Finding a Golden Ticket (and a Boat) in ‘Latitude 38’
Small world. A few months ago we were introduced to active-duty USCG member John Daughters, who was looking to buy the Sabre 36 Panache, berthed a few slips away in our marina. Not long after, John had bought Panache and she disappeared from the neighborhood, sailing off to who knows where.
Fast-forward a few months, and in comes the photo of John, below. He’d picked up the November issue of Latitude 38 at Gate 8 at Marina Village and found a blue “Golden Ticket” inside, earning himself a free Latitude 38 T-shirt. John said, “There’s always a reliable stack of Latitude 38 magazines at the Marina Village Yacht Harbor ice maker at Gate 8. A longtime reader of the magazine, I’ve always enjoyed reading the Changes in Latitudes segment, but it was in the classified listings section of the May/June(?) issue where I found S/V Panache!”
We reached out to John to find out more about his sailing and life with Panache. Besides being an active member of the USCG, John says he’s a licensed captain and avid sailor. He said, “Panache can often be found introducing newcomers to the joys of sailing, tacking and jibing in the Oakland Estuary, or out plying the waters of San Francisco Bay with longer voyages on the horizon. Prior to her acquisition in the spring of 2022, Panache was lovingly cared for by her previous owner of 20 years, Will Deady, and many friends at the Corinthian Yacht Club.”
John’s wife and family live in San Diego; however he’s on active duty here in Alameda, so travels north and south between work and home. He grew up in Seattle, where he took basic sailing and sailed with his family, and he now has a 100-ton license and US Sailing bareboat certification. He’s owned a Catalina 22 in San Diego, but now does his San Diego/SoCal sailing with the Harbor Island Yacht Club. At one time he also had a Catalina 25 in Seattle and has done a good deal of cruising in the Pacific Northwest.
“Longer voyages on the horizon?” Currently, he’s on active duty with the USCG through 2026, after which time he’s planning on sailing the boat south to San Diego, and sometime after that heading farther south to Mexico. John remembers becoming interested in Sabres in about 2010, when he first set foot on one: a beautiful, well-maintained Sabre 42, part of a USCG recreational boating safety boarding in Seattle’s Elliott Bay. He said he’s been a big fan of Sabres ever since, and added, “Thanks again for providing me the opportunity to further discuss one of my favorite pastimes!”
If you want to unplug and relax, there’s nothing like reading an actual hard copy of Latitude 38 picked up at your favorite local distribution point.