Log of SV Wendaway

Ross in chain locker

My friend Ross leaves tomorrow morning, back to Canada and his family on Sonora Island. Here is a photo of him crammed into the chain locker aboard SV Wendaway.

Ross operates the Columbia III, a68 foot cruise ship that plies the waters of the Inside Passage off Canada’s Pacific Coast.

He’s a master mariner, former commercial helicopter pilot, and a dear old friend.

I invited him for a two week cruise aboard Wendaway and then forced him into gruelling “crew duties” such as replacing a worn windlass motor. Continue Reading »

Where was SV Interlude?

In my previous posting, On the Spot, I described  what went wrong when a wife reported her husband overdue while sailing north along Baja California.

Andrea Scott called the US Coast Guard and told them her husband, Mike Joyce, had failed to send her an agreed-upon position report from his SPOT personal locator beacon.  Joyce was single-handing the SV Interlude, a 36′ Catalina  heading from Cabo San Lucas and was supposed to check in at Magdalena Bay. No position report was received. Continue Reading »

SPOT personal locator beacon

Regulars on the Amigo and Southbound cruisers nets on single side radio will be familiar with amateur weather forecaster Don Anderson’s frequent bouts of on-air frustration.  Idiots abound on the high seas, as we all know.

But Dr. Anderson, known for his energetic candour,  reserves a special quantum of vitriol for family and friends who pester the US Coast Guard with frantic calls about loved ones who did not report in at a predetermined time – usually single-handers who were ’sposed to be in Mag Bay last Tuesday, or are now three days late in getting to Puerto Vallarta and “still no word from dad!!”. Continue Reading »

David Skyping Home

My friend David and I have landed in Mazatlan, a little worse for wear after being slapped around by an unpredicted “norther” during our crossing from Isla San Francisco (about 290 miles).

We’re now docked at El Cid Marina – and of course the modern sailor’s first duty, even before clearing port quarantine – is to check email from home and start up our solar-powered Skype software. Continue Reading »