First Circumnavigation of Baja Mexico by Sea (1957)

Synopsis

In this episode of Jack Douglas’ Across The Seven Seas, viewers go on the 2,500-mile voyage with Milton R. Farney and Larry Faguino and their 17-foot outboard motor Searcher from Newport, CA to San Felipe, Mexico. In doing so, the two become the first men to circumnavigate the Baja California Peninsula in a small motor boat. From his home in Santa Ana, CA, Farney speaks to the camera about the voyage (01:37). The episode then shows the Searcher as it is lowered into the water. A woman christens the ship with a bottle of champagne. A small plane piloted by Farney’s friend Bob Gibhart, practices an air drop of supplies (02:29). There is a good shot of the supplies the men have for the trip. Viewers then get a bird’s eye view of the port of Ensenada (03:30). The two men visit the Lehi II, a floating raft that attempted to drift from California to Hawaii. They check outside what’s left of the cabin. A Mexican fisherman shows how his boat is stored in a sand pile during the off season (05:07). Mexicans wave goodbye to the two Americans as they leave the port. The plane buzzes the Searcher (06:07), and footage shows a supply package parachuting into the water. The men throw a harpoon at a shark, catching the fish and hauling it aboard (07:17). Larry then harpoons a hammerhead shark and drags it to shore. Footage shows the corpses of Pilot whales that beached themselves on the shore of the peninsula (08:35). An aerial shot from the supply plane shows a colony of seals on a beach…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

24 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage