My Boat's Afterlife as a People Smuggler

Plucky Little Ketch Repurposed as Outlaw

With the exception of Haitian sloop captains, today’s maritime people smugglers prefer powercraft for obvious reasons: Powerboats are faster, more versatile and tend to have a greater carrying capacity. Human traffickers are hauling freight, not indulging romantic notions.

And yet my boat, a 1965 Cheoy Lee Bermuda 30 ketch, turned out to be a very succes…