We found that the anchorage at San Marcial in 2017 was a much more heavily-visited destination than it had been the last time we'd anchored there in 2009. That is fine; people should get to see the classic-yet-somewhat-secluded example of Baja boating that San Marcial offers. San Marcial has much reefy goodness encircling its northeastern…
January 31, 2017: the night was calm in Cazadero and sunrise brought a second day of heavy dew on deck. We had a favorable forecast for a change and so at long last The Fox raised anchor and got some exercise. Northbound to San Marcial, we spotted several dolphin and numerous sea birds who also…
Boy did it get breezy in Cazadero. January 24 – 31, 2017: The weather during this 7-day wind event seemed to follow a general diurnal pattern followed by a general nocturnal pattern. During the daylight hours, the wind blew from due W to due N, increasing from the mid-teens to the mid-20s. On January 27…
The anchorage of Cazadero on the NW side of Isla San Jose (25 deg. 01.157 N/110 deg. 41.128W, or so) has always been very good to us, and January 2017 was no exception. Upon reentering Cazadero on January 24, conditions were calm and GB was able to replace the failed alternator with our backup alternator…
Wendaway raised anchor and moved northward from Cazadero on January 23, 2017. The Fox stayed behind for one more day. The morning was calm and I noticed heavy dew on deck. GB stayed aboard and I paddled to shore for more beachcombing – an addiction that cannot be resisted. Life was good. #foreshadowing. The next…
By the morning of January 22, 2017, the crews of The Fox and s/v Wendaway had had enough of the fleet in San Evaristo. We wanted something a bit more uncrowded. The forecasts from the SSB AmigoNet and Sonrisa net called for NW winds 15-20 knots; the NOAA spot forecast claimed it would be NNW…
January 19, 2017. The morning was calm and clear with temps in the 70s. The forecast looked good for northerly and/or westerly breezes, depending upon which forecast one preferred. We decided to travel just 7 miles north from Isla San Francisco to explore once again the ruins at Punta Salinas on Isla San Jose. We…
Isla San Francisco is very conveniently located whether boats are north- or southbound along the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. We've even found it to be a handy destination when making a passage of a couple of days to or from Mazatlan. Its main anchorage, The Hook, has good holding and is reliable…
Once again, we more than doubled the distance of a ridiculously short two miles from one Baja anchorage to the next in order to recharge our batteries and make some water. We raised anchor in El Cardonal on Isla Espiritu Santo on January 15, 2017, and drove around for a total of about 5 miles…
As the crow flies it's only about 2 miles north from El Mezteño to the anchorage at El Cardonal. For us, however, it was about 5-1/4 miles offshore and back in, because we needed to run the engine to recharge our batteries. Sailing is like that sometimes. And so it was on January 12, 2017.…