
It feels amazing that we have already been living aboard Freeranger full time for six months!
When we left Victoria, BC in early July 2024 we spent the summer going up and around Vancouver Island. While Duncan had been to many parts of the island by road and sea before, none of us had done this full trip, and it was absolutely worth it.
We sailed in Desolation Sound, Campbell River, Port Hardy, the Broughtons (including 'Eden Island'), Clayoquot Sound around to Ucluelet with a rounding of Cape Scott.

Once further north from Desolation Sound and most of the way down the west coast we often had spectacular anchorages to ourselves to enjoy the incredible marine and wildlife.
A highlight were the sea otters who were curious and nonchalant in equal measure as they floated around in the kelp scoffing seafood and watching the world go by. For many their return to BC is considered a very special conservation success story.

At night we'd listen to the sea wolves howling across the bay winding up the local village dogs and watch bears foraging for berries on the beach.
While exploring the wild and remote beach at Cape Scott a lonely old football floated onto the shore which we kicked around for a bit before adding it to the beach clean up pile. It was a replica tournament ball from the 2018 Russia World Cup and we wondered about the journey it had taken to get there.

British Columbia is truly one of the most stunning parts of the world. Mind you, we could have used a whole lot more wind, we had the mainsail up a grand total of twice the whole summer!
After a couple of weeks visiting some favourite haunts in Tofino and Ucluelet with friends including Middle Beach where we were married in 2015, we set sail south from Ucluelet direct to San Francisco on September 12th. There's a blog about it and all the citizen science projects we participated in along the way, here.

The trip threw pretty much every set of conditions at us, from very lumpy seas and little wind for the first 36 hours, 24 hours of perfect sailing, 30 knots and 6m seas for the 70 NM either side of Cape Mendecino, to absolutely flat calm for the last 24 hours, culminating in a motor in under the Golden Gate Bridge in all its night time glory at 2200 hrs with our crew Nikkey and Constance.
As we headed south we went has a close (too close!) encounter with three Sei whales who changed their route and swam directly towards the beam of Freeranger before diving below us and coming out the other side. Such a close encounter with the 3rd largest whale on the planet was humbling and nerve wracking! Less nail-biting was meeting with 5 dolphin species, literally thousands of sea lions, and more and different seabirds.

It was a pretty amazing landfall, especially for Larissa who in a perfect storm of bad luck had been seasick most of the offshore passage - something she's happily remedied since.

Waking up in the anchorage at Angel Island in San Fran bay was a magical experience. It was the first major climate and environmental shift we'd had since leaving BC and climbing up the companionway steps to the cockpit and taking in the new sights and smells from the dry hills and eucalyptus trees was highly memorable. You know the feeling when you're 'somewhere new'.
We cruised the bay area for a couple of weeks, staying in Angel Island, Alameda and Sausalito and had our minds blown by all the self-driving cars in downtown San Fran.
We visited the Marine Mammal Rescue Center and celebrated Skye's 6th birthday on a hike to find the Redwoods and Eden's at a bowling alley with old friends.

At the Sausalito Boat Show we were able to spread the word about our citizen science directory and spend time with Mary Crowley of the Ocean Voyages Institute sharing collaboration ideas for ocean conservation.
We're very grateful for Karen and Jerry's hospitality in Sausalito especially during the heatwave days when we kept cool at their home while the boat was in the sweltering yard at KKMI for the installation of a new folding propeller which makes our sailing even more efficient towards our goal of minimising our ocean footprint.

After San Francisco we made our way down the California coast stopping first in Monterey Bay. The marine life was more abundant than we'd imagined with whales, dolphin and seabird sightings in every direction.
A visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium was a real highlight especially having worked and collaborated on projects with them over they years in our former jobs.
While looking out of the big glass windows to the bay we could see whales on the horizon. A girl sat next to us with her family and was completely delighted to see whales for the first time ... "it's a dream come true" she whispered to her mum.

An experience that stopped us in our tracks was the vast number of sealions all over Monterey Bay - in the parks, in the marinas, at the aquarium - literally thousands of them, stomping and barking all over the place. And the smell - oh my!
We loved watching them and all their antics, enjoying their rambunctious behavior but the shine soon left the joy as we started spotting several that had strangling fishing wire tightly around their necks or fins. For any we spotted like that we reported them to the Marine Mammal Rescue Center on their reporting hotline. It was a sobering reminder of the impact lost fishing gear has on marine and wildlife - something we update other cruisers about during the morning cruiser Nets.

Further south in Catalina Island we experienced another environment and climate shift. Calls of "CACTUS!!!" rang out as we made the approach into the bay. Hot, dry and arid hills peppered with tall spikey cacti were such a foreign sight for us after so long in lush green British Columbia.
Duncan had the unenviable task of diving on the propeller just outside the islands when it got tangled in fishing line. He was a little pale as he went off the stern, no doubt his mind full of uncomfortable thoughts of Great White Sharks - a fair concern as the islands are one of the most famous nursery grounds for them in the world. Luckily none came to visit.

After a couple of nights on anchor we celebrated Canada Day with a Canadian boat (home to a lovely Brit and South African!) and enjoyed the novelty value of having neighbors that included a real life pirate who would fire his handheld cannon at dusk each evening making us jump our of our skin the first time during dinner.
We had a smooth passage across to Newport Beach arriving at dusk to the lights of all the waterfront homes. The marinas and private moorage was all choca-bloc so we wondered if we'd be lucky with a spot in the Government anchorage which it turned out we were the only people staying in - very VIP. This was a perfect landing point for a highly anticipated family day at Disneyland and a chance to catch up with an old university buddy.
By mid-October we reached San Diego arriving in the morning having navigated several warships on the way into the bay. We had secured a reciprocal spot at the beautiful San Diego Yacht Club but in a twist of fate our gearbox failed on entry to the marina and we ended up reversing in and staying two weeks at the dock while we worked to get it sorted.
It was a bonus for the kids and visiting Grandy to enjoy the pool and entertainment at the club and we had many visitors including friends, family and club members to show around the boat and explain the project. We can't give thanks enough to Steve and Tomi for their generous welcome to San Diego - they made us feel right at home.
San Diego is a fantastic city and it was a great place for us to make final preparations for the voyage into Mexico.
We signed up to join the 30th Baja Ha Ha, an popular cruiser rally into the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. With over 30 kids taking part with their families we thought it would be a great opportunity for Eden and Skye to have a good social time ... and, us too of course with Theo and Ali joining in for the journey (a couple of articles on us here and here).
Engaging other cruisers with conservation and citizen science inspiration is also a big part of our motivation!

Having made quite the name for ourselves with our prize-winning costumes at the welcome event we enjoyed sharing information about the Citizen Science Directory and environmental education with the other 400 boaters taking part. Many of the friends we made have been cruising with us in the weeks since and support for the Citizen Science directory and project demonstrations has been fantastic!
The wildlife on the Baja coast was extraordinary - no doubt because of our timing with the sardine run in Baja California - a natural event where sardines and mackerel migrate along the coast and attract predators.

It's considered one of the most exciting natural events in the North Pacific and for good reason! It takes place from mid-October to the end of November when large schools of sardines and mackerel migrate together and create a dreamy feast for predators like dolphins, sea lions, sharks, whales, orcas, tunas, and marlins who are attracted to the sardines and who we'd watch daily from the boat.
The jumping marlin were always a treat to see ... less so the shark who tailed our fishing line for some hours before giving up and catching his own.
The timing was also good for migrating whales - Gray and Humpback - which we've been journeying south with since leaving BC.

And on the arrival to Bahia Maria we were greeted at dawn by a super-pod of hundreds of dolphins.
We spent a few weeks based initially out of La Paz exploring the Sea of Cortez with a great visit from Liza. One of the best places for snorkeling near La Paz, Mexico we found was Isla Espíritu Santo, particularly the areas of "Los Islotes" where you can swim with sea lions, and other nearby spots like "El Bajo," "Las Ánimas," and "La Reina" which offer diverse marine life including parrotfish, barracuda, and groupers. We were delighted to see so many sea turtles in these waters and have shared a new project in the directory about it.

A highlight was the opportunity to join marine biologist and science educator Pablo Ahuja, a co-founder of Mar Libre - on a whale shark trip. La Paz, Mexico is a key location for whale sharks because of its nutrient-rich waters and plankton blooms, which provide an ideal feeding ground for the gentle giants. Aside from coming to feed, the whale sharks of La Paz also come here to give birth and rear their young in the safe, warm and shallow waters. The conditions that make the waters of La Paz ideal for whale sharks also attract blue and humpback whales who come to feast and revel in this natural nursery.

Whale sharks are endangered and protected by Mexican law and as such it's essential to do this with a licensed operator that enforces a "look but don't touch" policy. We spent most of the day with him learning about the history of marine studies on manta rays and whale sharks in La Paz which he's been involved in for decades. To snorkel alongside them with experienced guides in their natural environment was an experience of a lifetime.
In the Baja we were able to add some more local projects to the citizen science directory including some very interesting initiatives on sea turtles.
In early December we sailed further north to Isla San Francisco a small island off the eastern coast of Baja California Sur, south of Isla San José. It's a stunningly picturesque crescent shaped island, with pristine shores and crystalline waters. Perfect for the kids to work on their snorkel skills.

At the end of the year we set off across the Sea of Cortez stopping at the remote and wild Isla Isabel. It's a small volcanic island about 15 miles off the west coast of Mexico, about 90 miles south of Mazatlan and 70 miles north of Banderas Bay. Fondly called 'Mexico's Little Galapagos' by French filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau who spent many months on the island, the marine sanctuary is best known for its diverse ecosystems, birdlife and marine mammals.
We had breathtaking encounters with Blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and brown pelicans who live in their thousands on the island and have no care or interest in the handful of humans that visit each day.
Hiking across the island was an astonishing experience with birds nesting absolutely every where. While looking up you also had to be looking down to be sure not to step on one of the gazillions of iguanas that cruised around looking for sunshine.

One afternoon we went snorkelling with the kids only to find ourselves in the pathway of a pod of pilot whales. We stayed put as around 20-30 cruised right around us and passed us by gracefully diving below us as they went. We're rarely speechless but that was quite something. Of course, typically, we had no camera to capture the moment, such is the serendipitous nature of wildlife encounters!

We spent Christmas in La Cruz with family aboard - it was much needed family time for everyone and we enjoyed marina movie-nights, learning about Mexican Christmas traditions, trips to the local crocodile sanctuary, a turtle release and opportunities to spend time with friends new and old in Punta Mita, La Cruz, Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad where we are now.
There are lots of kids boats here and we're enjoying a daily cruiser update on the Net sharing local marine life trivia and environmental tips with our boating friends. We've been hosting some educational outreach events aboard Freeranger inviting our boat neighbours aboard to learn about projects we - and they! - can participate in during their cruising.

We have added many new projects to the Citizen Science Directory for Cruisers we have set up on the Free Range Ocean website www.freerangeocean.org, and we are now building some exciting initiatives with local partners in the Pacific Islands that will make FREERANGER available to support their local ocean conservation projects.
Next up our plan is to set off from Mexico in the spring on a passage to Pitcairn!
We’re very much looking forward to 2025!
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