Log of SV Wendaway

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 »

Ingo and Espie Jeve

In 1972 Ingo Jeve invited his father to meet him in La Paz, Baja California Sur. His father,  an avid fisherman, was eager to make the trip from Berlin.  So Ingo and his father travelled to the remote fishing community of Rancho Buena Vista, about 70 miles south of La Paz,  towards Cabo San Lucas.  It was a $20 taxi ride, but well worth it. They caught dorado and tuna, and even a largish black marlin. Ingo’s dad was enthralled. Perhaps too much so. Continue Reading »

Elizabeth and David Newsome

I suspect that friends of David and Elizabeth Newsome reckoned they had simply gone crazy. How else do you explain that new kayak they bought?  or the long absences from their Alberta farm?

Farmers – especially livestock farmers – are tied to their land by knots that the most ingenious of able seamen are not able to fathom. Continue Reading »