Author Archives : Chris French

We have a winner!


Light wind day so there was no rush to pull up the anchor. The rally plan was a 11:30am line up for a sail race. That gave Allison and me time to paddled into shore to bushwack through the cactus and brush, scraping and poking our way. Eventually we made it to the top of a hill with a cool…

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What happened? Did the boat sink?


Whelp, connecting with friends has taken precedent over blogging. Once arriving in Puerto Escondido I helped Gato Loco get fueled up and rinsed off before a farewell lunch, sort of. From there I jumped aboard my old boat Strikhedonia (now Fly Aweigh II) and the new owners Allison and Allan who let me join them for the West Coast Multihull…

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Two guys off and two guys on


With a 9:00am crew change we left the anchorage around 7:30am for the short hop to Loreto. Then it was “until next time”, provisioning and getting the new crew Ed and Eric settled in. By 11:00am we motored our way towards Ballandra on Isla Carmen. Ed is a big fisherman and he managed to hook to fish a few times…

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Two hikes in one day? I must be in paradise.


Relaxing morning, for once, since we only had 20 miles to go. I was up before sunrise to hike to the top of a nearby peak(s). Always a favorite of mine when in San Juanico. I toured the estuary and was glad to see there was still quite a bit of brackish water and green in the surrounding plants. Back…

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San Juanico to ourselves?


Lowell and I were up before the sun in an attempt to beat forecast winds from the South-Southeast, directly where we were headed to San Juanico. Carefully lifting the stern anchor and following our inbound tracks we escaped the shoals and headed towards the Bahia Conception point. Attempts were made at sailing but each time the wind was just too…

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Foodie Adventure in Mulege


Relaxing morning since we only had a few hours to Mulege. Which meant the guys took a morning swim to rinse off. The sea water temp gauge isn’t working so no idea the water temperature but it was definitely the warmest we have seen. Around 9:00am the anchor came up and we motored over the Mulege. Nearly 100% of boats…

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Boom goes the traveler car!


Work day, we had a number of things to take care of before departing and the most exciting was getting hoisted up the mast to clean the connection to the wind instrument. The wind direction had not been working for a few days and it is pretty important when sailing. Getting the Bosun’s chair and safety prusik took longer than…

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Hanging out with friends in Santa Rosalia


Lowell and I started our day at 5:00am filling up the gas tanks and were underway by 5:23am. Oddly, specific. Calm winds and just a small following swell made for a good start to our last long passage to Santa Rosalia (78 miles). Lowell called it as we approached the Punta San Juan Batista we could see whitecaps. Out came…

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Unbelievable pod of Orcas!


The plan was to have lunch and take in a hike at Salsipuedes which meant an early morning. Lowell and I hauled anchor at 5:30am and we putt’d out of Don Juan. Outside the harbor we could see wave action to the north, likely from high overnight winds spilling over from the Pacific. Looks like our anchor location was a…

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Back to town for lunch, repair parts, and provisions


With a bit of melancholy, we pulled up anchor at 6:15am to make our passage to Bahia Los Angeles. The stop became more critical after finding no propane in the tank. I had smelled a leak the night before but unfortunately after lunch the valve wasn’t closed and we had run out of gas with a now gushing propane leak.…

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Oh how I love thee, Refugio


I made it up to watch the sunrise over the mountains, enjoyable but I couldn’t help looking forward to tomorrow’s sunrise over the ocean from the Baja. We got a fairly early start for our crossing, with the anchor up at 7:15. The seas were smaller but a bit confused and hitting just behind the beam it was more rolly…

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Seawind Rally 2022 Kickoff!


It had been 20 months since I sold Strikhedonia (now Fly Aweigh II) and I was lucky enough to get invited on Gato Loco (Seawind 1000) by Lowell and Rick two of the owners. Also on the trip was Lowell’s childhood friend Murril. In what was certainly the quickest arrival/departure we pulled into Puerto Penasco around 1:00pm and the next…

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