GillBilly YouTube video: Baja 1000 Trophy Truck Jumps Part 1

SCORE 2010 Baja 1000 Trophy Truck Jumps Part 1




To see more GillBilly videos visit our YouTube Channel; http://www.youtube.com/SITKASAILS

There's more B.S. in fly fishing than there is in a Kansas feedlot.
Lefty Kreh

GillBilly YouTube video: Baja 1000 Robby Gordon Jump

Robby Gordon Super Slo-Mo 2010 Baja 1000 Jump



To see more GillBilly videos visit our YouTube Channel; http://www.youtube.com/SITKASAILS

One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one's fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one's fishing companions.
John Ashley-Cooper

GillBilly YouTube video: Killers Huge waves 11-3-2010 3/3

First Day Out this Season at the Todos Santos Islands Filming the HUGE Waves.
Part Three



To see more GillBilly videos visit our YouTube Channel; http://www.youtube.com/SITKASAILS

The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming; thus it is with time.
Leonardo DaVinci

GillBilly YouTube video: Killers Huge waves 11-3-2010 2/3

First Day Out this Season at the Todos Santos Islands Filming the HUGE Waves.
Part Two



To see more GillBilly videos visit our YouTube Channel; http://www.youtube.com/SITKASAILS

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.
Vince Lombardi

GillBilly YouTube video: Killers Huge waves 11-3-2010 1/3

First Day Out this Season at the Todos Santos Islands Filming the HUGE Waves.
Part One



To see more GillBilly videos visit our YouTube Channel; http://www.youtube.com/SITKASAILS

There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home.
Roderick Haig-Brown

GillBilly SCORE 2010 Baja 500 Wrap-up

The winning 2010 Baja 500 McMillin truck

THE McMILLIN TEAM SCORE ANOTHER BAJA RACE WIN

The 42nd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 attracted a record 41 Trophy Trucks to Ensenada. Most of the big names in off-road racing have long ago switched from the open buggies to the 800 horsepower Trophy Trucks, even in these challenging economic times. And the Trophy Truck lineup reads like a Who’s Who of desert racing — Robby Gordon , Larry Roeseler and co-driver/owner Roger Norman, the father-son team of Andy and Scott plus Mark McMillin in a second entry, Rob MacCachren, BJ Balwin and father Bobby, and the Las Vegas multi-truck team of Tim and Troy Herbst. Almost 300 motorcycles and vehicles were entered in off-road racing’s second-oldest event, which also represented the midpoint of the SCORE season.

The son-father team of Andy and Scott McMillin won the overall four-wheel title. The McMillin’s Ford F-150 Trophy Truck finished the 438.8-mile course, which started and finished in Ensenada, in 9 hours, 15 minutes and 13 seconds for an average speed of 47.20 mph. Andy and Scott also teamed to win last November’s Baja 1000. It was the third win in the past four SCORE races for 23-year-old National City, California’s Andy, who won the season-opening SCORE Laughlin Challenge driving solo. It was the second Baja 500 class win for Scott and Andy as a team. Scott McMillin, 50, claimed his third Baja 500 overall win and sixth Baja 500 class win. He previously won the overall title in 1983 and 1986 while co-driving with his late father, Corky McMillin. Andy drove the first half of the race and Scott drove the return leg to Ensenada. Scott pulled away from his closest pursuers over the final 150 miles and won by seven minutes and one second over Baja's Gus Vildosola Jr. of Mexicali.

The speeds were lower this year on the boulder-strewn course. The unusually wet northern Baja winter made the course rugged and rough and very technical and challenging for the competitors. But 192 of the 289 starters finished — the 66.4 percent finish rate being the fourth-highest in history.

Economically the event was a far better influence on local businesses than previous Baja races this past year. The competitors were spread evenly between the two extremes of the Ensenada area. The Coral Hotel and Marina had a large contingency of teams staging their race effort, and the San Nicolas Hotel hosted a gathering of racers as well as the Estero Beach Hotel to the south. Each team brought a large group of support vehicles and participants – the guys that do the dirty work that win races here in Baja. The McMillin team entered 4 vehicles in various classes, a family affair for that race group. The team pre-ran the course 3 times prior to the race, marking all the difficult parts of the course in their GPS units. “We’re starting to click as a team and I think we’re the team to beat if we’re having a good day — and we’ve been having a lot of good days lately,” Andy McMillin said.

