Log of SV Wendaway

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 »

Historic village of Alamos

Almost 150 years before The Alamo became famous as the place where Texans fought against the Mexican army,  another Alamos had already been established as one of the richest mining districts in the New World. Originally known as Real de Minas de Purísima Concepción de los Alamos (Cottonwoods Royal Mines of the Immaculate Conception),  this one has a vastly richer history – and has the distinction of being “the only Spanish colonial town in Sonora to survive Indian raids, civil wars and the ravages of time.”

Sort of.  This time capsule of a town has been ravaged by floods, cholera, and most recently, by the economic downturn started by, our guide informed us, Osama bin Laden. Continue Reading »

Border crossing

So this time I decided to do everything absolutely correctly. I organized all my receipts into two categories: items that were to repair my boat or replace equipment; and new things for my boat.

I wrote a letter in English that explained that I have nothing to declare, since all goods would be leaving Mexico with my boat; and then itemized everything according to the receipts I had collected. Continue Reading »