As the excitement of leaving builds, First Mate and I decided it was time to start planning our exit from being landlocked. Plans are bound to change, but it is always good to have an initial plan. Something to excite you and something to wrap yourself around.
Because we have decided on June 1, 2019 as our date of departure, we do not want to just sail south because this puts us close to the beginning of hurricane season in the South Pacific. No reason to have our first experiences marred by sailing through storms, although if we did it would not be our first time sailing in a blow.
These things in mind, and the fact that we will no longer be in a hurry to do anything, the decision was made to sail north around the Channel Islands. Although we rounded the northern islands once before, we didn’t have the time to stop and take in their beauty. It was a shame, but at that time we had taken possession of our second boat, a Harstad 31, and were under time constraints to sail her south to our marina. Now we will have time to plot a course through the islands and visit/video some of the anchorages.
After we sail around the northern islands, we will head back south and, depending on how close we are to the end of hurricane season, we may opt to anchor at Catalina Island until it is safe to sail south. Considering the number of storms this year, we will be cautious sailing south in 2019.
When the weather is clear, we will sail south from Catalina Island towards Ensenada, where we will check in to Mexico. Depending on how Ensenada looks, we may opt to anchor there for a bit and explore.
From there we sail south and into the Sea of Cortez, where we will find a nice anchorage inside and begin our adventure of the west coast of Mexico.
Glad to have you all along for the adventure! Lots of plans to explore inside Baja, so stay tuned!