Fiberglass, aluminum and sailcloth are the bones, but the spirit lives in the heart of anyone who sailed her.  Sloopy is the 36 foot sailboat in the Liz Adams Mysteries, Murder in Mystic, Murder in Newport and Two Headed Snake of Key West.  She is named after the 30 foot Catalina Tall Rig that my husband, Roger and I sailed for 14 years.  Initially docked in Westbrook, Connecticut, she spent most of her days with us in the homeport of Mystic, Connecticut.  As in fiction, Sloopy was our water home and carried us to adventure in New England waters.  Our boys, Scott and Ron, then 17 and 14 respectively, named her.  A combination of the lovable Charles Schulz beagle, Snoopy and the two sail sloop design, the handle, Sloopy, stuck.

The time we spent on Sloopy was priceless.  It took us away from a hectic lifestyle as owners of a popular photography studio to a world where time stood still.  We enjoyed our sons and their friends without the distractions at home.  Meals shared in the cockpit as the sun slipped into the sea are forever burned into memory.  Lifelong friendships were forged with other boaters.

Sloopy is a Champion.  In 1998, she won the National Catalina 30 Tall Rig Cruising Class race in Westbook, Connecticut.

Sadly, we sold Sloopy in 2002, but she continues to be the inspiration for the Liz Adams Mystery series.