Portland to Cabo anchorages?

[LeoKa]

I think it was not a lot, but when beach conditions allowed and we wanted to, we went ashore. There are some places to spend a few days and look around if that is your thing. Bahia San Quintin, the beach at the NW corner of Magdelena Bay, and Punta Abreojos were highlights. We spent many days at some places just waiting for better weather for us.

I might just do the same thing. I've been to Mexican countryside in the past and I enjoyed it. Thanks for the pointers.

 

[wfleenor]

I will have to get back to the boat to give you my stops from Astoria to SF Bay, but I found that staying outside the 40 fathom line nearly eliminated the crab pots. I assume most buy 250ft spools of line so they can't go deeper. I am a stop every day type and enjoy a spot while seas settle, so didn't do any overnights from Astoria to SF.

 

[LeoKa]

I will have to get back to the boat to give you my stops from Astoria to SF Bay, but I found that staying outside the 40 fathom line nearly eliminated the crab pots. I assume most buy 250ft spools of line so they can't go deeper. I am a stop every day type and enjoy a spot while seas settle, so didn't do any overnights from Astoria to SF.

Good to know. 40 fathom is still not that far out.

 

[LeoKa]

I think it was not a lot, but when beach conditions allowed and we wanted to, we went ashore.

When went ashore, where did you keep your tender? Was it safe to leave it behind while you were inland?
Do you speak Spanish, or how did you communicate with the locals?

 

[mvweebles]

When went ashore, where did you keep your tender? Was it safe to leave it behind while you were inland?
Do you speak Spanish, or how did you communicate with the locals?

I'll be interested in IRENEs response - dinghy in remote locations poses difficult choices for us. More than just Baja - universal cruising conundrum. You have to be honest about how you'll be using your dinghy - long runs for exploration and diving, or just short runs from an anchored boat to shore. You'd think our nice 310 Aluminum AB RIB with 20hp Tohatsu could do both but for us but it sucks at being a short range taxi. It's heavy and thus more challenging to launch, expensive, difficult/impossible to drag up a beach, and an attractive theft target: it really erodes the fun of exploring when you have to worry whether your dink will be there when you return (we have a long chain but there isn't always a good attachment point). We've often landed near a restaurant and hired someone to watch it for us and never had a problem, but still.... We've also hailed a panga for a ride to the beach on a few instances which worked well too, though can take a while to get a ride back to the boat.

Most of our dingying is short range to shore. So one of the things we'll be bringing back to Mexico this fall is a small lightweight inflatable that pairs well with the 3.5hp we already have. Achilles seems to have a decent selection of small inflatables made in hypalon fabric. Come to think of it, when I posted querying about small inflatables, I think it was IRENE who said they went a similar direction of carrying a small second dinghy.

As far as leaving the boat to travel inland for several days, we've only done that by leaving Weebles in a marina. I suppose we would consider leaving her in an anchorage with an active cruiser community.

My Spanish is not great, but I get by as long as I'm flexible. Often, what I think I ordered is not what gets delivered. On the plus side, one of my best meals was when I thought I ordered sopes (a type of taco) but received sopa (soup) which happened to be excellent.

Peter

 

[mvweebles]

I will have to get back to the boat to give you my stops from Astoria to SF Bay, but I found that staying outside the 40 fathom line nearly eliminated the crab pots. I assume most buy 250ft spools of line so they can't go deeper. I am a stop every day type and enjoy a spot while seas settle, so didn't do any overnights from Astoria to SF

Not sure this is a good rule of thumb. Unless something has changed in the 20+ years since I was delivering along this coast, seeing traps in water depths of 300-feet (50 fathoms) or more was not uncommon. Don't know if it still exists, but the commercial boats struck an agreement with the crabbers on a transit lane about 5-nms off shore (I think that was it). A lot of recreational boats took this to mean it was a trap-free lane. It wasn't. All of meant is that if a fisherman lost his gear to a tug and tow, he has zero standing to bitch. At the time, fishermen didn't seem to honor the "lane."

When headed north into the weather, I'd track close to shore during the day and dodge traps during season. At night, when the afternoon winds died down, I'd drift well offshore.

