Bitching and boating in Banderas Bay
January 2015 It’s dawn on the 15th of January. I’m wrapped in a blanket savoring the few moments of the day when the thermometer drops below 80 degrees. Thousands of silver fish with neon yellow fins dart behind the aft of The Red Thread. It’s the magical witching hour when the seas seem especially alive, […]
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Peña sunsets and saying g’bye
January 2015 It took four tries for Neil and I to set our anchor and to feel comfortable with our holding in the lee of Isla la Peña. After our first unsuccessful attempt, we hauled up the anchor and with it came a large, faded bed comforter. Initially, I was convinced we’d snagged a gargantuan […]
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Feliz año nuevo de Chacala
December 2014 We hauled up our anchor in Isla Isabela while stars still hung in the sky. As is our routine, we put coffee on and let the sounds of the sea fill our ears with music. As the oranges of dawn rolled above the horizon, a pod of dolphins appeared in our bow wake. […]
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Enchanting Isabela + Ep. 3 VIDEO
December 2014 Gail was the first person ever to join us on a night passage. Adventurous and eager to experience one of the quintessential aspects of our cruising adventure, she was excited to get off the dock and to depart Mazatlán. Two days after Christmas, we exited Estero Sábalo in the late afternoon and raised […]
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A merry Christmas in Mazatlán
December 2014 Neil’s mom, Gail, arrived on Christmas Eve. She was greeted by a typical December day in Mexico: warm breezes, blue skies, and sunshine. In the 10 days that she would spend with us, we would enjoy some of our loveliest cruising experiences to date. Our first few days were spent in Mazatlán. Anyone […]
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Log from the Sea of Cortez
December 2014 Let me be honest, we did not truly explore the Sea of Cortez. We sailed across it. That is what this post is about; nonetheless, I couldn’t resist the urge to title this post in tribute to Steinbeck’s famous book, which I started reading during our passage. Are you a little bit proud […]
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Taking our wabo to Cabo
December 2014 The anticipation of a long passage tends to be filled with a decent amount of preparation (e.g., weather and route planning, provisioning), a dollop of nerves (e.g., anticipation of sleep deprivation and unforeseen challenges), and a dash of excitement (e.g., will we catch a fish or will there be whales?). For us, the […]
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On the hook in Bahia de Tortugas
December 2014 The first light of dawn The only thing I like about arriving in a new harbor after dark is the exhilaration I feel waking to new vistas. Light crept through our portholes at just after 6:30 am the morning of the 10th, beckoning me to crawl swiftly from our v-berth, much in the […]
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The Umbrella Dumpers: A convoy of southbound boats from the PNW
December 2014 We are in the center of the fleet as the sun melts into the horizon. The sails of our good friends on s/v Namaste look like wings under a pink sky with an early-rising moon. Ahead of us are s/v Sea Rover II and s/v Kialoa, two Canadian couples whom we met just […]
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Our last American port of call: San Diego + Ep. 2 VIDEO
After two days in Avalon, we began planning our next passage. We enjoyed our time in Avalon so much we had considered staying longer. Unfortunately, I had developed a mysterious rash all over my body, except for my face, and I was pretty distressed by the physical experience of the rash and its dreadful appearance. […]
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From remote to ritzy: Two Harbors and Avalon, Santa Catalina Island
Just an hour ferry ride from the glitzy streets of Hollywood, Catalina Island is a favorite vacation spot for the glamorous and not-so-glamorous (ahem, grubby cruisers like us) alike. The island has an interesting history and a sexy reputation. For three decades, the Chicago Cubs traveled to Catalina for spring training, and Norma Jean called […]
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Nice to meet you, Santa Ana
Anticipating a long day sail from Smugglers Cove to “Cat” Harbor on Santa Catalina Island, we got moving early. By 4 am, our French press was percolating, and we were underway. The sky was clear and full of stars, lighting our path out of the cove. There was just enough breeze to fill our sails, […]
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Channel Islands excursions: Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island
We weighed anchor and departed Santa Barbara on a breezy, blue-sky morning. It felt surreal to be back underway after our heart-wrenching trip home to Seattle. When we arrived back at The Red Thread two evenings earlier, we were greeted by a silly “Welcome Home” poster and colorful, homemade stars dangling from our ceiling, all […]
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A heartfelt goodbye
In Loving Memory of TERENCE W. LINDBERG December 17, 1948-November 1, 2014 We soar above a bed of cotton candy clouds that appears to go on indefinitely. Above us, cirrus clouds are whipped across the sky. A pastel sunset is painted between the strata, strokes of pink and tangerine perfectly blended into each other. We’re […]
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A thousand miles to the American Riviera
Damn good sailing After our passage to Monterey and our longer-than-expected stay there, we shoved off for Santa Barbara the morning of October 28th. We were growing accustomed to California’s blue skies and warm sunshine, and the day did not disappoint. Our passage to Santa Barbara was to be among our longest, second only to […]
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s/v The Red Thread 