Victoria to Mexico aboard Gudgeon

After living on his sailboat for 5 years in Victoria BC, Matthew quit his job in May 2018 and set out on a long planned adventure. He kicked off with a double-handed Swiftsure Race, then headed north for a couple months of cruising before returning to Victoria for final preparations. With that, it was out to sea, on his way to Mexico single handed.

All we can say is, wow.

Matthew’s northerly adventures included meeting up with 3 other Sea Sloth sailboats in Bella Bella. Together they sailed (and actually sailed) the north coast of British Columbia for a few big sunny north westerly days. Highlights (at the time some were arguably lowlights) included: halibut fishing off Ivory Island, fresh caught fish and chips, mast top rope swings, glassy sunsets, beating in to 30 knots of wind with opposing current through the angry neck of Seaforth Channel, and, famously, a 2 am alarm bell as four sailboats on one anchor found themselves in the middle of a whiplashing tidal river sending logs past at 3 or 4 knots. His friends learned that a) Matthew is an excellent fisherman b) Matthew’s anchor is as burly as they get.

After spending the summer in BC watching whales, catching salmon and wishing the water wasn't so cold, Matthew and Gudgeon sailed south from Victoria at the start of September, 2018.

After 2,000 miles and 2 months of single-handed sailing down the west coast of the US, he finally crossed into Mexico where he spent the winter exploring various places including the outside of the Baja peninsula, the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific mainland.

Matt’s adventure continues and we plan to follow him every step of the way. We will keep you updated or you can get it from the source: http://www.gudgeonblog.ca.

Region/Route:

Victoria, BC north to Bella Bella, back south to Victoria, BC then down to La Cruz, Mexico via various ports along the west coast of North America (May 2018 to Present)

Featuring:

SV Gudgeon | Hunter Cherubini 36 | Skipper Matthew (@lifeongudgeon)