Catalyst/Westward: December 2014

Dawn greetings from Puerto Ballena, a beautiful cove on the west side of Isla Espiritu Santo.

Allow me to lead with breaking news: WE HAVE OUR PERMITS!

For the many of you who have been waiting for that confirmation before you book a trip and buy airplane tickets, I suggest you refer to the attached booking schedule, choose your cabin and trip dates, and immediately contact the office to reserve your space. 360.378.7123 or [email protected]

Go ahead. I’ll wait here.

OK, now that we’re back, allow me to share some mental images of my time in the Gulf of California thus far.

I have watched an adobe-red moon rise out of the valley between two cactus-fringed hills, listened to the breath sounds of Ridley’s sea turtles as they swam around the boat in the dark, and experienced a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins as they gathered on the bow to celebrate our passing by leaping three feet out of the water. I have looked across turquoise water that almost audibly invites me in for a swim. I have seen majestic frigate birds gather to rise on thermal winds, and then dive into the sea like spears as they seek their dinner from the teaming school of fish below. I have listened in the star-lit night as hundreds of mobula rays slapped the water, making it sound like someone nearby was making a gigantic batch of Jiffy Pop.

And I have watched impossibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets, each one unique and all worth pausing whatever I was doing just to give them my full focus.
Our focus is to take our guests deeper into the regions in which we cruise, not necessarily further. That is why we seldom travel at night. Night in Baja is not a time to waste in noisy and brightly lit travel, it is a time to sit in silence. Listening as rays jump just beyond the light cast by our anchor light. Watching as the small fish that have schooled around our boat leave phosphorescent trails in the water that mirror the shooting stars above.

Our quest, both in Baja and Alaska, is to provide an opportunity for you, our guests, to have an experience that will resonant in you throughout your life.
Please consider joining us this winter in Baja California, or this summer in Southeast Alaska. As always, we look forward to sailing with you!

Captain Bill

Please feel free to like us on Facebook and enjoy an almost daily photo from our trips.
https://www.facebook.com/PacificCatalyst

May each of you have a rich and joyous holiday season. For us it is Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Godspeed.
Captain Bill and Shannon Bailey
P.S. See Schedules on following pages