Isla San Francisco, Baja California Sur, Mexico
04/22/2003 - 04/26/2003
"The Crossing"
The "bash" begins. This video helps illustrate the comfort level.
Isla San Francisco is our next destination and it is about 200 nautical miles northwest of Mazatlán, across the Sea of Cortez. This time of year, the prevailing northwesterly winds can make this crossing an upwind "bash". Vessels frequently encounter 25-35 knot winds and large, choppy seas when trying to cross.
Whisper's crew waited patiently for either south winds (a rare but welcome occurrence), or for "light and variable" conditions. The forecast called for north winds between 5 to 10 knots. We left Mazatlán on April 22nd after breakfast.
Several groups of boats left on days prior only to return back to Mazatlan because of unfavorable conditions.
Whisper motor sails into the dramatic sunset.
Whisper left with six other boats on this day and all but two returned to Mazatlán. The wind direction was northwest and the windspeed was 15 to 20 knots for most of the day. Attempts to sail caused us to be headed toward Cabo San Lucas rather than 200 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, so we motored into the wind. The wacky south swell caused occassional discomfort, but not as bad as some other trips. Several of the returning boats were then stuck for several days because large swells closed both Mazatlán harbor entrances. Whisper slogged on into the night.
Robin, still smiling before her first watch from about 9pm to midnight. At night, it cooled down into the mid-60's.
At sunset, the wind started to drop to 10 to 15 knots and the swell began to lay down. Duncan managed to sleep from 8:30 pm until midnight. Moving further away from the coastline resulted in much less discomfort from the swell. Robin slept comfortably from midnight to 3:30 am. As the swell dissipated, the only drag was the wind direction right in the intended direction. We sailed north off our courseline for a couple of hours until the wind and waves started to build. Then, back on with the engine. Between 6:00 and 8:00 pm, the wind dropped from 10 knots to 5 knots to 0 knots. Duncan went below to sleep prior to the midnight watch. The conditions smoothed out to glass and Duncan enjoyed three very restful hours of sleep.
By the next morning, Robin was beat. Here, she considers her new career as a rapper.
At midnight, Robin awakened Duncan for his watch and went below -- looking forward to 3-4 hours of restful sleep. Within an hour, the conditions had changed from glass calm to 15-20 knots of wind and large seas right on the nose. Robin's restful off-watch snooze was not to be. The Cerralvo Channel and infamous La Paz Corumuel winds decided to fire up as we passed north of both areas.
Land-ho! Isla San Francisco in the center and right foreground with the dramatic Baja peninsula in the background.
By 10am the next morning, Whisper rounded the south side of Isla San Francisco and anchored in the turquoise water of "The Hook" anchorage.
A warm welcome by friends Gary and Lois on Texan and John and MJ on Island Sonata immediately wiped away any feelings of sleepiness. The minute the anchor hit the bottom, Gary delivered a fresh pot of delicious French-pressed coffee and two "breakfast treats" -- warm tortillas coated with cinnamon-sugar, then rolled-up with a sweet apple and raisin filling inside. What a great welcome for two weary travelers!
The great coffee was not enough to fend off our fatigue. After a three hour nap, we were ready to motivate. Time to blow up the dinghy, swim, snorkel, and visit with friends.
The clear turquoise water allowed us to watch dozens of porcupine fish congregating at the base of the anchor chain -- 20 feet down.
Texan (foreground) and Island Sonata (catamaran in far background) greet us at "The Hook".
Let the socializing begin...
One of our early misconceptions about cruising was that it might be lonely out here. We pictured ourselves in small, quiet anchorages with no other boats within 50 miles -- taking a quick skinny-dip, then finding our dinner on a nearby reef.
The reality is lots of other folks figured out the cruising lifestyle is a blast, and they are already out here too. In the Sea of Cortez, the best anchorages are well known, and at the optimum times of the cruising season -- they're busy, with boats coming and going all week long.
No concerns about being lonely. We enjoy great reunions with many people -- some that we may not have seen for months.
John and MJ on their beautiful Lagoon 3800 catamaran, Island Sonata.
MJ and John on Island Sonata are 2002 Ha-Ha veterans and although we met MJ at numerous Baja Ha Ha events, we did not get to spend time with them until November 2002 in Mazatlán. We've had several great encounters since then -- as far south as Barra de Navidad.
Our first Texan encounter was at the Downwind Marine coffee-and-donut get-together one Wednesday morning in October of 2002. Our last Texan sighting was as they sailed away from Cabo San Lucas last November.
With only a few interim HF radio contacts to chat and say hello, we finally caught up with Texan six months later -- here in Isla San Francisco!
Left to right: Gary and Lois from Texan, and Jan and Alan from Cyrene.
Jan and Alan on Cyrene are friends of Richard and Marianne on MR Destiny (they knew each other back in San Diego). We first met Alan and Jan last November in Mazatlán, and travelled on a similar itinerary since then. We saw them frequently along the mainland coast and as far south as Barra de Navidad.
The evening started with beverage and snacks (as many do), then slowly moved to the main event. Usually, the main event on Island Sonata is a fun music night, but this night is different... Tonight we play "Mexican Train" dominos.
Previously, Duncan and Robin played Mexican Train once on the beach in PV with Mermaid, and Duncan only remembered how badly he lost. The domino night on Island Sonata was a blast, but true to form, Duncan finished in last place (by a mile). Oh well, maybe next time.
