November 4, 2016
Our second day in Los Frailes, Vicki and I made the trek to the nearby Cabo Pulmo where the dive shops were located for the Pulmo reef (a protected national park). It was about four and a half miles but our friends on Thelastic clued us in to hitchhiking to shorten the trip. I had never hitchhiked before but I…
November 4, 2016
The heat (90-95 degrees) has been oppressive during the day so we decided to get an early start on our hike jumping into the kayaks as daylight was just cranking up. We paddled to shore and headed up a ravine that looked like a trail. After five minutes or so the path got narrower and more difficult to follow. A…
November 3, 2016
After a pounding thirty miles it was relief to duck into Bahia Los Frailes. For the first time since Turtle Bay we saw another sailboat. Could it be our friends on Thelasic. No way. We motored in and scoped out the bottom before dropping the hook a good distance away from our co-patriot. The wind was still whipping and Janis…
November 2, 2016
It was a short sailing day, so we didn’t rush to get moving which in hindsight wasn’t the best, but wasn’t a big deal either. It just meant we had more time spent with wind and waves on our bows which resulted in some pounding at times. A bit out of San Jose, I called up the marina and found…
October 31, 2016
The watch schedule had me at the helm from 6:00am until 9:00am which lined up perfectly with our arrival into Cabo. Sunrise on the last day of the passage The first sign we were close were the massive stream of fishing charter boats coming out to greet us. Then the resorts dotting the pacific coast, and finally we came to…
October 30, 2016
We departed Turtle Bay at 14:15 in the afternoon looking forward to three nights at sea after deciding to skip Mag bay to ensure we would be in Cabo for Halloween and Dia de los muertos. Sunrise to start our second day at sea While everyone slept I made myself a tasty breakfast Becalmed conditions make for a comfortable passage…
October 26, 2016
Just the way you like to start a long passage, we had a mellow start with light winds and nearly no swell a great way to find the rhythms of non-stop motion. This passage would be about 300 nautical miles and ultimately took 51.85 hours with an average speed of 5.75 knots. We did pick up winds enroute but still…
October 23, 2016
So what happened? Well I suppose the best term would be burn out. After working the month of July averaging 85 hours weeks, when I headed back to Minnesota, I was ready for a break from boat work. I did return for a few days in early September where I knocked off a couple of things and continued a frustrating…
August 30, 2016
The sail down to the Sea of Cortez is quickly approaching. Thankfully the list of projects is shrinking and looks like there should be a green light for making the downwind cruise to La Paz in October. Looking at my original list there were two categories of items, 1. Critical to the safety of the boat and 2. Things that…
August 15, 2016
Well I suppose it should be expected that the one hatch that leaked would be over my bed. At least in Mexico and San Diego there isn’t a lot of rain so it wasn’t major issue. Mostly just a just a pain in the ass when washing the boat, since I had to remember to put a bin under the…
August 7, 2016
By dumb luck I saw a Safety at Sea brochure at Downwind Sailing, the training was to take place at the end of my refit trip but if I hunkered down I thought I could squeeze it in. And seriously, it probably is a smart thing to do given the plans to sail down to La Paz in October/November. Snapped…
August 4, 2016
The last thing you want to happen in an emergency is to struggle to know where things are located. Especially important for visiting guests who aren’t intimately familiar with the vessel. In an effort to pump up the safety margin on Strikhedonia, I have put together a laminated map of where safety equipment and potential failure points are located. Any…