Imagine it's the summer of 1968. You're a college grad with a great job, great boyfriend, great life. But you're about to throw it all away to run off with a yacht Captain, you just met.

I was happy, I had a job, I have someone I cared about and thought I had a future with.

This is Canadian Beverly Carriveau, whose world turned on its head the moment she laid eyes on American yacht captain Bob Parsons. Beverly was on vacation in Mexico with her best friend.

And I went to Mazatlan, and as I was just turning, this man stepped out of a taxi. We both just stared at each other and it was embarrassing. I remember, you have to remember this is the 60s. Girls didn't stare at men. And it was such like a thunderbolt. And I went up, told my girlfriend, I don't know, something just happened to me. I stared at this man and I couldn't help myself. I was like riveted. We went down to eat dinner and the waiter came up and said, I have some wine for you from a man over there. I couldn't see who it was. And we said, yes. And then we started like amongst ourselves, what are we gonna do? We thought to thank him. But my girlfriend said, you have to go thank him. So I was terrified and I did not want to go. So I start walking across and I see it's Bob, the man stepping out of the taxi and I got all flustered and I asked him if he'd like to sit with us. He just knocked me over.

'I'm Francesca Street, CNN Travel journalist, and this is Chance Encounters, a podcast about the incredible connections we make while traveling. This show is based on my series of online articles for CNN.com, where I interview ordinary people about their extraordinary travel-based love stories and tales of friendship. In this podcast series we're chronicling the summer loves that turned out to be more than just a vacation romance. Today we're traversing the waters of Mexico's Pacific coast with Beverly and Bob. The pair had their Thunderbolt meeting in beautiful Mazatlan. This coastal town on the west of Mexico is a tourist hotspot today and it was popular back in the 1960s too. Beverly arrived, really excited to explore. She wasn't looking for a vacation romance, let alone a Thunderbolt. She had that boyfriend back home, remember? But then she saw Bob for the first time. What was Bob like as a young man then when you first met him? You know, you clearly had this almost like love-at-first-sight moment.

Well, he was considered so good looking in that era. I remember going to Las Vegas and he went to the bathroom or something and some girls came running up to me and said, we know he's a movie star, but we just can't put our finger on his name. And I said, no, he's just a boat captain, but he was a presence.

Beverly felt this presence from the moment she first saw Bob in Mazatlan.

So we had a nice dinner and a chat. And then he said, let's go downtown. So we went and had a nice time. But my father always taught me about sailors and Americans and you know, you have to be careful. And I had Doug, my boyfriend at home. I wasn't looking for anything, but I was just flabbergasted. And I could not think of anything else.

For the next week of her vacation, Beverly saw Bob every day. She set boundaries and was never alone with him. They always went out for the evening with Beverly's friends completing their party. But when Bob asked Beverly for her contact details before she returned to Canada, Beverly readily agreed, giving Bob her Vancouver phone number and her address.

And when I got home I was frantic. You couldn't afford phone calls in those days. We had to write to people. We didn't have communications like we do now. So I was like hoping I got heard from him. And I went through all the mail and there was no letters. But at the bottom was a note from my roommate that said, who the hell is Captain Parsons on the Sugar Shack? The next day, my boyfriend, the one I had for three years, Doug, came in to see me. And before he even had his jacket off, I just said, Doug, I've met somebody. And he said, well, that's crazy. You better go down and figure this out. Then I got a couple of letters from Bob. You know, writing back and forth to Mexico was a bit crazy. Took forever. He was a yacht captain. And the owner's wife called me and said, we're buying a motor yacht from Jerry Lewis. We're coming to San Diego to pick it up. She said, our captain wants you to fly to San Diego for the weekend. And he asked me to get you a hotel room. So I said, yes. So I knew I'm a week, never alone. I knew him a weekend here in San Diego. And I flew home Monday morning and with my jacket still on, typed my resignation. And I called Doug, and I said, I don't know what I'm doing, but I have to do it.

