December 4, 2017
We departed Mazatlán around 6:30pm for our 100nm overnight passage to Isla Isabel, which has been called the Galapagos of Mexico. The passage was mostly motorsailing, which isn’t a bad thing since visiting Isla Isabel is only suitable in calm weather due to poor holding over a rocking bottom with patches of sand. We did manage a few hours with…
December 2, 2017
There is something meditative about climbing up a hill for me. So every place we stop, I look for places to go hiking. The lighthouse (Faro) in Mazatlán is a famous spot to capture pictures of the city from above. Easy to access from the centro district, it takes maybe twenty minutes to walk to the base of the hill.…
December 1, 2017
The main reason we stuck around Mazatlán was to get the boat washed, polished, and waxed. After Louis and his guys on dock 4 at Marina Mazatlán finished, the fiberglass on Strikhedonia was shining better than any other time we have owned her, and all for a very reasonable price. Our boat wasn’t the only thing that needed work done.…
November 30, 2017
After getting our bearings and organizing the boat following the passage, it was time to go off exploring Mazatlan. The “green” Sabalo Centro bus picks up just outside of the marina and for 11 pesos will take you to the heart of the downtown district.
November 26, 2017
Crossing to the mainland is all about timing. It can be a tranquil thirty hours or a hair-raising, humbling experience. I am willing to wait for the former, however we were lucky and our schedule lined up perfectly for a mellow crossing. We pulled up anchor at 5:00am to snuck out of the anchorage while everyone else was asleep. There…
November 25, 2017
I like an early start to the day, even more so when there is fun stuff to do at the destination. So just before dawn we pulled away from our slip and began navigating the long exit La Paz. It was nice to sail to the San Lorenzo Channel but after our turn southeast it became a motorsail. Oh well,…
November 24, 2017
I had reached out to Club Cruceros via email about buying tickets for Thanksgiving dinner but they needed cold hard cash. Our friends on MoonDrifter were going but they were getting in close to Thanksgiving as well. So with an early start from Caleta Partida, we made it close enough to La Paz to join the morning net and get…
November 22, 2017
I’ll admit it, I fell for the marketing. Backing up, I knew we would use Predict Wind along with an Iridium Go! Reading around on Predict Wind I found their recommendation of an Iridium dealer in Florida. Armed with a credit card I placed an online order and shortly had a shiny new toy. I opted for the external antenna…
November 21, 2017
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…
November 20, 2017
First we had to get to Isla San Francisco from Los Gatos, just a 38 mile run. With the majority of the trip in the channel between Isla San Jose and the Baja, I knew the winds can blow through here and we happily accepted that they did! We saw our fastest speeds of the trip with the GPS recording…
November 19, 2017
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…
November 16, 2017
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…