It has been my goal  to go cruising but to make the 'go was still hard. All the conditions were right. I had left my job. I had the money and a boat, but to start spending money like a drunken sailor to get the boat ready for cruising was still a big step. Once committed, it took about 2 months of daily work to get the boat ready (see getting ready). It seems like I did not change a lot on the boat, so I wonder why I was working so hard.

I had other fears. Would I be killed by bandits? Would I loose the boat the first time I anchored? Would I hit a container and sink? Would I be boarded by the Mexican Navy? (or worse the US Coast Guard?). Would I be sunk in the perfect storm? Would I be laughed at with my lousy Spanish.

Once on the trip, these fears were groundless (except for the Coast Guard part). I found some great crew at the Latitude 38 crew-list part. Tony and Monica turned out to be very enthusiastic, very supportive, helped out with getting the boat ready (above and beyond the call of duty) and were great company. They were even excellent sailors. The trip down was fun and easy. Also, the Mexican officials and fellow cruisers were supportive and friendly. Smiles go a long way in Mexico.

Once in Mexico, I was not sure where I wanted to go. After reaching Cabo, I planned on heading straight to Puerto Vallarta. I even had plane tickets home for Christmas. Instead, I headed to La Paz and planned to cross from there. La Paz was great to get some boat work done (A new dodger made and a broken gooseneck repaired). The trip to La Paz was great and Los Frailes was wonderful. It was also fun buddy boating with Voyager. But, I got stuck longer then I wanted in La Paz and ended up high-tailing to Mazatlan before Xmas so I could leave my boat and fly home to see the family. (No crew, so I single-handed the crossing.)

Mazatlan was great as was the trip from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. The stop at Isla Isabelle was the highlight of this leg. But, because of timing, I only got as far south as Puerto Vallarta. I wanted to go further, but alas, I decided to head back to Mazatlan for Carnival. It was billed as the 3rd largest after Rio and New Orleans. Was it fun! the marina organized parties with great seats for the parade. Highlights included the parade, Bullfight and the fireworks display. I ended up spending a total of about 2 months in Mazatlan. Easy to do because Marina Mazatlan was inexpensive and cruiser friendly. Also, Mazatlan is a wonderful town that is gringo friendly.

But I must move on. One big goal was to spend considerable time in the Sea of Cortez. Let me tell you, it was well worth it. The Sea is beautiful, fishing good, diving excellent and anchorages well protected and full of fun people. The mainland of Mexico was great but the Sea of Cortez is what you would expect cruising to be all about.

I spent a lot of time in the sea (about 5 months total). I ended making multiple trips into the Sea from La Paz. This got me into my favorite anchorages multiple times. Of anchorages in the Sea, Los Gatos was my favorite, but all most all of them of them were great.

After nearly a perfect trip. It was time to head home. I was not really looking forward to the Bash back up the coast. I decided to wait until July for a more favorable weather window. But after making a few false starts towards Cabo (I checked out with the port captain twice to head that way), I decided that for me, being a single-hander with a small boat, It was best that I take the boat to San Carlos and have the boat trucked home. Hey, it's only money. Anyway, who wants to go to weather for 1200 miles?