Gato Loco – Love of the Sea of Cortez

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By Lowell | April 5, 2012 | Category Baja 2012

subtitle – the destiny of a Missouri farm boy and the story of Gato Loco..

10 years ago, this May Gato Loco arrived atop a container ship in Long Beach from Sydney Australia starting our emersion in the Sea of Cortez and all it’s splendor. This was the culmination of our dream of venturing on the Sea, we celebrate each sunset from our Cholla Bay home. The journey started years earlier, 1965 in fact, when I was introduced to Cholla Bay and the Sea by a major influence in my life and employer while in high school. John took this naive Missouri boy to see his first ocean, which included a day of fishing. More trips with John, then spring breaks to Sandy Beach in college brought the Sea closer and closer to our lives as I was now including my wife Frankie in this love affair. After collage, a chance encounter with catamarans at Roosevelt Lake lead to a purchase of a Hobie 16 catamaran. A one day lessen from a work colleague and a suggestion to join the local Hobie fleet led to weekly race weekends allowing us to build our sailing skills as well as meet lots of life-long friends with the common love of sailing. The final key to our Sea destiny was purchasing a home Cholla Bay in the early 80’s fixing our feet firmly in Mexico and our beloved Cholla Bay. Two day-sailing boats, BuenoDay & Dos Buenos satisfied our Sea adventure thrusts while we were busy with careers and enjoying life on the beach in Cholla Bay. We owned Dos Buenos with sailing friends who shared our seaward adventure spirit, and together we soon began to venture out to nearby destinations and then on to Baja destinations more challenging for Dos Buenos, a 27’ Stiletto catamaran with only modest accommodations. The adventures, though challenging at times, only wet our appetite for more, which meant we needed a boat that could take us safely into the Sea. Unfortunately, a boat of that stature would seriously impair our pending retirement plans and seemed out of reach.

“I have a dream” While visiting friends in San Francisco in early 2002 Frankie, and I attended the annual Oakland boat show where we discovered the Seawind 1000 open ocean cruising catamaran of our dreams. Over the past years, we had chartered other catamarans and had an understanding of what the perfect Sea of Cortez catamaran would be and this was it. The desire, the dream, the fire was burning intensely so it was time to sell the dream. Having many sailing friends, some, which had settled in Cholla Bay with us, I knew, if I could share our dream, that it would be infectious, hopefully forming a bond that would become Seawind owners. I only wish I still had the email of the “Conquering Baja” outlining the dream.

Dream of your own cruising catamaran… Dream of sailing the California coast… Dream of sailing in the Baja Haja San Diego to Cabo… Dream of sailing under the stars and surfing down wave at 18kts with dolphins beside you glowing like huge jet streams. Dream of anchoring in beautiful Sea of Cortez coves and discovering Baja coastline Cabo to Penasco… This is the dream of “Conquering Baja” and as you might expect it didn’t take long for our dream to become reality.

Gato Loco arrived late May 2002 in Long Beach a dream realized for Frankie and I along with Dave & Ellen Redden, Bill Hensler and Rick Quant. That started the Gato Loco adventure that is still alive and strong today. We all continue our love affair with the Sea of Cortez and the people of the Sea. It’s hard to believe that we will soon share a 10-year anniversary and appropriate that it occurs while Gato Loco is out venturing. Come join us as we celebrate our love of the Sea of Cortez.

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Now on to the dream..

Gato Loco is back in the water after bottom repairs and new bottom paint and ready to sail south.

Recently plans have changed.. Bill can not sail in the early part of the season so now there are 3 weeks that Gato Loco may set anchored in Puerto Escondido.. Our overall plan might change due to this but at the moment we will leave things  as they were.. We have scrambled a bit to get Frankie to Loreto for the Seawind Rally week. At the moment it looks like Steve Quant would join us driving with Frankie to Cholla and Carol might join us to give Frankie a little company for the week. I hope we can firm these plans soon.

Leg 1 may have a bit of extra adventure as Victor Rangel and friends may follow us to Baja in his power fishing boat for a few days of diving. His trip depends on favorable weather so decisions will be made as we get closer to departure.

Here’s the latest news on the Rally from Kurt…

Just a quick check in on the rally front. We are getting close and I need a head count for our Sunday night dinner at the Coyote Resort in Loreto. They have a great menu set up for us and it should be a fun time. Hopefully Lowell can bring the shirts and we can pass them out at the party. I will arrange for a van to pick everyone up at the parking lot of the marina and get you to the bar (resort) by 5 ish! Pick up probably at 4:30. I will also be bringing hot dogs and buns for our beach cookout and will leave condiments up to you boat people. Let me know if you can think of, or need anything else from me at this point. I am either coming down by bus or by car, as flying in to Loreto has become pretty much impossible due to cost.