In Memory of Steve McQueen

Angling is extremely time consuming. That's sort of the whole point.
Thomas McGuane

GillBilly YouTube Video: SCORE 2010 Baja 500 Part Two

Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish.
Sparse Grey Hackle

GillBilly YouTube Video: SCORE 2010 Baja 500 Part One

I frankly don't make much of a living, but I make a hell of a life.
Jack Gartside

GillBilly YouTube Video: Tiger Woods Punta Brava Golf Development Tour Part 2

Video produced by http://www.truetraveler.com/
Copyright (C) 2010 True Traveler Publishing All Rights Reserved. New Baja Golf Project designed by Tiger Woods.

I've gone fishing thousands of times in my life, and I have never once felt unlucky or poorly paid for those hours on the water.
William Tapply

GillBilly YouTube Video: Tiger Woods Punta Brava Golf Development Tour Part 1

Video produced by http://www.truetraveler.com/
Copyright (C) 2010 True Traveler Publishing All Rights Reserved. New Baja Golf Project designed by Tiger Woods.

The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line.
William Humphrey

GillBilly Report: Todos Santos Islands Surfing - December 26, 2009

Fishing is a delusion entirely surrounded by liars in old clothes.
Don Marquis

GillBilly Report: Todos Santos Islands Surfing - December 27, 2009

After that first trout I was alone in there. But I didn't
know it until later.
Richard Brautigan

GillBilly Report: Todos Santos Islands Surfing - November 8, 2009

Killers November 8th...

I once gave up fishing, it was the most terrifying weekend of my life.
Author Unknown

GillBilly Report: Todos Santos Islands Surfing - October 2009

Two trips to Killers October 23rd and 24th...

Unless one can enjoy himself fishing with the fly, even when his efforts are unrewarded, he loses much real pleasure. More than half the intense enjoyment of fly fishing is derived from the beautiful surroundings, the satisfaction felt from being in the open air, the new lease on life secured thereby, and the many, many pleasant recollections of all one has seen, heard and done.
Charles F. Orvis

GillBilly Report: S.S. CATALINA Removed From The Ensenada Harbor

As you entered Ensenada Harbor in the past you would have seen a curious sight to starboard that may have shivered your timbers. Half submerged and arising from the harbor mud was the carcass of a once proud ferry that served the run between California ports and Catalina in times past. For more than 20 years this navigation hazard kept vigilance on the busy port activities in Ensenada Harbor. Brought to Ensenada 26 years prior to serve as an entertainment center and gambling casino, the historic ship had been the subject of controversy for many years and now has been removed by the Port of Ensenada.

She was the million dollar steamship, in the days when a million dollars was a lot of money. She was built with chewing gum, or more correctly of steel, bought with the profits from a chewing gum empire created by Mr. William Wrigley, Jr., who happened to own an island about 24 miles off the coast of Southern California called Santa Catalina. The only major town on the island was Avalon, an almost Mediterranean-like setting, far removed from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, on the other side of the San Pedro Channel. By the 1920's, tourism to the island was booming, thanks in part to a strong economy and Mr. Wrigley's various enterprises on the island, including a training camp for his Chicago Cubs baseball team, and his own steamship line known as the Wilmington Transportation Company.

The new steamship S.S Catalina, was built in 1924 to provide additional capacity and more elegant transportation to the island. William Wrigley Jr., himself laid the keel on December 26, 1923 at the yards of the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Situated in the heart of Los Angeles harbor, this location later became the Todd Shipyard. The new ship was designated hull number 42. After a quick construction period the new vessel was ready to take to the water for the first time. Named for the island which she would serve, the S.S. Catalina was launched on May 3, 1924, by Miss Marcia A. Patrick, the daughter of Joseph Patrick, president of the Santa Catalina Island Company. The Mayor of Los Angeles, along with 3,000 other people were on hand to witness the event. A little over eight weeks later the ship commenced her maiden voyage from Wilmington, California to Avalon on June 30th, under the command of Captain A. A. Morris. Few on that first voyage could have envisioned that 25 million people would follow them onto those same decks, enjoying a 2 hour cruise to Catalina Island during an active career of 51 years!

