In 2003 We took our 26 foot sailboat, the SV Annie Laurie to Baja California on a 3 month sabbatical from our teaching positions in the Washoe County
School District.
We, that is, Laurie, Rachel, Cammie and I conducted a 3-month survey of the Natural and Cultural History of Baja California and the Sea of Cortez.
Stuffed with food and gear, carrying 35 gallons of water and 10 gallons of gas we launched at Bahia De Los Angeles, and sailing south, shuffling our
trucks along, we visited Santa Rosalia, Mulege, Santispac, Loreto, Puerto Escondido, and finally, the small fishing village of Bahia Agua Verde where
I got deathly ill, Laurie and the girls sailed Annie Laurie back to our trucks at Puerto Escondido. Where we pulled the boat out of the water and
drove to La Paz where I recuperated.
We sailed during the day and each evening anchored in a cove and swam and snorkeled and slept and hiked. Since we had the trucks we also toured inland
to historic missions and sites.
We recorded our discoveries and adventures and uploaded them to our website where students in schools across the country as well as in the Washoe
County School District could follow along, and ask us questions.
The internet was primitive in those days, I had to find an internet cafe in towns along the way and upload from my computer to the internet, usually a
very slow process. Fortunately, some of the internet cafes were bars!,
I have a link to the photos we took, There were quite a few American yachts in the Sea, as we were the smallest boat, they watched out for us, and
reported our locations on the Sea of Cortez SSB net.
Some of the photos are of the annual Cruiser party at Puerto Escondido.. That was memorable, but we did not tell the students back home about that!
The digital images did not wear well so some of the colors are off. Some images have disappeared, but the photos are fairly well sorted, if you hover
on an image you should get a description.
[Edited on 12-11-2021 by Perrro Viejo]David K - 12-11-2021 at 03:39 PM
Wow, and missions, too!Perrro Viejo - 12-11-2021 at 03:43 PM
David, it was a great trip. The girls who have children of their own now think of the trip as one of the great experiences of their lives.JZ - 12-11-2021 at 03:44 PM
Add paragraph breaks to make it more readable. It's hard on the eyes to read a single blob of text.
[Edited on 12-11-2021 by JZ]LancairDriver - 12-11-2021 at 04:13 PM
Add paragraph breaks to make it more readable. It's hard on the eyes to read a single blob of text.
[Edited on 12-11-2021 by JZ]
Tip.. use one finger on the blank section on the left or right of the post and move it effortlessly to underline the top margin one line at a time to
read. Piece of cake!Perrro Viejo - 12-11-2021 at 04:23 PM
There you goJZ - 12-11-2021 at 04:38 PM
Sweet trip and nice photos. To me the ocean, bays, and islands are the best parts of Baja.
Do your girls ever get back down to Baja? I'm looking forward to see if mind start going down on their own over the next 5-10 years.
[Edited on 12-11-2021 by JZ]advrider - 12-11-2021 at 04:54 PM
WOW, very cool. I always envied kids/families that did/do trips like these. Don't get me wrong I did some cool trips as a kid even Drove with the
parents to Mexico as a kid a few times. Sailing is pretty foreign to me so maybe that is the draw. Lucky kids for sure.
Good read and photos, thanks for sharing. Mulege Canuck - 12-11-2021 at 08:15 PM
Is that an old Macgregor 26 ? I have a 1994 Mac up here in BC. Great little boats.
I plan on doing that trip next year. BOLA to La Paz.
Great pictures! Thanks for postingMarty Mateo - 12-11-2021 at 08:17 PM
Thanks for sharing the story and pictures pjpvi - 12-12-2021 at 10:04 AM
Love the story and pictures! Thanks for sharing.Perrro Viejo - 12-12-2021 at 07:28 PM
Ya'll are welcome, I am happy to share my family adventures. The boat was a Clipper Marine, very similar to the older MacGregors which are great boats
also.
Mulege Canuck, La Paz was our destination, I ate bad food in Agua Verde and nearly died. A doctor on another boat put me on an IV, Laurie and the
girls sailed the boat back to Puerto Escondido where my truck and trailer were parked. We pulled her out of the water, then went to La Paz to
recuperate.
It is a wonderful cruise,
JZ they have not been back, they are busy with children and careers. I hope that when their kids are older they will seek adventures.
Laurie and I and Rachel, the taller girl, her husband, and their baby are going to Cabo for the week before Christmas. There isn't anything in Cabo I
care to do or see, except one day Rachel's husband and I will rent dirt bikes and go out Camino Cabo Este.
40 years ago with my first wife and our baby, we went to Cabo, dirt streets, and palapa restaurants, that was fun.Jack Swords - 12-13-2021 at 06:36 AM
Boy does that bring back memories. We sailed a Clipper Marine sailboat out of Guaymas/San Carlos many summers during our vacations. After retiring
we sailed our Catalina 30 ft sailboat down from Ventura to La Paz where she stayed in the marina for 22 years (just sold her last year). For those
years we lived aboard and sailed the SOC for 4 months each year escaping "winter" in CA. The SOC, its islands, the great people are addicting. So
many wonderful memories including my daughter and grandaughter who joined us during their Christmas vacation. boe4fun - 12-13-2021 at 08:15 AM
WOW. Just. WOW!BajaTed - 12-13-2021 at 08:48 AM
The annual Baja ha ha event is a great sailing adventure, highly recommended. 100X - 12-13-2021 at 09:29 AM
This sounds so wonderful!
What would a decent 30' boat cost and would it be possible to learn to safely sail it without years of experience?Jack Swords - 12-13-2021 at 12:16 PM
Lots of reasonably priced sailboats available, some already in Mexico. Boats go down and then are sold when trip is over. Several dealers in
Mazatlan, San Carlos, and La Paz. We sailed for years offshore to Channel Islands off Santa Barbara before going to Mexico. Our rather small boat
also had radar (necessary) and pretty extensive communications. Pretty dark and lonely out there and usually requires sailing at night . The Baja Ha
Ha (https://www.baja-haha.com) is one way many sail down with others. Checking the list of boats on the Ha Ha, a 30 ft boat is among the smallest,
but there are some smaller.
