Radar Love

Baja Bash :: Days One to Three

We are currently anchored in Magdalena Bay. About one quarter of the way to Ensenada (about 800 miles in total). We are here to get some diesel (being delivered right now*) and to wait for another weather window.

We departed Cabo at 5am to catch the morning calm to round Cabo Falso. As the sun came up we watched a 20 foot swell (a gift from hurricane Cosme) pound the cape.

Once we rounded the corner we had huge following seas and a nice tailwind (thanks Cosme!) for most of the morning. Leaving after the hurricane was perfect timing as the normal weather pattern brings headwinds, and seas and current on the bow. The rest of the day and throughout the night we had virtually no wind until we got close to Mag Bay yesterday afternoon.

What we did have was lots and lots of fog. Boy are we grateful to have a radar! We love it almost as much as we love our autopilot!

While we were happily motoring along I saw what looked like a shark fin moving through the water. As it came closer we started seeing white spots and realized it was a whale shark!! All year we had been hoping to see a whale shark in the Sea of Cortez and we finally got our wish out in the Pacific.

There have been a lot of questions of why we would wait until hurricane season to make our way up the coast. While we don't feel relaxed about being out here during hurricane season we waited until now because summertime brings much more settled weather (aside from hurricanes of course). Early in the season most hurricanes head west and after we reach Turtle Bay (another 200 miles) we're pretty much in the clear anyway.  This time of year we have a much better chance of getting light winds and calm seas.

If you're planning on bashing up the Baja peninsula be sure to check out the book The Baja Bash.

* To get fuel delivered in Mag Bay simply anchor in front of the little town in Man-of-War Cove and wait for a panga to approach. They will take your empty fuel cans and bring them back full. And then they will ask for a little bakshish - like T-shirts or flashlights.


Please note that Camille is/will be for sale when we get to San Diego!

What's next?

We just arrived in Cabo San Lucas. What a crazy place after the peaceful anchorages we've had mostly to ourselves over the past few weeks. So, why are we here? We're on our way north!

After a year and a half of living and cruising around Mexico we've decided it's time to head back to the good ole US of A for a while and maybe restock the kitty. Maybe do a little land travel. 

Going back to the states from the Sea of Cortez is not as simple as it sounds. We have to do the "Baja Bash": One thousand miles of deserted coast-line along the Baja peninsula bashing into wind, waves and current. And a couple of big capes to make things really interesting.There are few stops and even fewer services.  We won't be able to do much sailing and there is really only one for sure place to buy diesel - luckily it's about half way.

When/if we get back to the states we will try to sell Camille. So if you know someone for a cruise-ready boat please let them know about our ad here.

Cabo San Lucas and more Tales of Gales

After the sand storm we left Turtle Bay on a great weather window. Or so we thought...

On the morning of our third day at sea the wind became gale force within a matter of an hour. Apparently the Northers that plague the Sea of Cortez during the winter months can make their way across Baja and blow into the Pacific without warning.

With good sized swells form the NorthWest and high winds from the NorthEast the seas started building quickly and became confused, short and steep. To make matters worse, a direct course for Cabo put us right into the trough knocking us onto our side. We started running downwind, but after calling  my dad on our sat phone to get the most recent weather update we learned that this blow would last about 24 hours. Since running downwind in a gale is a fast way to travel, we would have ended up pretty far off shore, forcing us to beat back through sloppy seas and adding a day or two to our trip.

So we opted for heading towards shore. Usually this is not a good idea, but since this was an offshore wind there was no chance of us getting onto a lee shore. Our cruising guide stated that this shore is excellent to stay close to when doing the Baja Bash (heading north into waves, wind, and current), so we knew it would be fairly safe. We were also hoping that with less fetch the seas would be calmer and we could once again head towards Cabo. Our plan worked great! We beat into the waves at about one knot and when we got within 10 miles of shore the seas settled. Take a look at our SPOT track to see our route.

We finally made it to Cabo. The last time I had been there was in 1988, when I was sailing from Germany to San Diego with my parents. Back then we had visited a quaint fishing town with one or two inns and now I returned to spring break central. Condos and hotels have sprung up everywhere and our boat was in a constant state of motion due to pangas and jet skis zipping by.

Mike and I had a blast though, sneaking into resorts to use their pools and showers, and sipping margaritas with our feet in the sand.

Lover's Beach

Lover's Beach

Left: Mike 2012 -- Right: Verena 1988
At The Giggling Marlin Cantina, Cabo San Lucas