Peter

 

[Portage_Bay]

Not sure this is a good rule of thumb. Unless something has changed in the 20+ years since I was delivering along this coast, seeing traps in water depths of 300-feet (50 fathoms) or more was not uncommon. Don't know if it still exists, but the commercial boats struck an agreement with the crabbers on a transit lane about 5-nms off shore (I think that was it). A lot of recreational boats took this to mean it was a trap-free lane. It wasn't. All of meant is that if a fisherman lost his gear to a tug and tow, he has zero standing to bitch. At the time, fishermen didn't seem to honor the "lane."

When headed north into the weather, I'd track close to shore during the day and dodge traps during season. At night, when the afternoon winds died down, I'd drift well offshore.

Peter

It's been about 3 yrs since I've made the run. I was seeing pots out to 600 ft depth.

 

[LeoKa]

I downloaded the BAJA section in my c-map account and I was going down the coast to see where they show anchorages. Here is the list. My question to knowledgeable members of this area, where do you recommend to try to anchor?
- Ensenada
- La Bocada
- Pta San Jose
- Bahia Colnett
- San Quentin
- Bahia Del Rosario
- Pta San Carlos
- Pta Blanca
- Pta Cono
- Punta Rosalilita
- Puerto de Santo Domingo
- Bahia Tortugas
- Punta De San Roque
- Bahia Asuncion
- Punta San Hipolito
- Punta San Lazaro Hughes
- Cabo San Lucas

I wish there were more at the lower section, but they aren't.

Thanks.

 

[LeoKa]

It seems that ActiveCaptain lists more, but I need to read all of them before I can type them in. Unless someone has collected that info already?

 

[ksanders]

I downloaded the BAJA section in my c-map account and I was going down the coast to see where they show anchorages. Here is the list. My question to knowledgeable members of this area, where do you recommend to try to anchor?
- Ensenada
- La Bocada
- Pta San Jose
- Bahia Colnett
- San Quentin
- Bahia Del Rosario
- Pta San Carlos
- Pta Blanca
- Pta Cono
- Punta Rosalilita
- Puerto de Santo Domingo
- Bahia Tortugas
- Punta De San Roque
- Bahia Asuncion
- Punta San Hipolito
- Punta San Lazaro Hughes
- Cabo San Lucas

I wish there were more at the lower section, but they aren't.

Thanks.

In the northern section San Quentin is by far the most secure anchorage, Punta Baja is OK.
From there you really want to make the run to Cedros.

Remember the winds are from the north and the further along the coast you run in the large bay the more beam seas you get exposed to.

 

[ksanders]

As far as your skiff, you will need to be able to drag your skiff out of the surf.
If you have a wonderful center console RIB, leave it at home, as it will be virtually useless in Mexico.

I have recently settles on the very lightest RIB I could find, a Highfield UL260 with a Yamaha 6 hp. At 62 I can actually drag that skiff around.

 

[LeoKa]

Remember the winds are from the north and the further along the coast you run in the large bay the more beam seas you get exposed to.

Does the area have calm seasons, or it is constantly blowing year round?

 

[LeoKa]

I have recently settles on the very lightest RIB I could find, a Highfield UL260 with a Yamaha 6 hp. At 62 I can actually drag that skiff around.

Nope. Only a 10' inflatable with a 9.9 Mercury. I can still drag it out at 72.

 

[ksanders]

Does the area have calm seasons, or it is constantly blowing year round?

In general the calmest months are the first part of fall/winter November-December, which corresponds with the end of hurricane season.

Going back north can be a difficult run. Most leave before the start of hurricane season which is really the worst months for the north wind. Thats why it's called the baja bash.

A decent day is pushing 15 knots on your nose during the bash. You can wait for a week hiding from the weather to get a 2 day window.

 

[mvweebles]

In general the calmest months are the first part of fall/winter November-December, which corresponds with the end of hurricane season.

Going back north can be a difficult run. Most leave before the start of hurricane season which is really the worst months for the north wind. Thats why it's called the baja bash.

A decent day is pushing 15 knots on your nose during the bash. You can wait for a week hiding from the weather to get a 2 day window.

The classic good weather season is when the Pacific High settles in West of the Great Basin for a few weeks. It brings San Francisco it's annual 3-4 weeks of summer weather without strong afternoon winds. Usually starts mid-late Sept through mid October. Baja Ha Ha cruisers rally leaves San Diego around October 31st and just finished it's 30th year, so they have 90 legs of weather history. All but two or three have been manageable downwind.

