Sailing Solévideo
I SAILED "TO" ENSENADA on an ISLANDER FREEPORT 41' - EP97
April 19, 2026 · 22 min · 3K views · off the coast of Southern California, near San Clemente Island
Islander Freeport 41 sailing at dusk toward Ensenada
What this video covers
Andy sails from San Pedro to Ensenada aboard Shearwater, an Islander Yachts Freeport 41 owned by skipper Mark, as a crew member alongside Trevor and Mike.▶ 0:43 The passage departs Cabrillo Way Marina on a Friday morning, crosses the shipping lanes south of Long Beach, and runs the coast overnight, arriving at Baja Naval Marina around noon Saturday — roughly 24 hours underway. Watch rotations run two hours on, six hours off among four crew.▶ 7:39 The Freeport 41's four-sail ketch rig (main, mizzen, staysail, and genoa) pushes the boat to seven knots in good breeze; wind dies overnight and the engine supplements.▶ 5:20 Trevor's AIS receiver fails en route; a backup handheld VHF with AIS covers the gap — critical because Mexican fishing boats frequently run without lights or AIS.▶ 5:41 The route: cross the shipping lane, hug the coast with Catalina and San Clemente to starboard, pass outside the Coronado Islands, then aim for the LPG plant as a landmark, split Todos Santos island and the peninsula down the middle, and enter Ensenada harbor at the first set of channel buoys — not the breakwater corner — to avoid oncoming traffic.▶ 10:49 At Baja Naval, Trevor hauls out and discovers hull blisters requiring barrier coat work.▶ 19:27 The return to the US costs $10 by bus to skip the pedestrian border line, clearing customs in 15–20 minutes.▶ 21:09 Andy frames the trip explicitly as a reconnaissance run before bringing his own boat south.▶ 10:33
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