Island Sonata heads north to the next great anchorage. Texan (far left), heads back south toward La Paz.
The mini-cruise ship Yorktown Clipper joins us for a day at The Hook. The passengers went ashore to hike the island and took boat tours around the bay an island.
Hiking Isla San Francisco
A great hike on Isla San Francisco takes you to along a high ridge that overlooks "The Hook" and provides some great photo-opp's. We met up with Bette and Ron on Francis V, and Kathy and Mike on Content, then headed into shore. It was a fun hike and we got some great photos. On another day, Robin and Duncan hiked alone looking for agate stones on the far beach. Although we found a few pretty stones, we didn't find any agates worth keeping or polishing.
Ron, Bette, and Robin, ready to hike -- while Kathy gets her hiking shoes on.
Off we go, trekking across the desert landscape.
Robin perched at her highest elevation, taking a break while Duncan snaps some photos.
"Hey, cool! I can see myself and the island in your glasses, hold still while I take your picture... hold it, hold it, smile, [click], got it!".
Duncan is easily amused once again...
The panoramic payoff. "The Hook", formed by the spit of land on the left is a beautiful Sea of Cortez anchorage. A low point with salt flats and "Agate Beach" is visible on the upper right. Whisper is the boat in the middle of the bay.
"Agate Beach" -- the rugged pink and green rock landscape is beautiful when contrasted with the blue water and sky.
Duncan hiking along the Agate Beach. Not much luck in finding agates, but fun to explore.
On the night after this hike, we enjoyed a potluck dinner on Francis V with Content. Again, the evening activity was Mexican Train dominos. Duncan lost again, but in a sign of a potential "Mexican Train" turnaround, he ties for last place!
Whisper sits serenely at anchor in the center of "The Hook".
Lazy Days and Lazy Nights
Beside hiking, Isla San Francisco offered us opportunities to read, snorkel, fish, swim, and explore the island's other coves in the dinghy. Other than basic daily chores to keep us fed, watered, and charged with power -- we did nothing "productive". Zip.Nada. Zilch. We enjoyed some very welcome, relaxing, and lazy days in Isla San Francisco and would recommend it to anyone.
After almost a week of "mellowing out", we realized that we might need to start thinking about our "plan". We could not stay here in Isla San Francisco forever, there are too many other cool places to see. We probably need to research where to go next and put together a plan...
Hurricane season arrives on June 1st, and our insurance requires we are north of 27 degrees latitude by June 1. Our plan to see La Paz, the islands of Partida and Espiritu Santos was questionable. We should start heading north soon -- not south. We also had to decide what to do about "Loreto Fest". Decisions, decisions.
Another spectacular Sea of Cortez sunset.
To Fest, or not to Fest?
Loreto Fest is a huge cruiser's "party" that happens every year (this year May 1st-4th) near Loreto in Puerto Escondido. About 150 to 200 boats get together over four days and party. This includes music, food, games, school fund-raising, and a big "beach clean-up" to benefit the Puerto Escondido bay and the cruisers that enjoy the bay.
Loreto Fest and Puerto Escondido was only about 60 miles north, but we had heard there were many cool anchorages between Isla San Francisco and Puerto Escondido. We didn't want to miss any of them...
Since we only had a short window of time to be below 27 degrees and we just partied at the Banderas Bay regatta, we decided to skip the major cruiser event and opt to visit (as many as we can of) the best anchorages on this coast.
The Planning Sessions...
Okay then. What anchorages exactly do we want to visit, and do we have time to go south toward La Paz before heading north?
Our first big decision was "No time left for La Paz". We do not have time to visit La Paz and the nearby Espiritu Santos and Partida islands slowly enough to truly enjoy them. We decided to explore the La Paz area in the fall 2003 on our way back south. That decision gave us our timeframe and the general direction we would be heading now (north!).
With this framework, we then knuckled down for an entire day studying all four cruising guides and gathering the data accumulated from other cruisers. Each of us listed independently the anchorages we found appealing (aerial photos say a lot), then compared notes, combined lists, prioritized, sorted, and laid it out on a calendar. Waaah-Lah! We had a plan, and the plan looks something like this:
We'll mosey north, along the eastern coast of the Baja and the islands. Be as far north as Mulege and/or Isla San Marcos by June 1st. Between the end of April and June 1st, spend the time at anchorages like: San Evaristo, Puerto El Gato, Agua Verde, Candeleros Chico, Puerto Escondido (after the Fest), Bahía Ballandra (on Isla Carmen), San Juanico, Santa Theresa, El Medano Blanca, and Bahia Concepción (Santa Barbara and Bahía Coyote)
After June 1st, we'll visit as much north of Mulege as we can see before the end of June. Realistically, we'll get to Santa Rosalia and a few more anchorages around that area. Our selected anchorages and islands in the 175+ miles north of Santa Rosalia may need to wait for a future cruising season? We want to be in San Carlos over on the mainland side by mid-late June so we can get the boat ready for a two-month rest. Our "road trip" in the US starts in early July and will run until early September.
Future planning sessions will focus on the fall of 2003 in the Sea of Cortez, the winter on the southern Mexican mainland, and "who knows where?" in the spring of 2004. For now, we'll take it one anchorage at a time -- next stop, San Evaristo.