Surviving the Summer in the Sea of Cortez

The Sea of Cortez. When we first embarked on this journey, I knew nothing about the area other than where to find it on a map. I didn’t feel drawn to it, wasn’t really interested in it other than I knew it was one of two options for avoiding hurricanes during our first season of sailing. We knew that we either had to go north into the Sea or south to Central America. As I have said before, we really didn’t have a plan once we left and we had no time frame. Our main focus was getting to Mexico to spend our first season there and we had no real plans beyond that. I had read other cruisers accounts of their experiences in the Sea and they all raved about the stunning beauty and the amazing anchorages. I also knew that many cruisers made it to Mexico and never left. They loved it that much. We have met cruisers who have circumnavigated the globe and return to Mexico claiming it is the best cruising in the entire world. I was beginning to come around. My interest was piquing. As we made our way down the coast of the US and into warmer waters we watched as the flora and fauna changed. Gone were the big leafy trees, the towering pines and the green grass. They were replaced by sand, cactus and shrubs and every plant sported a spine, thorn, needle or some other sort of pokey thing. Plant life down here takes survival seriously and protects its hold on the land fiercely. At first, I could see the stark beauty of the desert. I loved the huge cactus plants and the red and gold light that seemed to bathe the landscape all day every day. Almost every sunrise and sunset looks like the sky is set on fire. The water was warming up and we were wearing shorts and tank tops instead of layers upon layers of clothes to keep warm during watch. The further south we went we saw fewer and fewer clouds and felt no rain. The terrain turned from dirt to sand and rocks and there was less and less green. As we made our way down the Pacific coast of the Baja I was struck by its emptiness and lack of life and so little green, so few birds. It was harsh, empty and lifeless in my eyes. I was a farm girl from Montana…. we grow things, things that are green, things that don’t come equipped with body piercing armor.
When our first attempt to get to La Paz which is considered the gateway to the Sea of Cortez ended so badly and we opted to go to the mainland, I lost my interest in exploring the Sea. When we sailed into Banderas Bay and the hillsides were covered in trees, I felt like I could breathe again, and it further reinforced that I really didn’t want to go North and if we did, I only wanted to go as far north as necessary to be safe. Still everyone we spoke to continued to rave about the Sea of Cortez, the best cruising in the world they said. We went to a presentation by a cruiser who was returning from a 7-year circumnavigation. They were returning to Mexico to stay because in all the world, this was their favorite place. Gradually my reservations were worn down and I began to feel a sense of excitement to explore this most amazing cruising grounds. Spring was waning, and summer was approaching which meant that hurricane season was coming. We decided to push north. We had another difficult experience with our second attempt to breach La Paz. My excitement was gone, it felt like the desert didn’t want us any more than I wanted to be there. La Paz is not my favorite place to be however, it did bring me two new friends, Sarah on Perspective and Sherrie on Pablo. They each have brought much brightness to my sailing adventure. When I think of La Pa, the dust and dirt and sand dominate my thoughts of the place. There is a joke that La Paz tends to attach a bungee cord to everyone who visits, and no one ever wants to leave. I can assure you, there is no bungee cord attaching me to La Paz. We were beginning to feel the heat of the summer….80s during the day and 70’s at night…. little did I know that the day would come when I would describe those temperatures as “blissful”. We took care of some much-needed maintenance in La Paz and began heading north. I had planned on only going as far as Conception Bay, but plans change, and we ended up much further north and tossed in a crossing to the mainland and then another crossing back to the Baja. In Conception Bay, there are several thermal water vents that empty into the water there so the water temperature and the air temperature sometimes were the same, so you couldn’t even get into the water to cool down. The water temp and air temps while we were there ran in the high 90’s and one day the water temp was actually 99 degrees which meant that the coolest our boat was going to get was 99 degrees day or night. The temperatures continued to climb. At the peak summer we had daytime temps over 100 degrees, night time temps high 80s and low 90’s, humidity in the 70% range, and water temps at 90+ degrees. The heat index was in the triple digits for days on end even at night. Since nearly half of our boat sits in that water, it means that the inside of our boat “cools” to water temperature at night. I had never known such heat day after day and week after week. I did not know that a body could sweat so much that pools of water formed at my feet whenever I stood in one place for more than a minute or two. I couldn’t use my computer because so much sweat was running down my arms that I was worried about damaging the keyboard. Soon tank tops and shorts became too much clothing. I learned that I had to drink in excess of 4 liters of water per day if I wanted to be able to urinate more that twice a day. I do not know how a culture lived and thrived here. People work hard here, I was barely making it through the day. I totally get the whole siesta thing. During the heat of the day, it is very hard to function, even small tasks create an even larger demand on a system that is trying desperately to cool itself. One thing for sure, the snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez is amazing and had it not been for that, for being able to get in the water to at least surround the core with something less than 98 degrees, I don’t think I could have survived. In anchorages that are remote with little pressure from fishing, the fish are very curious and will come right up within arm’s reach to check you out. In one anchorage we even had to push them out of the way to swim. Everyone kept telling us, just wait until the middle of October and one day it will feel like someone flipped a switch and suddenly the days become tolerable and it cools down at night and you will reach for a blanket. Sure enough, one day you are dripping with sweat and the next day you actually put clothes on and that night you sleep through the night and wake up and your bedding is dry…. blissful. Although the summer was a challenge, dealing with the heat was overwhelming at times, we did have some pretty epic experiences. We weathered 3 hurricanes downgraded to tropical storms and got beat up a bit in a Chubasco, but the boat is still floating and neither of us has thrown the other overboard yet. We have finished our first year of cruising and are on to our second one. I don’t think I would write a post about each of our anchorages, but I will put some pictures of each one and a little snippet. Some of the places we will visit again but there are some that won’t make our list for next year. I hope you enjoy this photo journey.
Balandra – This is a small anchorage at the mouth of Lorenzo channel that serves as a great staging place for those boats either making the long trek into La Paz or those beginning to head up into the sea.  At low tide it is so shallow in places that you can wade from one side to the other.  It’s claim to fame is the mushroom rock.  In one of the tidal pools I found a neat shell which turned out to be occupied.  I tried to find an equally enticing shell to encourage the occupant into but alas, I failed and he was able to keep his shell.

