Filson's Expedition To The Sea Of Cortez

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Established in Seattle in 1897, Filson is the leading outfitter and manufacturer of unfailing goods and apparel. Built upon a reputation for reliability, Filson has been trusted by generations of anglers and hunters, engineers and explorers, mariners and ranchers, and anyone who refuses to stay indoors.

The Filson team in the Sea of Cortez.

After 125 years of unfailing goods, the Filson team recently made their first expedition to explore the Sonoran Desert and fish the abundant waters of the Gulf of California. Also known as the Sea of Cortez, this environment has been a destination and inspiration to countless outdoorsmen, naturalists, and anglers–including John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Jacques Cousteau. With Cousteau himself calling it, “the world’s aquarium.”

Once again I’m here to help you find the best products at Filson. I’ve found some really cool, beautiful and functional new products from their catalog. This article features a list of new arrivals from their Sea of Cortez expedition that caught my attention for the summer season.

Baja California – Sea of Cortez

Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez, Baja California.

The Sea of Cortez is a marginal sea with a 2,500-mile coastline separating the Baja California peninsula from the Mexico mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa. Ages ago, tectonic forces fractured the Baja California peninsula from the mainland, creating a complex seabed geology with depths exceeding 9,800 feet. This narrow sea is a rich ecosystem that supports a wide range of sea creatures including the nearly extinct Laquita porpoise and other endangered species.

A California sea lion seal enjoying the rays of the sun in the Sea of Cortez.

Also found in the gulf are migratory species such as humpback, killer and blue whales, manta rays, and Humboldt squid. The gulf’s nearly 1,000 islands serve as nesting sites for seabirds, and it provides primary breeding, feeding and nursing grounds for countless migratory and resident species.

Mahi-Mahi – Yellow Fin Tuna

Mahi-Mahi – Yellow Fin Tuna is a top water fish distributed in tropical and subtropical off-shore waters, is often called a Dorado. Mahi-mahi are swift and acrobatic game fish with striking colours. Its a powerful fish with a single, long dorsal fin that extends from its head nearly to its tail. Its bright blue, green and golden colors are remarkable. The heads of males are prominent, extending above the body.

John Steinbeck And The Sea of Cortez, Mexico

In 1940, writer John Steinbeck and biologist Edward F. Ricketts ventured aboard the “Western Flyer,” a sardine boat out of Monterey, California, on a 4,000-mile voyage around the Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. Steinbeck’s book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez, provides an exciting, day-by-day account of their expedition wonderfully combines science, philosophy, and high-spirited adventure, and provides a much fuller picture of Steinbeck – and his beliefs about man and the world – than any of his fictional works.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Ed Ricketts strongly influenced Steinbeck’s writing. Steinbeck frequently took small trips with Ricketts along the California coast to give himself time off from his writing and to collect biological specimens, which Ricketts sold for a living. Their coauthored book, Sea of Cortez (December 1941), about a collecting expedition to the Gulf of California in 1940, which was part travelogue and part natural history.

The Western Flyer

The Western Flyer had begun her life only three years earlier at the Western Boat Building Company in Tacoma, Washington, where shipyard owner Martin Petrich specialized in sardine seiners for a fishery that was booming on the West Coast.

Western Flyer

Mr. Petrich used a single 64-foot long piece of fir milled from a single tree for the keel of the Western Flyer. Her ribs were oak because it bends well to create the complex curves of a seiner’s hull. Finished, she was seventy-seven feet long with a twenty-foot beam, painted white with black trim, her hull an elegant, flowing shape that seemed to welcome the water around her.

The Western Flyer was a young boat as she sailed from Monterey Bay that afternoon, unaware, of course, that she and that voyage would inspire future millions of people to love and explore the sea.

Twin Lakes Sport Shirt

Twin Lakes Sport Shirt. Photo by Filson.

Built for warm-weather action with a quick-dry, moisture wicking polyester-nylon blend fabric. This shirt has a vented rear yoke for air circulation and breathability. The shirt provides UPF 30+ sun protection. Perfect for a day of ocean fishing in the Sea of Cortez.