My parents were in shock, but my friends were even more in shock. I just couldn't help myself. I was so excited. I told my roommate, take my furniture, take anything you want. I called my parents and said, you can get rid of my skis and anything else I have at your house. I'm not gonna need them anymore. I just knew. And so I didn't even wait. Soon as they replaced me at the library, I told them I had to go. And I remember them saying, well, Beverly, you're never gonna work at this university again if you leave this way. I remember thinking, I know I'm never gonna to work here again. So I got to Mazatlan, the owners of the yacht, they're surprised too. They also had three other boats in Mazatlán. Jerry Lewis's boat was called Pussycat 2, which they later changed the name to Shady Lady. They had El Jefe, they had Gold Coaster and Sugar Shack. And Bob was responsible for all those boats.

I couldn't just move onto the boat, it was their home. And so we got a hotel for a month and I would go out to the boat cook lunch for them, get some sun and then go back to the hotel. And I wasn't even there a week. This is a weird way for someone to propose to you, but Bob had been in the engine room working on things and that's when he thinks, I guess. He came out of the engine, wiping grease off his hands. And he said, I would like to get married if you would like get married. I sort of was shocked. The first thing that went through my mind was, what about Doug at home, you know? And I actually blurted that out. And he said, well, if you were concerned about Doug, you would be in Canada, not here. And, you, know, I just felt so guilty about it because I was wrong, you know, I thought.

'Beverly was facing a moment of truth. Should she make the safe choice, go back to Canada and long-term boyfriend Doug? Or should she follow her heart, say yes, and take the plunge with Bob the yacht captain? Find out after a break. Welcome back to Chance Encounters. I'm Francesca Street. Before the break, Bob sprung a surprise proposal on Beverly, and she surprised herself with how strongly she considered saying yes. Whatever Beverly's decision, she knew that an uncomfortable phone call home was probably imminent.

He was trying to make an honest woman of me, but I didn't even know him. I said, well, let's call my parents.

This phone call had another complication: Beverly and Bob were at sea.

'So we called on the single-side band. By the way, the whole ocean can listen to the call because it's on the radio. I say, mom, we're thinking of getting married. But it was crazy because she was saying over, you had to say over when you're supposed to talk and everything. And she's saying over all the time and we're screaming into the radio, I don't know why. She says, well, if you're getting married, you're coming up here and getting married in the church. I didn't expect that answer. She was supposed to say, get to know him. That's what I assumed any mother would say. So, okay. The radio operator who was in San Francisco, he was laughing so hard because the whole conversation was so crazy. And so we hung up and we went out to dinner, and I was tongue-tied. I couldn't speak. I woke up the next morning, I'm getting married, I need a dress. And, my mom, in three weeks, found a cancelation of a beautiful place, planned a seated dinner with [a] live orchestra for 90 people all by herself while I was in Mexico. There was an American woman who said, Beverly, why don't you sew your wedding dress at my house, I'll help you. So I bought the material, Mexican lace, and for three weeks. Every morning I would go to her house at eight and sew my wedding dress. I was excited, I was scared, but my thinking was I followed this man from Canada to Mexico. I'm going to follow him wherever he goes next. So therefore, I must be in love and getting married is just fine, the right thing to do. So I did it. We get to Canada, he bought his mother a ticket to Vancouver for our wedding. He had one person there, I had 90, poor guy. Bob, I'm sure all my friends were there like wondering who this guy was. They were supporting me, but you know, they all were friends with the other guy, Doug. And so Bob got up and made a toast to the bride. And when he did, he got all choked up. And then everyone fell in love with him. I'm so glad my mother made me get married in the church. It means a lot actually. So it went really fast. We went back to Mexico, and we were going to Cabo San Lucas. We found a place, there was only two places in the whole town that you could rent, and we rented one of them. And so that's the year we lived on the beach. So, after that season, the owners got to know me and invited me to live on the boat. And then she found out that I could cook. All Canadians can put together meals. So I cooked dinner almost every night for everybody and gave me a place on the boat.

Beverly, who took Bob's name following her wedding, becoming Beverly Parsons, started to realize she had a knack for the nautical life. And as the years went on, Bob and Beverly struck out on their own. Beverly started working as a boat agent.

