SV Gallant Fox

Away from La Paz

The New Year of 2017 took off in fine form, with us still enjoying all that La Paz had to offer. Unfortunately, the relatively cool and humid winter weather soon caught up with GB and gave him a cold that quickly developed into a lingering case of bronchitis. We both made sure he stayed medicated and resting but it was hard for him to resist going out and about to see the sights.

The January 8, 2017, forecast promised good weather. GB was still sick but insisted he was well enough to set sail for the islands, so we closed out our paperwork with Marina CostaBaja and slipped the mooring lines at 0730 on January 9. Morning temps were in the 70s; damp, cool, and hazy. Winds underway were a very calm 4 knots or less.

We bypassed some of the more popular anchorages and aimed for El Mezteño on the west side of Isla Espiritu Santo, about 23.5 miles from La Paz. [Upper left photo via Mexico Boating Guide. The large bay partially out of frame in the upper left corner is Caleta Partida; El Mezteño is the small cove just to the right of Caleta Partida; and the anchorage of Candelero is the wide bay just to the right of El Mezteño.]

Notes from Underway - Ensenada Grande to Caleta Lobos

[Photo of north lobe, Ensenada Grande, via.]

Weather forecasts can change suddenly and often, especially these days as our planet's climate changes in sometimes squirrely ways. I had gotten into the habit years earlier of using The Fox's satellite email to download text-only spot forecasts from NOAA's National Weather Service to supplement the daily forecasts we heard on the SSB. Over time during 2016 as it turned into 2017, I realized I was getting spot forecasts much more frequently than I ever had before. Was the weather in the Sea of Cortez that much different than in the past? Had the SSB forecasts somehow become less reliable? My layperson's guess is that the forecasts had indeed become less reliable, because the climate was changing so dramatically.

Notes from Underway - To Ensenada Grande

December 17, 2016: the conditions remained calm in San Evaristo's north lobe but GB got skunked again with dinghy fishing all the way around the rocky point and back again. He reported that out in the channel the winds were blowing from the SW to S to SE in the mid-teens, much like they had blown for the prior 3 days. Could be why the fish weren't buying what GB was selling. It began to seem as if this were not the typical Coromuel situation where such winds pick up overnight and slacken during the day. Meanwhile, the forecasts on the two SSB cruisers' frequencies we follow in the Sea of Cortez - the Amigo net and the Sonrisa net - had both called for "a three-day blow" on December 15 that they now said would lead into another, northerly "three- or four-day blow" to be immediately followed by a steep pressure gradient that would bring even stronger winds for an additional three or four days. It could be breezy well into Christmas. [Photo of San Evaristo via.]

A Couple Days at The Hook

December 14, 2016, was breezy and whitecappy but we had ourselves a short and easy downwind trip of 7 miles from Punta Salinas on Isla San Jose, south to Isla San Francisco's most popular and sheltered anchorage, The Hook.

As is typical at The Hook when the breeze is in the low 20s, about 9 boats were at anchor when we blew in at 0840, but during the day several of them left for a downwind sail and others - including Kia Ora - arrived for a sheltered spot to see the sights. We took advantage of all the shuffling to reanchor in about 25' of water close to the bluff on the northern side of the anchorage. We showed a comfortable 10 knots of NNW breeze while out in the channel winds blew in the high teens to low 20s and kicked up whitecaps all day.

To Punta Salinas

The December 13, 2016, forecast gently suggested that we had two days to find some shelter from some southwesterly winds. Cazadero is totally exposed to any westerly or southerly breeze, so it was prudent to move on. We were close to a couple of suitable anchorages, so in the meantime we decided to move slowly and explore one or two of the anchorages we hadn't visited in a while. Such as the spot at Punta Salinas on Isla San Jose, a mere 9 miles from the Cazadero anchorage.

Agua Verde to Cazadero

The fleet anchored at Agua Verde awoke on December 10, 2016, to a forecast of good weather for the next three days. Several sailboats - including The Fox and Kia Ora - took the opportunity to move along. We heard on the VHF radio that at least three of the other departing fleet were aiming for the anchorage at Puerto Los Gatos. It's certainly a lovely place, but three sailboats in there would tend to make things a bit crowded, especially if other boats were already anchored there. Which the VHF soon informed us there were.

To Puerto Escondido

[Photo on left by Darlene Topilko]

Kia Ora and The Fox temporarily parted company at Isla Coronados as we both raised anchor at 0700 on December 2, 2016. The winds were a mere 12 knots from the SW in the Coronados southern anchorage. However, only 1/4 mile offshore from the anchorage, we had the winds clock to due west and increase to an uncomfortable 26 knots.  Could this be the mysterious "Puerto Escondido Effect" we'd heard of but never before experienced in this area?

Ah, Weather

Long-term cruising ingrains some habits that normal people may find a bit odd. Like a fixation on weather forecasts. Comparing and contrasting differing meteorological opinions. Analyzing and discussing - at length - which forecast might turn out to be the correct one. Discussing them all over again.

So it was for us on the Thursday morning of December 1, 2016.

Notes from Underway - Punta Pulpito to Caleta San Juanico

The Fox and our buddy-boat, Kia Ora, raised anchor at Punta Pulpito for a very short 10-mile southbound voyage to the popular anchorages of Caleta San Juanico. Both vessels were underway just after 0700 on Sunday, November 27, 2016. The morning air was calm with skies overcast.

Arriving in San Juanico we found only two other sailboats there, each of which we recognized as having left San Carlos about 24 hours ahead of us. With plenty of choices, we chose to anchor in 21' depths.

Notes from Underway - San Carlos to Punta Pulpito

The Fox put to sea out of San Carlos a bit over an hour after our buddy-boat, Kia Ora, had set sail. We intended to make a 90-mile northern crossing of the Sea ending in a nighttime landing in the anchorage at Punta Pulpito. Although it is our policy to avoid nighttime arrivals, we knew that Pulpito is free of obstructions and can accommodate several boats, so we felt most variables were still in our favor.