The Online Magazine for Traveling & Living in Baja
New Stories - Subscribe for FREE - Advertise - Contact
Sailing Log from the Sea of Cortez – Part 2 • Isla San Jose & San Evaristo
Jump to: Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
As the journey continues…
Voyage aboard the sailing vessel Defiant seeking fun in the Sea of Cortez. With a first leg goal of Guaymas, where some additional refitting will be done to the boat, the Defiant continues in a multi part literary adventure in the Sea of Cortez.
by Capt. Tomas
We had planned to be much further north by this point, we had been out a little less than a week and had only made it 26 miles from our starting point with our destination of Guaymas about a weeks sail away. But the weather had been great for all the boating activities and we didn’t really have a need to complete the voyage by any specific date.
After diving Los Islotes twice we had burned up all four of the aluminum 80’s we carry on deck. That evening in Ensenada Grande, at the north end of La Partida, we met some of the crew of a large luxury yacht anchored on the far side of the inlet. Now, from sailor’s perspective luxury yachts mainly serve to deploy jet skies and pollute an otherwise quiet anchorage with the through the night drone of a 16kw genset or two. These folks however, prove quite useful, by providing plenty of crushed ice to put in our beverages (ice is considered a real luxury on most smaller cruising craft) and even more importantly refill all four of our scuba tanks in about 2hrs.
Keeping food and beverages frosty cold is not as difficult in the fall weather as it can be in the summer. Most marine built-in refrigeration units are water cooled, which helps to some extent when air temperatures are around 100°F. But at that temperature many compressors run virtually constantly. With the cooler fall temperatures my Norcold fridge was able to run virtually of the 100W solar panel output alone. With the benefit of firing up the generator after dark for the privilege of having a fully illuminated cabin and a DVD movie to end the day we were keeping our batteries pretty well topped off.
Finally motivated to escape Bahia de La Paz we raised anchor about 10AM with a course of 330° for Isla San Francisco and ‘The Hook’ which provides a good winter anchorage, as long as a real nasty Coromuel doesn’t pick up. I have spent several days in the summer anchored off the northern side of San Francisco and enjoyed a very quiet anchorage, but that isn’t the place to be in the fall and winter.
On this leg we had particularly good luck with marine life sightings. The usual Dolphin pods were sited, almost predictably north of Los Islotes. We saw a sea turtle (not for long enough to denote what kind) and most excitingly, a pair of blue whales.
It looked like mother and calf and Blue Whales, the largest animal on earth is an awesome and unmistakable site. When they blow, they get your attention from a mile away, it sounds like a truck dumping a load of rocks. When you see them you don’t have any doubt which species of whale you are looking at. Even from a distance you can tell, this ain’t your average sized beasty.
Unfortunately, the wind was almost exactly on the nose for our preferred course. Having sailed short tacks to Espiritu Santos I thought it might be in my own best interest to do a few long tacks to reach our windward destination. This made the 22 mile trip by the way the crow flies about 28 miles by the time we reached The Hook anchorage in late afternoon.
Here we ran into our first park patrol boat, who did in fact inform us there would be a fee to anchor and an additional fee to go ashore. Now these fees do not apply to ‘residents’ and I have heard a couple of different definitions of the word – native or permanent resident? Now, Innamay carried off a ‘charming’ conversation in espanol a bit too rapid for me to follow and got them to agree that my FM2 made me a permanent resident and she was obviously Mexicana. They were leaving with a smile when I slipped them the $20 pesos anyway, as most of the funds do go to protecting the environment of the islands of the Sea of Cortez.
They also reminded us that pets are not allowed on shore.
I had not previously anchored on this side of the island at the long white sand beaches extending out to the east and the bluffs to the north I was looking forward to exploring the island at first light.
Just about sunset a moderate sized sport fisher anchored uncomfortably close to us on mostly rode and a dozen feet or so of chain in a 20ft deep anchorage. Since sailboats and power boats swing on anchor differently protocol is to anchor further from the other type than you would from your own kind. This closeness was further exacerbated by the fact that I was all chain and he was almost all rode.
Little did we know their anchoring skills were to be the least of our problems. As the sun was setting it became apparent that someone had left the liquor cabinet unlocked. The four ripen gringos, who had probably been skunked fishing that day launched into increasingly derogatory comments regarding our onboard relationship and obvious age and heritage differences until May, who had knocked back a few brews herself, sent a third of a bottle of beer zinging over there heads. May is from Culiacan and once her dander was up… well, most Mexicans know not to mess with someone from Culiacan, its kinda Mexico’s Sicily.
Thank god she didn’t hit anyone or the boat and escalate the situation to all out war. Fortunately, in a few minutes the wind changed and our bow faced their stern and the combat drew to a close. When they didn’t leave the next morning, we did.
We had an 8-10kts breeze from the NNE as the sun started to warm and we decided to do a single tack to Isla San Jose. Our course would make the 6 mile trip one of about 8 miles, but we would be there in less than 2 hrs with the current winds.
More below...
“Current winds” was a prophetic thought. About two miles WNW of Isla San Francisco the wind picked up to about 20kts. I hadn’t had sailing conditions like this in a couple of years and Innamay had never even fathomed being out sailing on the Sea before this adventure began. A few items found there way lose onto the cabin sole, but we had stowed pretty well over the previous week and within minutes we were doing hull speed with the toe rail in the water.
Because waves don’t have time to build over very long distances in the Sea as the do in the Pacific, wave periods are much shorter. Crest to crest in the Pacific is 12 to 18 seconds norm, while these localized wind patterns can deliver 3’ waves 5-9 seconds on crest. It makes for a wetter ride very quickly as the waves break and spray against the hull.
I had pulled the engine off the dingy back in Ensenada Grande so the empty dingy was skipping along behind us rather freely. We took a little extra time to sail around and enjoy the prime conditions, without shortening sail. May insisted we take two waste of time tacks because she wasn’t ready to finish, even though we had almost arrived at our destination. Not bad for a rookie.
We anchored at noon and after lunch readied the dingy for the trip up the mangrove estuary. The dingy ride is one of the reasons to anchor in Amortajada. Nearly 3km long the estuary of brackish water winds its way into the island. The first segment is about 1 mile as it leads away from the anchorage. It is like the Jungle Ride at Disneyland. If you don’t like pushing your dingy or rocking your prop, best execute this at high tide. The Mangroves then open up into a large lagoon, which at the narrowest point and high tide is just meters away from opening up onto the Sea on the south side. Dingying around to the SW there is an opening into another lagoon making the adventure one of exploration.
More below...
There are also Butter Clams in this lagoon. About a decade ago a cruising publication printed the exact location of the clams and between local fishermen and cruisers it became very difficult to find the clams for several years. But in a matter of minutes May scooped up enough clams to make a tasty botana for our dinner. (A note here again, only Mexicans may legally take shell fish in Mexican waters) If you do happen across this find, only take enought to taste the victories of your wild find. Don't go glutonous and stock up just because you can.
But dinner was not to be had at this anchorage. Despite the wind, the bobos had set their sites on dinner too. Amortajada is a beautiful looking anchorage, but local lore has it that those caught stealing were tied in the mangroves over night. If the insects did not drain all their blood by dawn, they were considered pardoned. I don’t know if this is fact or not, but I don’t care how good you think your screens are, don’t overnight in Amortajada!
By 4PM we raised anchor and under slightly diminished winds we sailed at hull speed for San Evaristo, a small pueblo on the Baja peninsula about 8 miles to our WNW. With a close haul we made it from anchor to anchor in a stunning 80 minutes!
San Evaristo is a fishing village in decline. With the dwindling fish stocks in the Sea and the low prices caused by factory fishing techniques, the local panga fishermen have a hard time competing and scratching out a living. Most of the young people head for the jobs and excitement of the city. Yet San Evaristo is full of the most enchanting people you would ever hope to go ashore to meet. Bringing school supplies, sweets and treats and just about anything else you might think this isolated community nearly a full days drive on awful roads might need is appreciated. (Also see assisting the students of San Evaristo) We took a little time to hike to the hilltop north of town.
The anchorage has a north and a south lobe. The southern anchorage is best in the summer and pretty wide open right up close to shore. The northern anchorage is deep right off the bluff on the east, but shoals up about ½ ways across on the western side. It is a good anchorage, except in a real strong norther, as the waves can wrap the point and you roll against the wind.
It got a little brisk that evening a anchor check and after a very busy day we decided that the next few days would be for making a little distance. With an early lights out call we retired with ambitious plans for the day ahead.
With the full moon now more than a week past darkness falls like a cloak and the pletheroa of stars and the glow of the Milkyway was virtually the only light to break the blackness. I fell asleep on the pilot deck, starring up at the vastness, as the boat rocked gently in the stillness only broken by the occasional crow of a cock or the bark of a single dog.
We had no idea the changes the next few days would bring…
To be continued...
From the decks of SV Defiant – over and out.