LeoKa, the issue you'll run into is you'll simply run out of time. With your stop and anchor strategy, you'll be lucky to average 500 miles per week when you factor in weather, tides, and sightseeing. It's 2000 miles from Cape Flattery to San Diego. With decent weather, you'll be there in a month, but 6-weeks is more like it. It's 800 miles from San Diego to Cabo - might do it in 2 weeks, but again, probably 3-4. And that's without much sightseeing.

One question that hasn't been asked - why do you want to do this type of trip? Trip planning is a bit of a Tetris puzzle and you'll end up just hopping from inlet/anchorage to the next and not really see much. Maybe that's your definition of cruising. Sounds closer to a delivery than anything, but maybe I missed something.

Peter

 

[IRENE]

When went ashore, where did you keep your tender? Was it safe to leave it behind while you were inland?
Do you speak Spanish, or how did you communicate with the locals?

We leave the tender on the beach (dinghy wheels), unlocked. If we are in a village I will ask a nearby resident, men chatting in the park, or fisherman if it is ok to leave my little boat here. We have been confronted with nothing but yes, welcome, have a good day. I have not heard of any tender/outboard thefts in Baja California or Baja California Sur.

I do speak some Spanish, which is super helpful.

THREAD DRIFT - One of the most useful pieces of advice afforded me by another cruiser gone before me (thank you Ian) was this…learn about the Mexican culture, how they act, how they expect us to act, before going to Mexico. Couple this with some Spanish capability and your experience will be enhanced greatly.

There is a Facebook group called Sea of Cortez Sailors and Cruisers in Mexico that offers a reliable stream of information (actionable intelligence) including security issues. I recommend joining and monitoring this group as soon as possible if you are coming this way. You will learn the places and become familiar with many issues before you depart on your journey.

If you are not on Cruiser’s Forum already, I recommend joining that as well. Cruiser’s Forum seems to have more of an international and active cruiser user base, and there is a ton of useful information there.

 

[IRENE]

As far as your skiff, you will need to be able to drag your skiff out of the surf.
If you have a wonderful center console RIB, leave it at home, as it will be virtually useless in Mexico.

I have recently settles on the very lightest RIB I could find, a Highfield UL260 with a Yamaha 6 hp. At 62 I can actually drag that skiff around.

This is our sentiment as well. The lightest RIB to do the mission is best.

The following is NOT better than what KSanders shared. Our primary tender is a 7 or 8 foot Achilles air floor with a Torqeedo. Our larger AB RIB with the big motor, console, etc. is seldom used. If you go exploring on the larger tender and it quits…there is no help, no supplies, no shelter. We use the mothership to explore and the little tender to get to shore.

 

[IRENE]

Does the area have calm seasons, or it is constantly blowing year round?

We have only been in the Sea of Cortez since January. I claim no expertise or porficiency. We have found the winds to be all over the place and all over the place in the same day. Anchor for protection from the north, wind switches to the west, etc. The majority of our anchorages have been unpleasant or rough at some point during our stay. Most of the other cruisers have shared the same experience with us. Perhaps we were spoiled with cruising British Columbia and Ontario waters, where we normally found good protection. Others certainly know more.

We are not sticking around to see what summer brings. I have heard the wind settles down, but there are other considerations like the heat, hurricanes, stinging insects, etc.

The books I mentioned earlier touch on the weather. The salty graybeards here (with all due respect) largely tell us they believe patterns are changing.

 

[Cold Duck]

Maybe I missed something but I hear leaving for Cabo in the summer? This is Chabasco season south of Ensenada, not a place I would want to be single handling. Now if we are talking Summer leave PNW arriving San Diego Oct then leaving for Cabo Nov, that's a good plan. I know most of the comments are on North of SF Bay and quite correctly so. But Cabo in Summer has it's own issues. As for traveling you have to take it when you can get it. Wx good, we went nonstop Newport Beach, California to SF Bay 2 1/2 days taking advantage of good Wx. Next trip stopped everywhere we could to rest up, getting beat up just making it from Monterey to Santa Cruz in one day. Same trip took 6 days just from Santa Barbara. You need to be ready to take advantage of good Wx which will mean overnight sailing. Our cruising is with 2, we do 2hrs on 2hrs off all night. It works for us. I know you may love the isolation of single handing, but based on your speed I would bring a crew along. Pay to have him fly back from San Diego and you will never regret it. Don't forget that you will have failures on this trip, most minor some possibly life threatening if you are solo. Friends brought a 56fter down early winter and lost all electronics in bad Wx except a cell phone losing charge and declared emergency to get in Columbia Bar when CG had it closed. Plan for emergencies, pick good Wx, then have a safe and eventless trip.

