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 10-15. We felt it was time to move a bit northward to Cazadero.
GB and I really, really like Cazadero. I cannot recall ever having passed it by, not once. It's that good a spot. Not only is the holding good and the shelter excellent from NNW to SE, but there is a ton of fun to be had onshore.
Underway in the San Jose Channel we pushed through 2-foot whitecappy rollers and NNW winds that were indeed in the high teens to low 20s. It presented little problem to us; we knew from past voyages that the San Jose Channel funnels a lot of wind and water between Baja's mainland and Isla San Jose's elongated western shore and it does not necessarily mean that a particular anchorage will have the same conditions. Besides, the Cazadero anchorage is a quick trip 7 miles north and east of San Evaristo.
Our two vessels arrived and anchored off of Cazadero's fish camps without incident, but The Fox prefers the somewhat shallower and better-protected anchorage at the far eastern end of the fish camp so we soon reanchored in 25' depths and some distance away from Wendaway. (Photo above looks NW from our preferred anchoring spot along the beach to the San Jose Channel.)
We saw that some pangueros were camping on shore with their families, either fishing in the bight or perhaps tending the herd of goats known to live in the arroyo near one end of the beach. In the breezy afternoon, a child's toy sailboat made it all the way from the beach to The Fox. We rescued it and eventually Dad and his four children came by to say hello and retrieve it. For some extra amusement for the kids we included some snacks and a few small ojos de dios I'd made (similar to the ones in this pic).
At sunset the wind calmed down and the night was clear and starlit.We hung out for dinner and beverage enhancement on Wendaway and had a fine time, although we were saddened to learn from Mark that he would soon be selling his boat in San Diego and doing future cruising back home in Canada. Another cruising friend lost to time...
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