Cheers for now! Kurt

I still need a crew for leg 7 to bus to Hermosillo Sunday June 10th and fly on Aereocalafia to Santa Rosalia on Monday June 11th. This crew will sail with me to Bay of LA (Bahia De Los Angeles) on that week where we will meet Pat & Sue (Leg 8 crew) who will drive from Cholla Bay.  The leg 7 crew will then drive back to Cholla easily arriving Sunday June 17th. It would be a nice drive up the coast through Puertecitos, San Felipe, San Louis and the new coast HW on in to Cholla Bay.

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Leg 1 Apr 22(sun) – May 3(thur) : Penasco to Puerto Escondido (12 days) (Lowell, Rick¹, Doug.. [ 1 opening]

May 4(fri) – 6(sun) Loreto Fest

Leg 2 May 7(mon) – 12(sat) : Seawind Rally – Loreto area (Lowell, Frankie, Steve and maybe Carol)

Leg 3 May 13(sun) – 19(sat) Loreto area (no plans yet)

Leg 4 May 20(sun) – 26(sat) Loreto area (no plans yet)

May 28th is Memorial Day

Leg 5 May 27(sun) – Jun 2(sat) Loreto area (no plans yet)

Leg 6 Jun 3(sun) – Jun 9(sat) Loreto to Santa Rosalia (Rick and crew)

Jun 9th Peacemakers concert in Penasco

Leg 7 Jun 11(mon) Jun 16(sat) Santa Rosila to Bay of LA (Lowell²… [openings]

Leg 8 Jun 17(sun) – Jun23(sat) Bay of LA to Penasco (Lowell³, Pat & Sue.. [openings]

note 1.. Rick will departing Gato Loco in Santa Rosalia April 28th.
note 2.. I will be taking the bus to Hermosillo Sunday june 10th and flying to Santa Rosalia Mon morning. Leg 7 crews must be willing to drive Pat & Sue’s truck back to Cholla Bay via San Felipe. This worked great last year from Santa Rosalia.
note 3.. Crew will be riding with Pat & Sue, Cholla Bay to Bay of LA.

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For those who connecting to Baja thru Hermosillo/Guaymas here are some examples of Aero Calafia’s sched/price

http://www.aereocalafia.com.mx/inicio/

Fridays & Sundays Hermosillo to Loreto – Hermosillo to La Paz daily – Hermosillo to Santa Rosalia (sat,mon)
Departure Hermosillo To Loreto Friday 04 May 2012 HMO 7:00 LTO 09:35 744 1 $ 1,538.40 MXN
Departure Guaymas To Loreto Friday 04 May 2012 GYM 07:50 LTO 09:35 732 0 $ 1,330.20 MXN
Departure Loreto To Hermosillo Sunday 13 May 2012 LTO 10:05 HMO 10:35 745 1 $ 1,469.60 MXN
Departure Hermosillo To La Paz Saturday 19 May 2012 HMO 07:00 LAP 11:10 236 1 $ 2,349.24 MXN
Departure Hermosillo To Santa Rosalia Tuesday 12 June 2012 HMO 07:00 CIB 09:20 734 1 $ 1,318.00 MXN

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Riding the Waves to Loreto (By Craig Reay)    right click here to download Craig’s song

We’re riding the waves to Loreto
Wind blowing what’s left of our hair 
We’re sailing with good companeros 
I hope we’ll be seeing ya there.

We’ll soon be in Puerto Escondido 
With sailors from far and from near,
We’ll swap tales and curse the mosquitos
We’ll laugh and we’ll drown in our beer.

Hope the wind will be fair in Loreto,
We’ll bask in the dawn’s early light,
Then just like sombrero’d bandidos,
We’ll be off like thieves in the night.

We’re riding the waves to Loreto
We’re brash and we’re “devil may care”
We may move a bit des-pac-ito.
(But) we do it with bravado and flair.

We’ll soon be in Puerto Escondido
Providing the weather is clear,
With ole salts and weathered amigos
We’ll toast to another good year.

Hope the wind will be fair in Loreto,
We’ll bask in the dawn’s early light,
Then we’ll leave you with fond despedidos
And set sail like a seagull in flight…

Just like those fabled bandidos…
We’ll be off like thieves in the night.

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