 

Isla San Francisco – This is a stunning anchorage with beautiful turquoise water and white sand beaches.  There is also some abandoned salt ponds.  We collected several pounds of some of the best salt I have ever tasted.  Yes the water is that blue and the sand that white.

 

San Evaristo – This is where we weathered our first hurricane down graded to a tropical storm Bud.  These photos are of the storm going over us.  We tried to get a weather report but no one in the community (which is very small) had internet.  The old timers were surprised that a hurricane was coming and told us that the water was too cold.  There would be some rain and no wind with the coming storm and that is exactly what we saw.  They anticipated that with no technology.

 

Los Gatos – Los Gatos got it’s name from a family of Pumas that resided there at one time.  The geology of this anchorage is stunning with beautiful hikes and vistas.  We stopped twice and will stop again.  On the second stop, I hiked to the cross and left a memorial to my mother.

 

Agua Verde – The name of this anchorage translates to Green Water.  Only one of my pictures captures how beautiful this water is.  We hiked to an old cemetery.  I also hiked to a cave painting that left me filled with awe.  The power in that place is beautiful.

 

Los Calandaros – This was where Dave caught the bug to spearfish that later grew into using the Hawaiian sling.  He has gotten very accurate with the sling and seems to like the sling better than the spear gun.  We now have an arsenal of 4 on board.

 

Loreto – Loreto has turned out to be our favorite town on the Baja side of the Sea.  It is beautiful with good provisioning.  We like the Giggling Dolphin.  If you want a frozen marguerite that you supply the energy to blend the ice.  Apparently other Montanans have found this place as well.

 

San Juanico – Another beautiful anchorage with amazing snorkeling and wonderful hikes.  There is also a Cruisers Shrine where all boats tend to leave a little momento behind.  Definitely a place to visit again and again.

 

 
Conception Bay – Our first stop here we met a wonderful lady from Laurel Montana of all places.   Bobbi is a private pilot with a very adventurous spirit.   She opened her home to us so that we could cool off and get out of the heat for a bit and enjoy some amazing drinks and food.  I was also able to hike up to a shrine.

 

Our next trip to Conception was to ride out Hurricane Sergio.  We went deep into Conception to Santa Barbara Cove.  The eye went directly over us.  We had winds to 52 knots but it was a very safe and comfortable place to ride out the storm.

 

Santa Rosalia – Santa Rosalia is another place that we visited several times.  I usually collected strays on our walks.  The history here is phenomenal.  You have Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Pacific Northwest, and French history all rolled up into one little valley.  It is an old mining town and the mine definitely took it’s toll.  We hiked to the cemetery which stretches for miles and miles along the hilltops of the valley.  The church here was built by the same person who built the Eiffel Tower.

 

Sweet Pea Cove – This has some of the most amazing snorkeling that we found in the Sea.  I have hundreds of pictures and wish I could post them all.

 

San Carlos – This is on the mainland side of the Sea.  It is beautiful but hot and muggy in the summer.  We experienced a Chubaso there complete with a knock down and torn head sail.  Thank you to Brad and Sarah on Perspective for letting us use their Sailrite to make repairs.  It is a beautiful place but very stormy in the afternoons.  Stunning sunsets though.

 

Bahia San Francisquito – Meh, not crazy about this place.  Crazy rip tides at the entrance.

 

Los Animos – Loved this anchorage.  Only big enough for a few boats.  The fish were crazy friendly here and curious especially the puffer fish.  They would come right up to you and head butt you.  Nice hiking and shelling too.

 

Punta Don Juan – One of the natural hurricane holes in the northern sea but not a lot to do there.  No wind abatement but also no fetch.

 

Smith Island – We got to anchor in the shadow of the volcano.  This is out side of BLA.  The Bay of LA was definitely much farther north than I wanted to go and definitely a let down.  I had heard so much about it and I thought it would be like some of the other anchorages but not so.  Smith Island was beautiful but not worth that distance to get to and Don Juan was no more safe than some other places we found.  I would prefer to not go back but we will see what the Captain has to say about it.
Quemodo – Girls Day hike!

 

Ballandra Bay Isla Carmen – Beautiful anchorage with a lovely view of Loreto.
Honeymoon Cove – Lovely anchorage that we got chased out of by bees.  The bonus is it is close to Escondido which gets it’s water from Steinbeck Canyon.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this little photo journey.  Fairwinds to my friends Kathy from Tabula Rasa, Sarah from Perspective, Liz from Silver Wings, and Sherrie from Pablo.