Sea of Cortez
 

Hi All
I am chartering a boat out of La Paz Mexico at the end of February for a
week of sailing and to get away from this -20 weather in Canada. Any tips
or words of advice from any sailors who have been there ?

Sterling

Sea of Cortez
 

"Silver K" wrote in message
...
Hi All
I am chartering a boat out of La Paz Mexico at the end of February for a
week of sailing and to get away from this -20 weather in Canada. Any tips
or words of advice from any sailors who have been there ?

I was there in December (leaving -30 behind in Calgary). Some hints:

This web site might be useful: http://www.clubcruceros.org/index.htm

Weather is available through a cruiers net that runs at 8:00 am on channel
22.

Provisioning can be done in La Paz. I cannot remember the name of the
market, but it was very modern.

The harbour authorities will close the port if the wind exceeeds 25 knots.
We were stuck for two days. One charter boat came in to drop off a crew
member and could not leave.

We anchored at Partidu. The winds picked up to 40 knots in the anchorage.
We dragged twice on two anchors. (A first for me.)

We stayed in anchorage for a day waiting for the wind to abate.

We only got 1 and 1/2 days of sailing in on a 5 day charter.

When we got back to the charter basethe port was closed again.

I would go back.

Enjoy the escape.

Jack


--
__________________________________________________
Jack Dale
ISPA Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor
CYA Advanced Cruising Instructor
Director, Swiftsure Sailing Academy
http://www.swiftsuresailing.com
__________________________________________________

Sea of Cortez
 

Hi
Thanks for the response, are high winds the norm in the winter ?


Hi All
I am chartering a boat out of La Paz Mexico at the end of February for a
week of sailing and to get away from this -20 weather in Canada. Any
tips or words of advice from any sailors who have been there ?

I was there in December (leaving -30 behind in Calgary). Some hints:

This web site might be useful: http://www.clubcruceros.org/index.htm

Weather is available through a cruiers net that runs at 8:00 am on channel
22.

Provisioning can be done in La Paz. I cannot remember the name of the
market, but it was very modern.

The harbour authorities will close the port if the wind exceeeds 25
knots. We were stuck for two days. One charter boat came in to drop off a
crew member and could not leave.

We anchored at Partidu. The winds picked up to 40 knots in the anchorage.
We dragged twice on two anchors. (A first for me.)

We stayed in anchorage for a day waiting for the wind to abate.

We only got 1 and 1/2 days of sailing in on a 5 day charter.

When we got back to the charter basethe port was closed again.

I would go back.

Enjoy the escape.

Jack


--
__________________________________________________
Jack Dale
ISPA Yachtmaster Offshore Instructor
CYA Advanced Cruising Instructor
Director, Swiftsure Sailing Academy
http://www.swiftsuresailing.com
__________________________________________________

Sea of Cortez
 

Silver K wrote:
Hi
Thanks for the response, are high winds the norm in the winter ?

Periodic high winds from the NNW-NW are normal this time of year and are
called "Northers". They generally last from 2-3 days then things will
go calm for a few days before the next norther comes through. This time
of year, there's often either not enough wind or too much wind for a
nice day sail. The good news is that there are numerous wonderful
anchorages nearby. One of our favorites is El Cardonalito, a very
protected, almost fjord-like spot with great snorkeling. My one piece
of advice is to not plan too aggressive an itinerary. Slow down and
take it easy. Don't be surprised if you find yourself motoring north
into light winds to the anchorages and sailing back with either light or
heavy winds behind you. If the day has light winds, consider moving on
to the next anchorage. When it is really blowing, enjoy the one you are
at for a while longer.

Take wet suits as this time of year, the water is getting a bit cool.
Also small stinging jelly fish are sometimes present and the wet suit
will protect you from them.

Take along at least one cruising guide. We used and liked both Charlies
Charts and the Jack Williams guides.

Always remember that the charts of the area can be off by as much as a
mile or more from what the GPS or chart plotter tells you. Keep your
head out of the cockpit and use eyeball navigation anytime you are
anywhere near land.

The name of the US style supermarkets is "CCC" (pronounced "say say
say") if I recall correctly and there were two of them when we were last
there 2 years ago. Any taxi driver can get you there and there will be
taxi's available at the market to bring you back. There is another more
traditional market area down town that you may want to visit if you've
never been to Mexico before and things like decapitated cows heads
sitting on the counter don't turn your stomach. The freshest fruits and
vegetables can be gotten there.

If you are using a charter company like The Moorings, they can provide
you with directions and tips on where to get stuff.

Have fun!

Sea of Cortez
 

"Silver K" wrote in message
...
Hi All
I am chartering a boat out of La Paz Mexico at the end of February for a
week of sailing and to get away from this -20 weather in Canada. Any tips
or words of advice from any sailors who have been there ?

Sterling


Just be careful.. for yourself and your family.
After the latest Canadian kid was killed in Mexico, we'll probably see a
travel warning issued of the dangers and weak law enforcement there.

Sea of Cortez
 

Dan Best wrote:
Silver K wrote:
Hi
Thanks for the response, are high winds the norm in the winter ?

Periodic high winds from the NNW-NW are normal this time of year and
are called "Northers". They generally last from 2-3 days then things
will go calm for a few days before the next norther comes through.
This time of year, there's often either not enough wind or too much
wind for a nice day sail. The good news is that there are numerous
wonderful anchorages nearby. One of our favorites is El Cardonalito,
a very protected, almost fjord-like spot with great snorkeling. My
one piece of advice is to not plan too aggressive an itinerary. Slow
down and take it easy. Don't be surprised if you find yourself
motoring north into light winds to the anchorages and sailing back
with either light or heavy winds behind you. If the day has light
winds, consider moving on to the next anchorage. When it is really
blowing, enjoy the one you are at for a while longer.

Take wet suits as this time of year, the water is getting a bit cool.
Also small stinging jelly fish are sometimes present and the wet suit
will protect you from them.

Take along at least one cruising guide. We used and liked both
Charlies Charts and the Jack Williams guides.

Always remember that the charts of the area can be off by as much as a
mile or more from what the GPS or chart plotter tells you. Keep your
head out of the cockpit and use eyeball navigation anytime you are
anywhere near land.

The name of the US style supermarkets is "CCC" (pronounced "say say
say") if I recall correctly and there were two of them when we were
last there 2 years ago. Any taxi driver can get you there and there
will be taxi's available at the market to bring you back. There is
another more traditional market area down town that you may want to
visit if you've never been to Mexico before and things like
decapitated cows heads sitting on the counter don't turn your
stomach. The freshest fruits and vegetables can be gotten there.

If you are using a charter company like The Moorings, they can provide
you with directions and tips on where to get stuff.

Have fun!

Sounds like he should head further south. Like Australia maybe?

Sea of Cortez
 

Sounds like he should head further south. Like Australia maybe?



Soon!

Sea of Cortez
 

Some folks will disagree, but we really like Baja.

We've done two trips there with our boats, the first was two months
(Nov, Dec) in '99 after which we had our boat trucked back up to the SF
bay area. The 2nd was about 4 months (Nov '04 - Feb '05) after which we
worked our way south, before eventually making it to Tonga before
returning back to the bay area last fall. Our next trip will no doubt
also include Baja, though this time we will probably head directly from
there to Polynesia instead of spending a year exploring Central America,
Ecuador, Galapagos, etc..

Not only do we really enjoy Baja, but it makes a wonderful shake down
for the boat and it's systems. It is close enough that it's easy to get
stuff sent down from the states to La Paz, or even go get them
yourselves if you're in a hurry, yet enough of a trip that it's gives
pretty much everything on the boat a good workout.

Also, La Paz is great for provisioning. It's funny, but before our last
trip, I used to think of Baja as pretty primitive and third world. Now,
after trying to get stuff while in a lot of far more out of the way
places, I kind of think of Baja as the land of plenty.


Silver K wrote:
Sounds like he should head further south. Like Australia maybe?



Soon!

Sea of Cortez
 

What is the weather like at the end of February / first of March ? Being
from the Great White north, the only water I see in February is either
falling as crystals or hard as a rock.


"Dan Best" wrote in message
...
Some folks will disagree, but we really like Baja.

We've done two trips there with our boats, the first was two months (Nov,
Dec) in '99 after which we had our boat trucked back up to the SF bay
area. The 2nd was about 4 months (Nov '04 - Feb '05) after which we
worked our way south, before eventually making it to Tonga before
returning back to the bay area last fall. Our next trip will no doubt
also include Baja, though this time we will probably head directly from
there to Polynesia instead of spending a year exploring Central America,
Ecuador, Galapagos, etc..

Not only do we really enjoy Baja, but it makes a wonderful shake down for
the boat and it's systems. It is close enough that it's easy to get stuff
sent down from the states to La Paz, or even go get them yourselves if
you're in a hurry, yet enough of a trip that it's gives pretty much
everything on the boat a good workout.

Also, La Paz is great for provisioning. It's funny, but before our last
trip, I used to think of Baja as pretty primitive and third world. Now,
after trying to get stuff while in a lot of far more out of the way
places, I kind of think of Baja as the land of plenty.


Silver K wrote:
Sounds like he should head further south. Like Australia maybe?



Soon!

Sea of Cortez
 

Sterling, we have sailed the sea in the spring and the fall for the
last 3 years. La Paz is a neat city and the islands and anchorages
north of town are excellent. The crown jewel in our opinion is Isla San
Francisco. It may be too far north unless you get favorable weather.

Last Fall we cruised from San Carlos, Sonora, MX., down to La Paz and
back. Our blog gives some detail on the trip down. It might be
interesting to check out:

cruisevagari.blogspot.com

We have not found a better place to cruise on the West coast of Mexico
than the Sea in the spring and the fall. February is too cool for us
but it's relative to your home base.

Let me know if you want more info.

Stan & Rhea Strebig
Vagari 1991 Morgan 41 Classic
San Carlos, Sonora, MX