People loved us. Someone could buy a boat from Bob, insure it from him, manage it with me, and charter it out. We were sort of like a package and we were really quite successful. We just had a beautiful life, beautiful friends, beautiful industry. So I think I'm one of the luckiest people ever.

After decades living a rich life on the sea, Bob was diagnosed with dementia in his 70s. Beverly was determined to care for Bob as lovingly as she could.

He got dementia at the end, and I made it the best I could for him and me. And when Bob would have incidents with his dementia here, I put myself in his shoes and I know he was just scared. And who wouldn't be? And I just hold him really tight and I would just say, I love you, I'll never leave you. And I'm sorry. And he would calm right down. It's so easy if you really love someone. That was actually a good part of our lives. You know, and it was just a different stage.

Bob passed away in early 2020. In the five years since his death, Beverly has continued to thrive in the yachting business. This year, she turns 80 and reflects today that her long, happy, fulfilling marriage to Bob propelled her forward. He loves her independence. And she says his love gave her the foundation and anchor to explore the world, be herself, and find her place. In an era when that wasn't always encouraged for women.

In our day, you could be a teacher, you can be a secretary, or you could be a nurse, basically. And that was your three choices. And I got to be something else. You know, he just supported everything I did. Not only support, but encouragement.

Oh and remember Doug, the Canadian guy Beverly left behind so she could run off and marry Bob the boat captain?

The guy I left, we're good friends now, and we're both going to go on a cruise. I mean, we've seen each other from time to time and we communicate. And basically, I was always thinking I needed forgiveness, but he totally said, you don't need forgiveness. He said, it was my fault. Did you say you might go on the cruise with Doug? Is that what you're about? We decided it's our 80th birthday this year. And we're both born the same month. And so he wanted to go to Alaska. So his sister who used to know me from, you know, his sisters love me still. So one of them's gonna meet us in Alaska when we get there.

Today, when Beverly looks back on her five decades of happiness with Bob, she often finds herself reflecting on a conversation she had with her father on her wedding day.

My father he said to me when I got married I can't imagine much worse than my only daughter going away to a foreign country floating around on a boat, not being able to contact her, not knowing where she is or if she's safe. But then he said I looked at the two of you and I didn't want to stop you because I could see how much you cared. I mean how lucky can someone be and be able to have 50 years. It's just unbelievable when you think about it, because when I ran away, I thought, well, I know this is wrong, it's stupid, but if I don't go, I'll wonder the rest of my life. I don't know why I'm crying talking about it.

No, you're almost making me cry. No, thank you. It's amazing to think isn't it that that moment of you both being in the same place at the same time, led to a lifetime of happiness together and as you say your career and you living all over the world and having opportunities that all came from that one moment.

Everything was total accident. And that he would be just stepping out of that taxi and I would just be walking into, I mean, it was like, if it had been one minute later or one minute sooner, I'd be in Canada right now, not San Diego. You know, it's just crazy to think about.

'Yeah, it is, yeah. I so appreciate you sharing the story with me today and the candor and honesty and bringing the story to life for me. I loved hearing it, and it's such a special relationship that you shared together, an amazing life that you lived together. So thank you for sharing. If you have your own chance encounter to share, I'd love to hear it. You can share your story with CNN in the contact form linked in our episode description. This is Chance Encounters, reported, hosted and written by me, Francesca Street. Dan Bloom is our showrunner and co-writer. Sofia Sanchez and Kyra Dahring are the producers. Dan Dzula is technical director and Matt Dempsey is technical production manager. Steve Lickteig is executive producer of CNN podcasts. For more Chance Encounter, check out cnn.com/travel. CNN Travel's global editor is Barry Neild. Special thanks to producers Lori Galarreta, Felicia Patinkin, Graelyn Brashear, Haley Thomas, Lauren Kim, Grace Walker, and Jesse Remedios. Jamus Andrest created the artwork for this show. We had support from Alex Manasseri, Mark Duffy, Robert Mathers, Joey Salvia, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Lisa Namerow, David Allan and the team at CNN Travel. Wendy Brundige is CNN Digital's SVP of content strategy. Chance Encounters is a production of CNN podcasts. Thank you for listening.