I’m Beth Campbell. I still don’t feel like I sailor, but I am. I’m 39, was a Property Manager for large apartment communities for 10 or so years before my escape. I love to read and bake and snorkel. I’ve got a lot of dumb dad jokes and I like to laugh. I didn’t grow up on the water, had never really been around boats. Growing up in Castro Valley, CA, the closest I got to a sailboat was gazing down at them as we crossed the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. But I love the water, have always loved to swim and now love sailing because of the new places it can take us.
I’m Beth Campbell. I still don’t feel like I sailor, but I am. I’m 39, was a Property Manager for large apartment communities for 10 or so years before my escape. I love to read and bake and snorkel. I’ve got a lot of dumb dad jokes and I like to laugh. I didn’t grow up on the water, had never really been around boats. Growing up in Castro Valley, CA, the closest I got to a sailboat was gazing down at them as we crossed the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. But I love the water, have always loved to swim and now love sailing because of the new places it can take us.
Damien Campbell is my husband and he’s the reason we’re here. He’s got big dreams and the balls to make them happen. Thank goodness, because I’m so happy we’re here. Damien was born in Los Angeles, but spent most of his life growing up in San Ramon, Ca. Except for one sailing boat mishap on Lake Tahoe when he was about 10, he also didn’t have much boating experience. He’s a hardworking loan officer who gets super intense about the stuff he loves.
Married for almost 8 years, together for 11 years, we met on Match.com. 10 years ago Damien took a sailing class and that was it. In 2009 after kicking cancer’s ass, he bought a boat, named it Sweet Mama and the rest is history. We sailed in SF Bay for 10 years on 6 different boats. There was a lot of sailing fear on my part for the first few years. A lot of fear. Like stomach aches, crying and making up excuses to get out going sailing fear. I’ve realized this is actually super normal and a good response from your body when your life seems to be in danger. Sailing in San Francisco Bay is not easy peasy, sipping champagne sailing. It’s foul weather gear, getting wet and cold, boat heeling, hold on for dear life, 30 knots of wind sailing. And when you have no idea what the hell is happening or how to make it stop, it can be terrifying. So, after taking classes with Afterguard Sailing, I began to gain confidence. I realized that the boat wasn’t going to flip over, started to learn why Damien was telling me to do certain things and how to handle the boat. Damien got into racing in 2014 and we were lucky enough to race in the Rolex Big Boat Series in 2016. Damien was the OYRA Multihull champion in 2017. He went from not knowing how to sail to winning 1st place in ocean racing in 8 years. He’s a guy that gets it done.
After around 4 years of planning and dreaming, 3 months after our original departure date, we became liveaboards in Emeryville in January 2019. Prior to that, we were just regular old landlubbers with office jobs, living in a house in Danville, Ca with our pup, 2 cats and 4 chickens. We finally left the Bay Area on May 8, 2019 and started a slow trek south. We’re currently at a marina in Long Beach enjoying Southern California while we work on boat projects and wait out hurricane season.
Once hurricane season is over (November 30th according to our insurance company), we’ll head further south, around Cabo and then north into the Sea of Cortez. We were married in Cabo, honeymooned in La Paz and have dreamed of sailing our own boat in those turquoise waters for years. So much sea life and so many beautiful anchorages, just the thought of it kept us motivated to keep going. We are so close to what Jacques Costeau called “the world’s aquarium” and achieving our dream, we can’t wait. So hop on and enjoy this ride with us, we are excited to share it!