Hi John!
Cat's Meow has actually done it twice! First time was 2008 and then again in 2010. It's a great trip and you'll have a good time. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Nancy

The HaHa sounds like a great way to start a winter in the Sea of Cortez. I have 17 years left (sigh!!!) at a great job before I can retire to cruising long term. As the last of the boat systems come up to 100% my itch to go cruising is growing. How much time and extra fuel jugs did you need to bring Cats Meow windward back to my home port of San Diego? Did you notice if slip availabilty and marina security is a problem in the Cabo/La Paz area? A few months in a Baja slip to rebuild vacation time could make a condensed Baja trip possible.

Thanks!

From Stirling Hayden's Autobiography 'Wanderer'

"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea - 'cruising,' it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are comtemplating a voyage, and have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

" 'I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it.' What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of 'security'. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it, our lives are gone.

"What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yeild a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposperous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.

"The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

"Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?"

Oh Yeah- Twist the knife! I never thought it would be so hard to cut the dock lines when I wrote my high school essay about a dream to sail around the world so long ago. For now life has me relegated to just cruising the local Southern California islands on one of the most impressive old boats anybody could ask for- The mighty C36! The mechanical systems are fairly simple to work on. She is sea kindly in a stiff breeze. The auto pilot hardly has to work to keep a course. She is dry down below. A comfortable habitat indeed. As the miles pass under the keel my confidence in this boat is soaring. To drop anchor in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez is becoming a siren call. Thanks to all of the help received from these forums the next stage of this dream is getting closer than ever. Until then I will take cruising in small bites if that is required. Thanks for the reminder to not procrastinate!