SmoCo Sailingvideo
[Ep 67] Cruising Life Reality: Spend a Passage Day With Us in Baja Mexico
19 June 2026 · 19 min · 488 views · Bahia de Los Angeles
Sailboat cuts through blue water, mountains on horizon
What this video covers
A planned 41-mile passage through Canal de Ballenas from Bahia de Los Angeles to Refugio on Isla Angel de la Guarda ends at Alcatraz Cove after wind dies to under three knots for most of the day.▶ 1:02 Armand and Liya aboard Cosmo depart Bahia de Los Angeles after topping off diesel and propane, expecting eight hours of sailing in 8–10 knots of sustained wind.▶ 0:43 The infamous Canal de Ballenas — known for strong tidal currents and rapidly changing conditions — instead delivers a near-windless day, forcing motor sailing at 3–5 knots.▶ 4:06 A jib furling problem surfaces twice: a halyard wrap around the forestay prevents unrolling, and later inspection reveals a bowline tied at the halyard head, which Armand replaces with a halyard knot after researching it on the spot.▶ 10:23 With 28.75 nautical miles covered and speed dropping to two knots in a wind shadow off Isla Coronado, the crew weighs three options — motor straight to Refugio, divert to Alcatraz Cove, or drift overnight — and chooses Alcatraz.▶ 16:07 They anchor before 1700.▶ 18:34 A tuna caught underway becomes poke, prepared at sea in calm conditions.▶ 13:17 The passage confirms that a bowline is the wrong knot at the jib halyard head and that a wind-shadow assessment, however informal, can drive a sound diversion decision.
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