Returning to the Sea-San Carlos to Santa Rosalia
October 13-November 6, 2023
It was great to be back in San Carlos again. We rented a condo near the marina as we got Tasi put back together and prepared to head out for the season. Amongst other things, we installed all the running rigging and sails we had taken down for the summer and gave the boat a deep clean. Shelly did a big provisioning run to make sure we had plenty of food for the next several weeks. Between all this work, we caught up with old friends and made new ones.
Once Tasi was ready, we fueled up, headed out of the marina, and turned north up the coast. Our first stop was Las Cocinas anchorage. Along the way we caught our first fish of the season, a good sized mahi-mahi. Our first night at anchorage featured a great sunset shared with our friends on SV Sancerre. Unfortunately, it was very rolly and we got little sleep that night. While hurricane Norma was setting her sights several hundred miles away on Los Cabos and La Paz, she was also sending large swell up the Sea of Cortez. The next day we continued on to Bahia de Los Perros on Isla Tiburon. Along the way there were large, following seas that were breaking over shoals extending far offshore. The anchorage was beautifully calm and we got some great rest.
The following day we were off across the Sea of Cortez to the Baja side of the sea. We had a great sail and pulled into Ensenada El Quemado with Sancerre and rejoined our new friends on SV Tino Pai. There were some strong westerly winds forecast and our trusty cruising guide said that this anchorage has good westerly protection. As the waves built throughout the night, we can assure you it certainly does not. At first light, all three of us had the same idea and headed north to the next anchorage of Puerto Don Juan. The short trip had us motoring into strong headwinds gusting to 35 knots and short, steep, unpleasant seas. Upon arriving to Puerto Don Juan, we were met with an amazingly calm and protected anchorage. We took the next day to explore the anchorage and surrounding area.
After two nights, we went a little further up to enter the Bahia de Los Angeles. Our first stop was the village anchorage off the small town of Bahia de Los Angeles. This is a cool little town with friendly people and a great restaurant on the beach, Guillermo’s. There is a small museum that unfortunately was closed and a great little market. The next several days we spent exploring the surrounding anchorages of Isla la Ventana and La Gringa followed by another visit to the village anchorage before heading back to Puerto Don Juan to wait out some strong northerly winds. We even dug our dive gear out to check out a submerged reef between Isla Ventana and Isla Cabeza de Caballo. The reef was cool with a lot of big fish but pretty strong currents. If you are sailing through this area the reef is marked on the charts but BEWARE, although the minimal depth is charted at 14 feet, it is significantly more shallow than that. Give this one a wide berth.
In the winter, the Sea of Cortez is known to have frequent el Nortes, or strong northerly winds that last for days at a time. This was our first experience with one and we were glad to be in the well protected anchorage of Puerto Don Juan. Offering 360 degree wind and wave protection, this is a well known safe anchorage. For three days we stayed on anchor during winds that gusted up to 40 knots. When the winds calmed, we met the crews of Sancerre and Tino Pai on the beach for sundowners and had an exquisite dinner hosted aboard Sancerre. The next day, we said goodbye to Sancerre, as they were planning to stay in the northern Sea of Cortez for a few more weeks, and headed south.
Catching the tail end of the el Norte winds, we had a fast sail south. The winds were strong but fortunately from behind us which makes for a more comfortable ride. We were flying and reached our intended destination of Punta Teresa hours ahead of our planned arrival. Although we had planned to stop overnight at this beautiful beach, the persistent waves were very uncomfortable and after resting for a few hours, we continued on overnight to the town of Santa Rosalia. We again were flying seeing boat speeds of 8 knots which is very fast for Tasi.
Santa Rosalia is a small town on the east coast of Baja. In the late 19th and early 20th century it was a successful copper mining town with large amounts of shipping to European nations. There remains a strong French influence manifest in it’s unique architecture. Due to its commercial shipping past, the town has a well protected anchorage. We arrived at the marina early in the morning. We had stayed here briefly in June and were glad to be back to explore the town more thoroughly. The marina is small but very friendly and the docks are in excellent condition. We were pleasantly surprised to see the addition of a new craft brewery in the marina. Named “Padre Santo”, this new brewery is run by a wonderful family and serves good beer and food. We spent several days with our friends on Tino Pai, exploring the town, checking out the museum, sampling great food, doing laundry, food shopping, and even getting haircuts. After four nights in the marina, we left and headed south once again.
