Most people spend their teenage years finding part-time work or saving up for their first car. Dale “Catman” Ballard spent his 19th year on a boat, navigating from Florida to Colombia and back, hauling nearly 27,000 pounds of marijuana.
In My Caribbean Run, Ballard, now a retired blues harmonica player and grandfather, shares an extraordinary chapter from his youth. This isn’t a tale of drug lords or high-speed chases. It’s the plainspoken story of how one decision led a small crew into a job that became far more than they bargained for.
Not a Luxury Cruise
It started with a phone call. Ballard’s mother invited him to Florida with the promise of a job. That job turned out to be aboard a converted shrimp boat called The Mirage, headed to Santa Marta, Colombia. The mission was to pick up 900 boxes of marijuana and bring them back to Miami.
The boat was outfitted with radar, sonar, and a crew ready to work long shifts. The journey was no vacation. Between steering, navigating, and engine maintenance, Ballard was quickly thrown into the demands of life at sea. He had no previous experience, but there wasn’t much time to think about that.
What makes the story interesting is Ballard’s honesty. He doesn’t pretend to be fearless or clever. He was young, open to adventure, and hoping for a payday. And while he did bring his harmonica along for morale, it was his persistence that really counted.
Life on the Water
This isn’t a glamorized story. The most pressing dangers weren’t from the law, but from the ocean itself. High swells, seasickness, and blistering heat made the days long and uncertain. The biggest scare came when The Mirage broke down, leaving the crew adrift with limited food and water.
Eventually, they made the difficult decision to abandon ship. They scuttled the boat, climbed into inflatable Zodiacs, and aimed for land nearby.
Ballard shares these moments plainly. The writing doesn’t shout or try to impress. That’s part of what makes the book feel so real.
A True-Crime Story Without the Noise
My Caribbean Run is an enthralling real-life story, but not in the way you might expect. There are no shootouts or double-crosses. It’s a look at a time in the 1970s when smuggling was just another opportunity in a shifting world. This book captures a side of that culture from someone who wasn’t a kingpin, just a guy on a boat.
If you’re drawn to stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at risky ventures, without the Hollywood spin, this one is for you.
Looking Back
Ballard’s life today is nothing like the one he led on The Mirage. He lives in Indiana with his wife, kids, and grandkids, and spends his time playing blues and telling stories. Writing the book wasn’t about chasing fame. Friends kept asking him to write the story down, and eventually he did.
He took time to piece together the details, gather photos, and check facts. The result is a compact, compelling read that feels like a conversation. You get the sense he’s telling it like it happened, no more, no less.
If you’re curious about what smuggling marijuana in the 1970s actually looked like, not the fantasy version, but the real experience of long days, rough seas, and uncertain outcomes—this is your chance to find out.
My Caribbean Run by Dale “Catman” Ballard is now available on Amazon.
