FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF BAJA MEXICO BY SEA 1957 “ACROSS THE SEVEN SEAS“ 14734

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 (09:22). Larry runs at the colony but fails to catch a seal pup. Back at sea, the two men see dozens of porpoises swimming with the boat (10:04). The two men paddle a raft to shore where Bob has landed his plane and set up a camp for them (10:45). The two men face rough water (12:54), but then they pass the tip of the peninsula, and see the rock formations, including the arch of Cabo San Lucas. They anchor off Las Cruces (13:40), and the two men hike to three stone crosses commemorating Cortez’s visit. Upon arriving at the port of La Paz (14:25), the men are greeted by a large group of Mexicans. While in La Paz, Larry and Milt get ice cream and a shoe shine (15:22). Next, viewers are taken to Mulege (15:50), as the Searcher struggles over sand bars while making its way upriver to the little village. They are greeted by the Salazars (16:42), owners and operators of Club Mulege. The men are taken to club and sit for lunch. There is a shot of Mulege, and the episode also shows footage of the town’s church, a boy hauling water, a man riding his donkey. Mr. Salazar takes the two men fishing in Conception Bay (18:04), where they reel in a large black seabass. The Searcher is shown caught in brush and flooded (19:26). The two Americans bail water from the boat and go through their supplies. They say goodbye to the Salazars (20:45) then head back out to the Sea of Cortez. The Searcher pulls into a clear bay (21:03), and viewers see several fishermen catch a sea turtle. The episode ends with footage of the Searcher being pulled out of sea at San Felipe (22:11), and a car pulls the boat and trailer back to Newport, concluding the voyage. Milton R. Farney, passed away on December 8, 2017 at the age of 88. , We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit