The December 13, 2016, forecast gently suggested that we had two days to find some shelter from some southwesterly winds. Cazadero is totally exposed to any westerly or southerly breeze, so it was prudent to move on. We were close to a couple of suitable anchorages, so in the meantime we decided to move slowly and explore one or two of the anchorages we hadn't visited in a while. Such as the spot at Punta Salinas on Isla San Jose, a mere 9 miles from the Cazadero anchorage.
Punta Salinas has the ruins of an old salt works on shore, which makes for an interesting walk. We had a late breakfast at the flat-calm Cazadero anchorage and moseyed over to Punta Salinas, dropping the hook in our typical 25' depth at about 1130. En route in the San Jose Channel we couldn't help but notice the breeze was 10-15 knots from the NNW. By late morning was gusting to 17-18 knots. Conditions were whitecappy but we were southbound and knew that the Punta Salinas anchorage has some shelter from northerly winds.
Except when it doesn't.
Anchoring was no problem but the winds were wrapping around the point instead of blowing straight over it. With breeze in the low 20s conditions were too choppy to deploy our dinghy or paddle the kayaks ashore. However, after about 1400 the winds gradually decreased and the night was relatively peaceful with a breeze of 10 knots and the glow of a full moon.
The breeze picked up once again into the mid-teens before sunrise. Many dozens of thirsty bees found their way to The Fox. It was definitely time to bail out to Isla San Francisco – a fortunate seven miles away. Let's go!
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