SV Gallant Fox

San Marcial: A Precautionary Note

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 point, plus some other submerged rocky shallows a few dozen yards off the point to the south. Conservative cruisers like us approach San Marcial well off the point and enter the anchorage to the south of the southernmost reef complex; this approach is very safe and well-described in all the most popular cruising guides of the area. Unfortunately, at some time in the recent past someone got the bright idea to plot a shortcut that goes tightly around San Marcial's rocky northeastern point in a relatively narrow passage of deeper water between the reefs surrounding the point and the submerged reefs further off the point. (The map on the right shows the point in question, next to a tiny red dot you can only see if you click on the image to enlarge it. Anyway.) It seems that the GPS waypoints for this shortcut have been shared among many, many cruisers. Heck; at anchor in San Marcial on January 31, 2017, we saw two different inbound sailboats use this shortcut within a period of less than two hours. See that low line of exposed rock extending out to the right past the rounded edge of San Marcial's point, in the left side of that photo up there? Yeah, the shortcut guides boats into the anchorage skimming right past there.

San Marcial At Last

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 looked pleased to finally be on the move. Wind and chop increased ever-so-slightly as we came abeam of the anchorages at Timabichi and Puerto Los Gatos, but dropped again to the 7-9 knot range from the NNW.

Nine Days in Cazadero

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 we saw a few gusts in the low 30s. Wind velocities at all times were lower in the Cazadero anchorage than either the AmigoNet or Sonrisa Net reported each day from various other locations. Which was very nice. The Fox's forestays began to shake whenever the gusts blew in the 20s or above, but we still experienced good shelter slightly east of the easternmost panguero camp. (Protip: the depth contour along the entire length of the panguero camp seems steeper-to than just a few yards further east of the easternmost camp.)

Hunkered Down in Cazadero

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 within an hour and a half. It was fully functional and recharged our batteries to 95%. Meanwhile, on January 25, GB replaced our galley's salt-water foot-pump; it had been leaking for a couple of months and just couldn't take any more.

On January 26, I rolled out of the bunk and spyhopped as is my custom. The sky was mostly overcast, we had a westerly surge with low rolling waves wrapping around the point and just barely entering the anchorage, aaaaannnnnd, we had dragged anchor about 50 feet. We reanchored back in 22.2' depth without incident, backing down at 2400 rpm to finish the job.

The Cazadero That Wouldn't Die

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 morning's forecasts called for 7 days of NW winds starting in the low teens and then increasing within 36-48 hours. There was again heavy dew on deck. We decided it was time to press northward, aiming for another favorite anchorage of ours, San Marcial, about 36 miles away.

Long story short, we didn't make it.

Again to Cazadero

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.

Two Destinations in One Day

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 dropped anchor off Punta Salinas at about 1040 with only two other boats for company - a small single-hander, and one very large catamaran. The only remarkable feature of the anchorage was that thirsty bees were buzzing about looking for any drop of fresh water that might be around.

Return to The Hook

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 in all but southerly and westerly winds. The Hook remains such a popular destination because it offers all the usual cruiser activities in abundance: hiking, paddling, snorkeling, dinghy fishing, and more. As per usual when we anchor here, we partook of it all.

El Cardonal to Ensenada Grande

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 at 1600rpm. We arrived in the southern lobe of Ensenada Grande by 1020 and high tide. The cove was empty of boats so we chose to anchor under the fisherman's cross in about 29' depth.

All weather forecasts agreed for once, calling for an end to the four days of southerly wind and fetch. They were correct: the night was calm and starry with a tidal swell that did not excessively interfere with a good night's sleep.

And just like that, the next morning we were underway to Isla San Francisco and the famous Hook.

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In El Cardonal

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.

El Cardonal is a very large, deeply-indented bay that has room for several boats, but is shallow for quite a ways off the beach at its head [as shown in the photo]. It seems that most cruisers opt for next-door Caleta Partida instead. Having anchored in both places, we could not understand why; the holding was excellent in El Cardonal at our anchoring depth of 27.3', and there was just as much to do on shore as in Caleta Partida. Perhaps it was because El Cardonal's winter water was full of organic material from the mangroves along the beach and inland? Was it us? Whatever the reason, we noticed during the four days we anchored in El Cardonal that most boats came and left after just one night. Or less.

The following days and nights, winds rose from the SW gusting into the high teens/low 20s, as forecast. We had a short and scenic hike onshore (40 minutes one-way) across the isthmus of the island to its east side cliffs, past some very healthy mangroves and other fine specimens of desert flora. Back aboard, the wind suddenly gusted from flat-calm to SE mid-teens and stayed there for a rolly and bumpy night as the wind-driven fetch entered the bay. El Cardonal's excellent holding made everything tolerable. This breeze dropped after sunrise but later clocked further westward, which afforded a bit more shelter under El Cardonal's north cliff face. And then? The wind continued the same SW-to-W pattern all over again, through January 15, 2017. This can grow tiresome. And did.

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