Author Archives : Chris French

A Caleta Partida adventure day


This was a big day, after having such a fun time last year swimming with the sea lions on Isla Islotes it was a must stop. It would be a bit more interesting since there were only two of us aboard and a 50+ foot depth. The decision was for us to take turns snorkeling and Vicki took the first…

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Paradise, er Los Gatos


I make no bones about it, Los Gatos is my favorite spot in the Baja. I could plop down there and stay for months. So you may be asking why we only stayed one night? Well to be honest the swell here can suck ass. And indeed it did. There were four foot roller that wrapped around and rolled us…

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An afternoon and night in Punta Colorado


The cruising guide mentioned Punta Colorado as a small, quiet anchorage that is rarely visited. Ha! Either we were unlucky or the times have changed. It is indeed a small anchorage and we pulled in to find four other boats already tucked away. We managed to find a more exposed spot that was barely far enough off the reef. But…

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It’s all about the sailing, right?


I mean sure we had a number of days where the engine was only used for anchoring but those days were sporadic. Coming across a patch of strong north winds provided a few days of fun, sporty sailing. We intentionally left San Juanico in the afternoon since that would give time for the winds to build. And allow us a…

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Two days in San Juanico never enough


Leaving Santa Domingo for San Juanico we realized that the quiet anchorages we had been enjoying the past few weeks was likely coming to an end. But San Juanico is well worth more crowds and definitely ranks in our top 5 places in the Sea of Cortez. This fifty mile hop was more downwind double headsail cruising – I live…

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Shell beach Santa Domingo


Leaving El Burro in Bahia de Concepcion we were graced with a big power boat blasting down the channel. Affirming our decision to leave before the weekend brought jet skis and noise. Wow, I must be getting old… Fingers crossed that we could have another anchorage to ourselves was thwarted as we see a line of three sailboats making their…

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Visiting El Burro in Bahia de Concepcion


With the prospect of the port closing again we got an early start before the winds picked up. This wasn’t a bad thing since we also 53 miles to cover which would take eight plus hours and approaching the winter solstice the days are getting shorter. Dawn departure from Santa Rosalia In hanging out with Jolly Dogs we had talked…

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Onward to Santa Rosalia


The hop from San Francisquito to Santa Rosalia is about 80 miles, using our typical speed of 6 knots would make for a 13 hour passage. Up at 2:00am on on our way with some moonlight to guide us out of the bay at a crisp 6.8 knots. Moon light departure from San Francisquito There is an interesting phenomenon just…

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A jewel of the Sea of Cortez – San Francisquito


We really enjoyed San Francisquito. I mean really what isn’t to enjoy? Great fishing, check! Great snorkeling, check! Good hiking, check! Dolphins, check! Anchorage slot at San Francisquito There is a narrow slot in the bay of San Francisquito, which is a perfect place to wait out strong winds. Lucky for us the weather was calm since the slot was…

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