December 4, 2018
We knew the waves and wind would make for a fun passage from Isla San Francisco to Playa Bonanza, so there wasn’t much of surprise as we got out of the wind shadow and into the full force of the boisterous conditions. I’d call it 6-8 foot tightly packed seas but hey at least they were somewhat following. We were…
December 3, 2018
I love when a plan comes together…Puerto Escondido will let you tie up to the dock for an hour or two if you are renting a mooring ball (nice chance to wash the boat when needed). It made picking up Jean really easy, from getting out of the taxi to being off the dock was less than 15 minutes. Which…
December 1, 2018
So with Jean missing her flight I needed a pick me up, the $20/night for a mooring ball at Puerto Escondido ensured this included heading out to an anchorage. Honeymoon cove, just four miles away would be a perfect fit (so long as it wasn’t packed with boats…). After the net I cast off the mooring line and headed over.…
November 27, 2018
**First an important note – There IS bighorn sheep hunting that takes place on the island so consider than before heading off on this hike and if you do proceed wear brightly colored clothes** Red route is my best guess, based on our hike and looking at satellite imagery. The Blue route spur is where we lost the trail and…
November 25, 2018
Looking at the forecast, the day after Thanksgiving was the only possible day to sail south so off sailing we went. From the anchorage the sea looked calm, not the 13-15 knots forecast. But once out of the protection of the bay we found it truly was blowing. We had a sporty sail south to Isla Coronado moving along at…
November 22, 2018
I love when a plan comes together. Often times when there is calm weather a west wind will form overnight and then dissipate a few hours after sunrise. We took advantage of this phenomenon and sailed north to San Juanico. Well at least half the way. Which in the Sea of Cortez, when on a schedule, is unusual. Feeling the…
November 18, 2018
The winds toyed with us, what started as a day motoring turned into motorsailing then the winds reach just high enough for us to shut off the engine. Slipping through the water a 3.5 knots we didn’t have a care in the world. For five minutes. The winds promptly dropped and along with it our speed – 3 knots, 2.5…
November 17, 2018
After five nights and four days I was feeling like a charlatan, seeing as Julia came all the way from Germany to go sailing and thus far has been stuck on a mooring ball. The weather system gone, it was our chance to bug out of Puerto Escondido. Many of my friends had planned to head Isla Monserrate but Agua…
November 15, 2018
It was a busy day, finish cleaning the inside of the boat, laundry, picking up rental car, filling diesel jerry cans and dropping Mike off at the airport. Whew. And with Mike on his way I waited for my new crewmate, Julia, to clear customs. Next up, enjoying good beer and lunch at El Zopilote Brewing. Provisioning followed and then…
November 10, 2018
Ballandra was just a few hours south and provides good protection from all but winds from the west. Pulling into the anchorage we were the seventh boat and all the spots tucked into the north bay were snagged. We would have take a spot near the middle which, the next day, would subject us to wrap around swell. But on…
November 8, 2018
Just an 18.5 nautical mile hop south took us to Isla Coronado, where we anchored in a breathtaking turquoise blue crescent shaped bay. Surprisingly there was only one other boat when we arrived so finding a good spot was a snap. This is a popular day trip for visitors from Loreto, it was a Tuesday but that didn’t stop the…
November 6, 2018
We wouldn’t leave San Juanico for five days, ultimately this special spot was Mike’s favorite stop of the trip. And it isn’t hard to see why, we had amazing snorkeling right off the boat. The quantity of fish was well beyond what I had seen in the past. A trip to the Cruiser’s tree confirmed that Strikhedonia’s contribution was unscathed…