The northern half of the Sea of Cortez has a cluster of large and small islands in the center. These are the Midriff Islands. On the Baja (western) side of the Sea, the bottom has a very deep trench that brings cold water and nutrients up toward the surface. Critters of all kinds follow the nutrients, and it's common to see all manner of birds, whales, tuna, dorado, whale sharks, – you name it – cruising around. On the mainland (eastern) side of the northern Sea the bottom is shallow – in places, VERY shallow – so you have to stay attentive when underway. However, for those who like swimming in warmer waters, the eastern Midriff anchorages might be what you're looking for, starting in mid-June. Heck; we didn't even need to wear our 3mm wetsuits. At times.
There we were: we left Caleta Colorada on the mainland after a hyper-bouncy night, aiming for the SE end of Isla Tiburón and an anchorage there named Bahía de los Perros that looked like good protection from the NW swell and chop we'd been living with. The weather at first light on June 15 (0440) was calm and looked to stay that way until the afternoon. Our course took us about 6 miles offshore to stay in deep enough water while rounding Punta Baja (translation: "Low Point"). The area around this Punta Baja (as opposed the dozen other Puntas Bajas in Mexico) is a bit deceptive: the point with its metal-frame light tower is fairly distinct, and there's water all around, and you feel that you're so far offshore your depth sounder can't possibly be accurately reading 12 feet and less. But yes. Yes it can. Some of the cruising guides suggest staying 5 miles offshore in this area. We sailed 6 miles out, aiming for 40-45 feet depths. The least depth I saw that far out in June 2009, was 9 feet. I think there's been some shoaling since the guide books for this area were published. So I'd recommend rounding Punta Baja about 7 miles out.
There's also the problem of fishermen working this area. In the 40-to-60-foot depths around both sides of Punta Baja, we encountered large strings of double floats marking the fishermen's bottom traps. We learned from a passing panguero that they were catching triggerfish and murex snails this way. The difficulty with these trap floats, which numbered in the hundreds, was that the floats were empty clear plastic soda bottles tied together with black float line. That is to say, practically invisible in most any sailing condition until you're right up next to them.
With vigilance the shallow depths and float strings can certainly be avoided. Plus, we've found Mexican pangueros to be pretty hip, and they keep as much a lookout for wayward sailboats getting tangled in their nets and floats, as we do for them. It was still surprising to see the traps, and the number of them; they were the first we'd seen anywhere since coming down from the US along the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula in late 2007.
The afternoon wind increased to the usual high teens as we anchored in Bahia de los Perros (Dog Bay) on Isla Tiburón. It had the NW shelter we'd been looking for. I believe it's called Dog Bay because at different times of the day, the different headlands surrounding the bay look like crouching dogs, and dogs' faces. Entertaining. A few days later we rounded the bottom of Isla Tiburón and anchored at its Bahía Risco Colorado, where we also found NW protection. Mind you, this anchorage is completely open to the south, but the snorkeling off the anchorage's nearby reef was excellent and a female sea lion even cavorted with me for a bit. It was all good, until the wee hours of June 19. When whoopee, the fetch switched from the north to the south as a thunderstorm built along the mainland shore. The southerly fetch in the anchorage grew quite uncomfortable, bordering on slightly dangerous. We bailed at 0300 and decided to give up on the Midriffs for a while. Destination: across the Sea, south of the Midriffs, to Bahía San Franciscquito on the Baja side, 42 miles away, a popular anchorage that had possibilities for both south and north protection.
Lessons learned: in the northern Sea in summer, conditions can change rapidly and you can be forced to move on at any hour of the day or night, when a nice place suddenly turns nasty. Therefore, prioritize your activities so that you get your most desired things done first. Like snorkeling with sea lions.
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