experiences sharing her veterinary skills with the locals while on a unique cruise of the Panama islands

- Sheridan Lathe

We looked out at the expectant faces before us: kids with footballs in hand, an elderly woman yelling at the teenage boys to turn down their reggae music, and two dozen dogs ready for their first ever trip to the vet. As the storm clouds began rolling in over our makeshift clinic on a local islander’s porch, with our yacht anchored in the bay in front of us in just one metre of water, we couldn’t help but wonder what exactly we had got ourselves into.

That feeling was typical of our new way of living. After buying our first boat in December 2016, only to poke a hole through the aluminium hull with a toothbrush (more on that later...), we were certainly learning that cruising life was anything but boring.

Chuffed is a 37ft Gamelin Madera, built in France in 1990 and, despite a few challenges, her name reflected how we felt about living aboard: we did indeed feel content and pretty pleased with life.

After living the nine-to-five routine in Australia I decided to take a chance on a unique job providing veterinary care to rescued bears in China. This, in turn, inspired my now ex-husband, Joel, to pursue his dream of working with boats and he managed to land himself a job as an assistant shipwright in Northern Queensland. A year later we decided it was time for us to combine our passions for animals, the ocean and boats, and sold all our material possessions to purchase Chuffed.

There was a lot of work ahead of us before we could reach the islands of Las Perlas. As with many boats bought cheap, Chuffed needed some care and attention before we could cast off. While I was working in China I received an anxious voice message from Joel in Panama.