When last we read of the intrepid Fox, it was bouncing its way southwestward through early morning darkness and a dissipating June thunderstorm toward Bahía San Francisquito on the Baja peninsula. Bahía San Francisquito is located about 90 miles up the peninsula from Santa Rosalia on the western (Baja) side of the Sea of Cortez.…
So for the rear and side panels I was designing for the low-latitude hot-sun cruising we're now doing, I discovered the quietly thrilling beauty of ZOMG, SUNBRELLA MESH. This fabric is great. I got mine from here. Sunbrella mesh sews well, shades well, and ventilates as well as any mesh fabric can. In the photos…
One of the ways I prepared for a summer in the Sea of Cortez was to enhance the sun protection and air circulation in our cockpit. We'd been traveling exclusively with the cockpit canvas that came with our Malo 39 some 8 years ago. It is some of the best and sturdiest boat canvas I've…
The northern half of the Sea of Cortez has a cluster of large and small islands in the center. These are the Midriff Islands. On the Baja (western) side of the Sea, the bottom has a very deep trench that brings cold water and nutrients up toward the surface. Critters of all kinds follow the…
After the inauspicious first start out of San Carlos and with a happy Tohatsu outboard, we skedaddled north out of San Carlos for the second time on June 13, 2009. GB and I were both itchy to start cruising again after having spent so long tied up to a dock (somewhat against our will) in…
It was our 7-year-old 9.8hp Tohatsu dinghy motor that failed. The one that we'd just paid 600 pesos (about $46 US)* to have overhauled in San Carlos. Turns out, it hadn't been. * 300 pesos for the cab ride from Guaymas to San Carlos, carrying the dinghy motor; plus 300 pesos for the overhaul. I…
It's high time I told the details of our trip around the upper Sea of Cortez in June & July, 2009. We'd wanted to explore the northern part of the Sea of Cortez because (1) we hadn't done that yet and (2) we were keen on sailing south from Mazatlan in November 2009 to Central…
We are back in Mazatlan for a very brief summer. We arrived on August 1 after a three day two night, 250 mile passage from Isla San Francisco in Baja. It was an OK trip, with us being able to sail for all of about two hours. We had good timing though, and avoided all…
Currently in Puerto Refugio, N tip of Isla Angel de la Guarda, the northernmost apex of our travels thru the Sea of Cortez. Refugio is beautiful & well worth the trip but harsh: afternoon temps in our shaded cabin = high 90s. Still early-season here; most boats arrive next month. For now The Fox is…
Left San Carlos 19 days ago. Crossed N Sea of Cortez @ Midriff Islands. Now in Ensenada Quemada 10 mi. SE of Bahia de los Angeles. Barren but beautiful bay sheltered from SE swell, ringed by red volcanic reefs. Days: clear, sunny & hot, cooling breezes in pm. Deep underwater canyons make H2O temp a…