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…
November 15, 2017
Two days in Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen was just not enough time to fully enjoy this former salt mine. At one time I’d call it a town but its current state of decay moves it down to simply a hunting lodge – however the small church is still immaculate. We had heard that it was best to ask permission…
November 14, 2017
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…
November 13, 2017
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…
November 11, 2017
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…
November 10, 2017
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…
November 6, 2017
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…
November 5, 2017
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…
November 4, 2017
Our friends Mark and Isabel on JollyDog, a sister ship to Strikhedonia, had been in the Bahia L.A. area for a few weeks and our hope was to cross paths before the started moving south. As luck would have it they heard our radio calls and turned on their AIS giving us a rendezvous point. A few hours later we…
November 2, 2017
After a relaxing crossing, we settled in at El Alacran for an peaceful nights sleep that was nearly devoid of wind or waves. A perfect way to catch up on sleep and get reacquainted with the Baja. It is magical to watch the sunrise while staring out at the sea while on the Baja, it simply never gets old. Once…