The S.S. Catalina holds the honor of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But unlike the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum or the Mission San Fernando Rey, which share these accolades, the S.S. Catalina carried 25 million passengers in her heyday, and ferried more troops in World War II than any other military transport. A 2006 panga ride around the 302-foot-long, 52-foot wide vessel found much of the vessel's port railing stripped away, revealing a bizarre sight of sea lions bellied up to the U-shaped wooden bar where passengers once gathered to sip cocktails. Imagine the luminaries that once walked these decks!

I once gave up fishing, it was the most terrifying weekend of my life.
Author Unknown

GillBilly Report: Samoa Tsunami Account

This is from friends of the GillBilly who were cruising in Samoa

Sep.29,09 Earthquake/Tsunami report from American Samoa - Tuesday morning (Sep.29) I awoke after a fitful sleep at 5 a.m. I, then, made my way, in the dark, down to the phone station as a flock of giant fruit bats glided past me through the morning haze. I needed to make a call regarding parts that we needed shipped to Samoa to fix our broken head stay. (There is a 3 hour time difference with California.) As I returned to the boat a massive earthquake hit us. We were docked alongside a large cement wharf with 7 other sailboats. The earthquake lasted around 1 1/2 minutes and before it ended everyone was up and out of their boats.

We all exchanged comments on the magnitude of the earthquake and how long it lasted. After about 10 minutes everyone returned to their boats to start their day. I went below to get another hour of sleep and as I stepped down one of our crew members, Emily, was coming up. She was coming up do yoga on the dock. This is her normal morning onshore routine and luckily this early morning ritual gave us a slight warning to what happened next. A few minutes later, from below decks, I heard a heavy creaking and groaning. Then, we heard Emily yelling at us to get up topside. I jumped up on deck and all I could see was water rushing out and huge dripping pilings next to my head. I looked up 15 feet and saw Emily's shoes and heard her screaming at us to escape. Luckily, Matt had left his sharp knife by the companionway and I immediately began slashing the dock lines that weren't already broken by the strain. I fired up the engine.

Meanwhile, the boys were frantically pushing the boat away from the concrete pilings with their soon bloodied hands and yelling for Emily to run. The water was sucking out so much that all the sailboats around us were hitting bottom and leaning over on their sides. Somehow Banyan was in water just a little deeper. Emily was trying to climb back aboard the boat. As the boat sunk lower and lower the mast and the rigging leaned over and pushed against the cement dock where Emily was attempting to climb down. She was pressed hard against a giant fender tire and our wire rigging. After barely squeezing out she fell onto the deck of our boat. Amidst the panic she told me later that she then decided to climb back onto the tire and then the dock and make a run for it.

I was unaware of what was going on due to our canopy blocking my view I decided to quickly fire up the engine and slash the last line attached to our stern. I gunned the engine full throttle and headed out into the harbor. We made it about 15 feet away from the dock when I realized Emily wasn't on board. The next instant the water switched directions and came flooding back towards us. We went from almost dry land into a surge of water 30-40 feet high. I shoved the throttle to full and we actually traveled up the face of the oncoming tsunami wave. Luckily, the face was only a 45 or so degree angle. We were able to actually motor up and over it. The feeling was surreal. I must have put the throttle to full just has the surge hit us. The boat remained 15-20 feet from the dock and we miraculously held our ground against the incoming flow. From our vantage point we saw Emily wade through the rushing water to a light post on the dock. She clung to this post as the water began to rise ever higher.

The other six boats on the dock hadn't slashed their lines quickly enough, so as the water rose they all began to bunch up and smash against each other as they got crushed under the dock. The catamaran, directly in front of us, got one of her hulls stuck under the dock and was crushed as the water rose. Within seconds her bow snapped and the boat sprung into the air with a violent rush. Our eyes were glued to Emily as she clung to the light pole. Soon the water had risen above her head and she disappeared from our view. Mike and I frantically attempted to launch the dinghy in hopes of trying to save her. As soon as we launched the dinghy, with the motor attached, the force of the tsunamis surge hit us and the dingy instantly flipped over. At this time a sailboat on the other side of the dock broke free and was thrown up onto the dock.

The water had risen more than 30 feet and this 45-foot sail boat was soon sliding along the cement dock towards Emily clinging to her pole. Somehow, the captain fired up his engine, cut his lines and was able to motor off the dock narrowly avoiding the light pole. Soon the water sucked back out to sea and we could see Emily running from the light pole to the edge of the dock. We all frantically yelled at her to run to high ground. She then took off towards the dock gate and the side of the mountain. When a second surge hit us she actually struggled through waist deep water to make it to the end of the dock.

