Author Archives : Chris French

Getting into the rhythm of living on the hook


Our first day on the hook started early. The plan was for spearfishing shortly after sunrise and before the winds became strong. I was unsure of if the dinghy would have a place to safely anchor it while diving so I opted to skip the dive. Shalise and Victor donned full camo wetsuits and slid into the water on a…

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Kicking off the spring season!


A few days of mad dashing to prepare Strikhedonia and another day wandering around Mazatlan with Shalise. The final crew arrival day was spent provisioning leading to a pre-sunrise departure for the Baja. The forecast was for mostly mellow weather with 1.5 meter swells from the southwest every 12 seconds. Winds five to ten knots from the northwest until the…

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Winter 2019 is a wrap!


With our overnight passage behind us it was time to tie up and enjoy dock life as we put Strikhedonia to bed for a few weeks. No need for much space on boring things like cleaning and fueling up Strikhedonia. But swimming at El Cid with Three Quarter Time? Or hiking up to El Faro (lighthouse)? Or drinking beer at…

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Exploring a new trail on Isla Isabel


It was cloudy on our arrival but cleared up making for a nice hike to the top of the radio tower hill. Our second day we all hopped in the dinghy for a hike to the beach by the east anchorage. And with that it was time to split for Mazatlan, so in the evening we upped anchorage, dodged fishing…

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Tempting crocodile fate…


The sail from Chacala up to Matanchen was pretty low key, leading to naps and relaxing with the except of a quick whale visit. But no complaints as it was an easy passage north. This was to be a quick stopover so after getting the anchor set we jumped in the dinghy to head for the crocodile tour and to…

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Chacala is the place to be!


We hustled out of Banderas bay just before sunrise after a night in Punta de Mita, we wanted to get as much time in Chacala as the schedule would allow. A bonus was that Sky Pond was already there and we would have another chance to hang out. I had been talking up the Sarandeado (BBQ fish) which was our…

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Closing out my time in Barra


With so much music, friends, and good food the days slip by quickly. I enjoyed time with my parent’s friend Marilyn. She is almost eighty and I can’t keep up with her – dinner, music, dancing. The first night we hit rib night at Senor Froy’s followed up by music at Time out and Lucy’s. Then it was time to…

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Fiesta de Veleros and some massive burgers


It was an interesting night, the winds mellowed out by 10:00pm and I fell fast asleep. That changed around 2:30 in the morning when the winds started ripping up to 30 knots. Wowza. My anchor alarm allowed me to relax but the noise kept me up until 4:00am when things subsided. The joys of living on a boat… I was…

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Settling into life in Barra and Fiesta de Veleros kick off


Always a bummer but inevitably friends have to head for home and today was Bill’s departure day. We enjoyed breakfast at Casa Abuela, where Bill embraced Mexico by having crepes, followed up by a chocolate croissant from the French Bakery for the plane ride home. After a bit of leisure time it was off to the taxi stand. Next challenge…

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