Full res photos downloadable by clicking on picture in this post. Oct 18… Lowell

Peter,

There is a draft for your review. Open to suggestions for inclusion or exclusion depending on what you are looking for. All pictures are available in high res except the co-owners photo. Your comments?

Lowell

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Baja’s Sea of Cortez with it’s warn arid desert climate begs for a well ventilated boat . Australia’s Seawind 1000 was our choice after chartering and stepping on as many catamarans as we could. The Gato Loco crew has lots of experience with the Sea of Cortez living and sailing from Puerto Penasco on the NE Sonaran coast for the last 25 years. Our first cruising catamaran was a Stiletto 27 which set our standard for sailing performance. Needing more sailing comforts we searched for a lighter shallow draft cat that could make the 75+ km crossing to Baja in a day time passage. Our biggest surprize when we first stepped aboard was the space this 33′ cat has. The 1000’s 20′ beam with canvas that opens to merge the salon and the rear cockpit area creates a large community area that will seat up to 14 making her perfect for daysailng with friends.

The 4 co-owners spend about 60% day-sailing and 40% doing extended cruises in the spring and fall sailing seasons. You might run into us anywhere on the Baja coast and for sure at the Loreto Fest rally in Puerto Escondido 400 km south which we’ve attended every year since purchasing Gato Loco new in 2002. With the miles we put under the keels we’ve had the opportunity to experience almost every sailing condition the Sea of Cortez has to offer (hurricanes excluded) and the 1000 has proven to be a very strong stable cat which handles 30kts winds with ease and some attentive helms work and lots of adrenalin.

The 1000 floorplan works well for cruising with up to 6 although she sleeps more. The starboard hull has a mid ship galley and forward and aft cabins. The galley can be breezie if you choose and is flooded with light from large windows making it more comfortable for cooking underway and especially in big seas. The port hull has a full mid-ship master bunk and forward bunk that we mainly use for sail, fishing and diving gear.

Marinas are sparse in the Sea of Cortez and our completely solar powered boat is another important feature providing good options wherever we choose to anchor. We never need shore power and have never turned our galley refrigeration off. Some other features that we consider important is the power winch to raise the 485 sq ft fully battened main sail and the retractable dual 9.9 hp Yamaha out boards. Yamaha is the engine of choice in Mexico making our chances better for success if we ever needed engine repairs. And yes of course, we love the Seawind signature stern mounted grill for open air cooking.

Pictured below are the Gato Loco co-owners Dave Redden, Rick Quant, Frankie & Lowell McCulley & Bill Hensler all having seasonal or full time homes near Puerto Penasco. If asked what our next boat would be, I think the answer would definitely be Seawind, either the 1000XL or the new 39′ 1160 model.

Read more about Gato Loco cruises at www.GatoLocoSailing.com

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Here are some Seawind 1000 and 1160 photo examples I have in 57Meg file format for consideration for cover or large format photos in the issue. I have many more if there is interest.

Gato Loco Anchored Vee Cove near Loreto

1160 SeaEsta sailing near Loreto, Baja