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Mazatlán to Barra part 5, Manzanilla, Custecomate & Barra de Navidad

Lowell McCulley, February 17, 2026

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2 Days in Barra de Navidad

Lowell McCulley, February 16, 2026

Thursday Afternoon — February 12th Having Barra as our last stop on this three week cruise is the perfect finale to a very special introduction for Paul and me to the sai...
Tenacatita to Barra de Navidad

Lowell McCulley, February 13, 2026

Farewell Tenacatita Wednesday, February 11thIt was an easy morning—coffee in hand, anchor up, and off we went toward Manzanilla (with an A), the smaller of the two to...
Mazatlán  to Barra part 4, Perula & Tenacatita

Lowell McCulley, February 12, 2026

  Click the YouTube full screen to watch https://www.strikhedonia.
Perula and on to Tenacatita

Lowell McCulley, February 10, 2026

Friday, February 6 Our 17-hour night passage was a pleasant, easy cruise with light winds and slow, rolling seas around Cabo Corrientes—quite different from the harrowing...
Mazatlan to Barra part 3 - La Cruz & Yelapa

Lowell McCulley, February 7, 2026

Click the YouTube full screen to watch https://www.strikhedonia.
La Cruz and Yelapa

Lowell McCulley, February 6, 2026

Wednesday February 4th We’re up and out of Chacala around 6ish as planned.
Mazatlán to Barra part 2 - San Blas & Chacala

Lowell McCulley, February 5, 2026

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Chacala, a seaside gem

Lowell McCulley, February 4, 2026

Chacala Here’s a Chacala description straight from Shawn and Heather’s cruising guide, and it’s too perfect not to share: “Chacala is the quintessential anchora...
Mazatlan to Barra part 1

Lowell McCulley, February 3, 2026

  Click the full screen button on YouTube   https://www.strikhedonia.
San Blas, Ensenada de Matanchen

Lowell McCulley, February 3, 2026

Enhance by AI for your reading pleasure SaturdayWe slipped out of the Isabel anchorage early, bound for Matanchen.
Isla Isabel

Lowell McCulley, February 1, 2026

Friday, January 30 We arrived around 9 a.m after an overnight sail from Dog Island. We're heading for the south side of Isla Isabel.
Adios Mazatlán

Lowell McCulley, January 30, 2026

Wednesday, January 28th Chris was happy with the new canvas work.
Mazatlán boat prep

Lowell McCulley, January 28, 2026

The trip began with a massive storm sweeping through the Midwest, and—of course—Chris’s flight out of Minneapolis was canceled.
Launching the 2026 Sailing Season: Southbound on Strikhedonia

Lowell McCulley, January 24, 2026

  It’s that time again—time to kick off the 2026 sailing season.
Celebrating 23 years sailing Gato Loco on the Sea of Cortez

Lowell McCulley, December 14, 2025

Gato Loco's back on the Sea of Cortez

Lowell McCulley, October 25, 2025

What a joyful day in Pueto Penasco! We're sailing out of the harbor with Gato Loco fully recovered from the storm incident last spring.
Baja 2025 Gonzaga Bay wind storm disaster Recovery

Lowell McCulley, May 11, 2025

Monday, May 5th San Felipe, Baja (after the rescue) A big thank you to Jeffrey for meeting the rescued crew and arranging accommodations for the night.
Paul’s Tiller Time accounting of our Gonzaga disaster

Lowell McCulley, May 7, 2025

Tiller Time report Sat 5/3 Departed Isla Polmo 11:30am to Bahía Gonzaga.
A beautiful sail to Gonzaga turns to disaster

Lowell McCulley, May 7, 2025

Sorry I took very few photos as I was very busy. May 4th 5:45 pm the Mexican Marine rescue finally arrived to off load us off Gato Loco and abandon ship.
Big winds to Isla Pulmo (2nd Leg)

Lowell McCulley, May 5, 2025

You may heard we had a high wind incident in Gonzaga Bay.  I'll write a full blog on the crazy night with wind gusts clocked at 94 mph by local residents.
Northern Sea of Cortez Anchorage Crawl (Day 1)

Lowell McCulley, May 2, 2025

What perfect day for a crossing. South winds 14 – 18kts for most of the day. The 14 hour crossing reduced to 12 with boat speeds up to 9 kts and 5 hours sail only.
Northern Sea cruise Departed today with favorable winds

Lowell McCulley, April 30, 2025

  April 30th (day 1) Alarms went off at 4:45 Wednesday morning, a day earlier than planned to take advantage for south winds that should hold for most of the day.
Baja 2024 in Review

Lowell McCulley, April 9, 2025

A fun look back to our Baja 2024 cruise as we prepare to sail out again this season. A new AI app allowed us to create a Gato Loco theme song to accompany the photos.
North Bound Crew Home Safe and Sound

Lowell McCulley, May 29, 2024

May 27, 2024 (Day 11)  (Continued) Up a few hours before sunrise, no issues getting up and out of the bay.  We had a full moon which really helped.
Part 4: Northbound Crew

Lowell McCulley, May 26, 2024

May 23, 2024 (Day 8)   Entering the home stretch, heading to Bay of LA today.   Started off with some rolling waves but then smoothed out.
The Journey North to Puerto Penasco (part 3)

Lowell McCulley, May 23, 2024

May 21, 2024 (Day 6) Well, I guess it’s too much to ask for that we have a completely mishap free trip.
The Journey North to Puerto Penasco

Lowell McCulley, May 21, 2024

Saturday May 19th (Day 4) Underway early this morning as we have a long haul sail today to Concepcion Bay.
Gato Loco North Bound with new Crew

Lowell McCulley, May 18, 2024

  May 16th Hello all, this is Kate taking over for Lowell as official blogger of the last leg of the 2024 Gato Loco Sea of Cortez cruise.
Los Loco Loiterers – Day 4

Lowell McCulley, May 17, 2024

May 13th Today the story is of the Big One that got away. Our overnight in the Ballandra anchorage was cool and calm.

 

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  • 2 Days in Barra de Navidad

    Thursday Afternoon — February 12th Having Barra as our last stop on this three week cruise is the perfect finale to a very special introduction for Paul and me to the sailing destinations along the Mexico coast. The town’s name translates to “Christmas Sandbar,” and sure enough, it still has a sandbar that shapes a […]

    By Lowell McCulley | February 16, 2026

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  • Tenacatita to Barra de Navidad

    Farewell Tenacatita Wednesday, February 11thIt was an easy morning—coffee in hand, anchor up, and off we went toward Manzanilla (with an A), the smaller of the two towns  This one is just across the Tenacatita Bay. Just six miles away, yet a world of difference. The Manzanilla shoreline opens to the west, making dinghy landings […]

    By Lowell McCulley | February 13, 2026

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