Author Archives : Chris French

Colorado anchorage a bust to back to PE it is…


We woke to wind, shocker. But still comfortable excluding the constant howl. Breakfast and then the anchor was raised for the short motor down to Punta Colorada with a planned either day stop or anchorage for the night. We had the jib out to help and also gave the starboard engine a blowout (full power to blow out carbon that…

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Let’s try this one from another direction


Pretty much a carbon copy in regards to weather. I had aspirations to attempt a hike to get as close to where my hike from Ballandra ended as possible. So after breakfast we headed to shore with our hiking shoes and water bottles. As we were putting on our shoes a dinghy from the only other boat in the anchorage…

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Goodbye Teresa and Jack


Sadly it was departure day for Teresa and Jack. The question was could we drop them off in Loreto or would we divert to Puerto Escondido? Jack didn’t see any whitecaps but Vicki and I were skeptical since it had been blowing since 2:00am and the daylight was just creeping up. But we headed for Loreto, the first fifteen minutes…

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Let’s do this hike!


Our second day in Ballandra started a bit slow. With no major plans we took it easy until 10:30 when we it was time for a hike. I wanted to retrace the trail that Julia and I took in our attempt to get to the Salinas salt ponds about a year ago. So I booked it while Vicki, Jack, and…

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A sail down to Ballandra


Up with the sun we wanted to rush down to Ballandra in hopes of getting a good anchor spot before the winds started blowing from the north. We had the main and jib up for the entire trip but unfortunately not quite enough wind to shutdown the engine. Oh well. The most excitement came as we approached the anchorage. A…

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More storms and some sailing


Technically Tuesday, at 1:00am the wind piped up from the west. Of course this was un-forecast and meant we were on a lee shore. I was up for about an hour before the wind mellowed enough for me to be comfortable to fall asleep. Of course the residual waves lasted much longer but Strikhedonia and the other three boats stay…

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Stormy night in Isla Coronado


Rain, rain and more rain. That is the theme. Such an unusual Fall in the Baja, but we persevere. Jack and I braved the rain to dinghy in for a last shower and to drop off the key card. By the time the staff arrived there was quite a line of cruisers waiting to do the same and get out…

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Waiting out Tropical Storm Raymond


The day started a bit early with a bit of rain splattering on my face at 1:00am. Guess the storm is approaching… Hatches closed we had steady rain the rest of the night. At this point I was kicking myself for not grocery shopping last night since there is a bridge that is washed out on the road to Loreto…

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Tons of work before new crew arrive


As soon as we could see the pass out of Isla Coronado we were moving. Lots to get done before Jack’s wife and my friend Vicki arrived. We motored the entire way to Puerto Escondido, the jib was up more for moral support than to pull us along. Arriving we tied to the dock and busted out a fast boat…

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Two kinds of work, hiking and cleaning


Another early start, after breakfast we climbed the volcano. It is a fun hike that I’ve done many times. The views are great and it is the perfect amount of exercise. About two and a half hours we were back on the beach to catch our breath. Then the real work started – cleaning the boat. With Jack’s wife and…

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A beach day in Isla Coronado


With such a short stop in San Juanico I needed to squeeze in the climb up to the hill overlooking the bay. So just after 6:00am I was paddling into shore to begin my hike. My first visit here I hit a second peak that is more inland and today I started there. It is much steeper and challenging with…

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