 

[Cold Duck]

I had a book with hand written pictures on coves, bays points providing shelter down baja from the NW winds. This was made back in the '70s but those anchorages are still good. I am sure someone has updated these. We did 5kts and only made about 40nm/day. The only overnight was Mag Bay to Cabo so if you are going down during the winter months you will have anchorages (not always great) to protect from the prevailing winds. There is much better access to these villages now in case of emergencies, getting parts etc. Back in the '80s a trawler was down for parts for 2 months in Turtle Bay. Now you can get on a bus, be in San Diego and probably back on the boat in 3 days.

 

[Nordski]

We did the trip from Puget Sound to Cabo in our sailboat in the summer of 2014. We followed the route and stops suggested by Douglas in his book. Our only overnight was Mag Bay to Cabo. I think alphamike laid out pretty much the same route and stops.

One thing nobody has mentioned is a crab pot free zone that we only have seen in Douglas’s book. We found it to be a great help.

 

[woodlord]

I understand it is a bit early, but my plan is to cruise down from Portland OR to Cabo San Lucas next summer.
I am looking for suggestions/advice on nightly anchorages during this trip. I can go into marinas, if necessary, but my primary goal is to stay on anchor overnight and continue sailing during the day. I do not plan to sail at night, unless there is no other way. I am single handed, single engine, 6 knots, LRC. I am retired, so there is no schedule. Takes as long it takes. I am pretty much off-grid, so rarely need to get supplies. I can store plenty of fuel about 1600 gallons. 1200 in tanks + 400 in bladders. Ideally, I would sail starting early morning till late afternoon and drop anchor. Although, I managed to cross the river banks at Newport and Columbia river, I would like to avoid this experience again.
I am asking for recommendations for fairly safe anchorages on this route. I am totally flexible and not in a hurry. Any advice is also appreciated.

PS: since my boat is a roll type, I plan to keep my tanks full all the way. If you have recommendations for refueling on the way, please share. Price per gallon is to be considered.

Thanks.

I made that trip last August and like the others posting you may want to consider having another experience person with you and plan your arrival time during daylight hours we traveled between 35 and 50 mile's offshore to avoid crab pots and several multiple overnight runs
We encountered foggy conditions most of the way and if you are not comfortable with some of the bar conditions reach out to the Coast Guard they are there to help rather then rescue we came in to Noyo basin during not to pleasant conditions and it’s a very difficult entrance and ask them for advice and they sent two rough water boats out to meet us for crossings and navigating the entrance very tricky place
Also the weather can change quickly so watch it closely avoid Southern California for fuel it’s very expensive
We are currently back in Ensenada from down south there is a lot more anchorage going down Baja and lots of rocks and not much fuel after you leave Ensenada where you will be stopping to clear customs and get your Temporary Import Permit make a appointment well in advance and get your Mexican insurance online before you get there The Cruise port Marina is a good choice for Ensenada they will be lots of help with the customs and paperwork
We were just crossing the border when Hillary changed course and was headed for Ensenada we ended up turning around and went to San Diego to ride it out
May the Weather be fair and seas calm look us up when you get to Ensenada we can share our adventures and a margarita safe travels Captain

 

[LeoKa]

Woodlord

Did you sail down along Baja in one run, or did you stop occasionally?

 

[captobie]

I'll just toss out another book recommendation, if you can get your hands on a copy of the long out of print Charlies Charts - US Pacific Coast it has a lot of good general information on the harbors along the coast. Always keep in mind the book was written 35 years ago, so double check against more recent sources. But one of the things I like about it is that it was written in a time before all the electronic navigation we take for granted today and focuses a lot more on piloting.