SAIL

Close Call in the Sea of Cortez

“I’m gonna lose you! Don’t let go…. Don’t let go!” Those were the words that I kept pleading to my husband as he clung to the Lifesling while I used all my adrenaline and grit to pull him back onboard. How we ended up there is a cautionary tale.

Like most days in the Sea of Cortez, the sea state was stable, the winds were mild, and the sky was bright blue with no foul weather forecast for days. It was a perfect day to make the quick 20-nautical-mile hop from Isla Coronado to Bahia San Juanico on La Vida Gypsea, our Catana 471 catamaran.

So, we lifted the anchor, hoisted the sails, and began doing our regular daily tasks. First, my husband, Kurt, started cleaning the lines and taking out the fishing rods, carefully choosing the proper lures, as we were running low on protein in the freezer. I began charging up our camera gear to

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