From the safety of our boat we peered through the binoculars and could see that she had made it to safety. It would be hours before we were finally able to find her again and to learn that she had run straight up the side of the jungle covered hill. It was a barefoot hike of more than 300 vertical feet. After reaching the summit she found a tree and climbed it to get a bird’s eye view of the whole bay. By this time the few sailboats that hadn't been damaged too badly made their way out to where we were circ ling around in deep water. We, then, heard frantic yelling coming from the boat that had been tied up directly behind us. I jumped in the dinghy and went over to see if I could help. The woman was hysterical. She told me her husband had fallen off the boat while attempting to cut the dock lines. She actually witnessed him getting sucked into the water and carried away.

We later learned from Emily that, from her vantage point on high ground, she could see huge whirlpools sucking docks and containers under water. I quickly went around the distraught woman’s boat and cleaned up her lines to avoid getting them sucked into the propeller. The next 3-4 hours were spent motoring around looking for Emily and the woman’s husband. After everything had subsided Mike jumped into the dinghy and I gave him a ride to shore in hopes of finding Emily somewhere. As we approached the dock we realized that our bicycle and generator were hanging by their chain cable off the side of the dock. We pulled them both dripping onto the dock. Mike jumped on the bike and set off through the disaster zone to look for Emily. Later Mike told us that he had gone to the head of the bay. He found a friend of ours whose boat was wrecked. His boat was stranded high up on a grassy bluff. Mike helped him unload his valuables as looters were instantly ransacking stores, shops and boats. It was total anarchy. When he turned around to continue his search for Emily he realized his bike had been stolen. He, then, returned on foot through the streets where gangs of teenagers were running rampant looting and bashing everything with sticks that they all carried. Somehow Mike followed a trail of people who had seen the white "palangi girl". He eventually found her at the top of the mountain still perched in a tree. We were completely relieved to hear the radio report from him stating that she was high, dry and uninjured.

I hope to have more reports on the aftermath once I get a chance. We are all pretty shaken, but so thankful to have escaped with no injuries. Our Banyan suffered no damage at all and we only received minor scrapes and cuts. Just today we finally fixed our headstay in a “jury rig” fashion with a chain extension. Under the circumstances that is the best repair that we can do and it will be fine. We are going to use some jib sails we salvaged (in place of our damaged self furling jib—damage not from tsunami, but done previously to arriving in Samoa) off a wrecked boat that we helped the owner unload. Everyone wants to leave this place.

There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process.
Paul O'Neil

NEW: YouTube Baja Surf Photo Show Part Fourteen

Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed,turning back into yourself in a good way. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self.
Ted Hughes

NEW: YouTube Baja Girls Softball Video Part Two

I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish,
except we like it and it makes us think and feel.
Roderick L. Haig-Brown

NEW: YouTube Baja Girls Softball Video Part One

The Baja Beach Bash softball tournament held the 20th and 21st of June, 2009 was won by the Calexico Dynasty team. The Dynasty team is coached by David Jimenez, Gabriel Jimenez, Bobby Lucero and Griselda de la Cruz. Girls softball being played in the Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico area. Videos captured by the Baja Wanderer at http://www.bajasoftball.com/, visit the site to learn how you too can contribute to this worthy cause. We all can contribute to this growing community enterprise and the welfare of the future generation of these female children, often lacking in life goals and impoverished.

Video produced by http://www.truetraveler.com/

If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business.
Alfred W. Miller

NEW: YouTube Discover the Friendly Gray Whales Video

Discover the Friendly Baja California, Mexico Gray Whales! A recent trip south to the Kuyimá Camp to see the Gray Whales deliver their new calves to the sea and breed yielded a very special and unique adventure. The road to the San Ignacio Lagoon, perhaps the most pristine whale sanctuary on the planet, winds down the Baja peninsula through many different terrain and foliage contrasts. One minute you will be skirting the sea, and an hour later in the midst of the desert. The Baja Trans-peninsular highway is paved and in good repair for the 400 miles that you will travel to the little ciudad of San Ignacio. The last 38 miles to the Kuyimá Camp is a typical Baja dirt washboard path, kept up properly as this is an important tourist trail to see the gray whales in their indigenous environment.

Fly-fishing is the most fun you can have standing up.
Arnold Gingrich