San Carlos, Sonora Mexico
06/11/2003 - 07/03/2003
Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez. This is our 3rd trip across the Gulf of California in our 9 months of Mexico sailing.
Across the Sea of Cortez
A fast, rockin' motor-sail across the Sea of Cortez, started at 4:00AM, allowed us to traverse 80 or so miles from Santa Rosalia to San Carlos by late afternoon. We enjoyed the usual dolphin visits before dawn, but the rest of the trip across was mostly uneventful.
About 20 miles out of San Carlos, we radioed Crusader and Citation in the anchorage to let them know we were arriving. They provided advice on the best place to anchor and we proceeded into beautiful San Carlos Bay.
Duncan's new fishing arsenal landed us a Mexican Bonito just as we arrived in San Carlos. Although a beautiful tuna-like fish, we previously discovered that no amount of teriyaki marinade can help Bonito meat. We hauled him in, pulled the hook, and let him go.
Robin (and Whisper) are happy to be out moving again.
Primarily a motor-sail, we have a quick, rolling passage (click here to see a quick 2-minute video).
By mid-afternoon, the Tetas de Cabra appear in the distance. Though they may look like upside-down goat teats, we think they could have thought of a more romantic name.
The Tetas de Cabra loom over the entrance to San Carlos Bay.
Looking up the rugged, cactus-strewn mountain on the north side of Bahia San Carlos.
The developed south coast of Bahia San Carlos -- covered with several very nice homes.
An aerial photo (looking south) of the Tetas de Cabra with "Catch-22" beach and resorts (photo courtesy of Paradiso Resort).
For the first few days in the anchorage, we enjoyed the fresh breeze and swimming in the warm water. Our first big snorkeling outing was cut short when Portuguese Man-O'-War season arrived. Portuguese Man-O'-War are nasty stinging jellyfish. They have a small translucent purple floating "bubble" in the shape of a 1-2 inch "pot-sticker. Hanging from the bottom of the purple pot-sticker are several inches of stinging tentacles. They can be very painful and large ones can be fatal (these were all small). The southwest wind brought thousands of them into the San Carlos Bay.
After snorkeling, Robin usually requires assistance re-entering the dinghy from the water . This time, she flopped back aboard the dinghy and was nearly dry before Duncan realized she was no longer snorkeling. Robin grew tired of dodging the jellies and urgently launched herself out of the water and into the dinghy.
The jellies took much of the fun and relaxation out of our snorkeling and swimming days in the anchorage, so we decided to move into the marina a bit earlier than planned.
Robin relaxes after dodging dozens of Portuguese Man-O'-War.
Another Mexico reef, thick with Sergeant Majors. This trip included Duncan's first sighting of a pair of dual banded butterfly fish.
San Carlos
San Carlos is a small town just north of Guaymas (pronounced WHY-mus), Mexico. Guaymas is a large commercial fishing/shrimping port and is where most of the local Mexican's live and work. In contrast, San Carlos is a small gringo community that claimed a beautiful chunk of Mexico as their home-away-from-home. The homes are beautiful, the water is clean, the trash is contained, the stores are stocked, the restaurants are excellent, and the boater services are extensive. Many Mexicans from Guaymas are gainfully employed in San Carlos service businesses.
Since San Carlos is only 7 hours south of Tucson, many Arizonan's have discovered this area for diving, fishing, and/or a winter retreat on the water. Here, the subtle beauty of the harsh Sonoran desert takes a cooling plunge into the azure Pacific. Hey, do I have a future in ad-copy or what?
The Marinaterra Hotel and Resort -- overlooking the Marina San Carlos. We hung out at the pool, staying low key, and purchasing beverages and/or snacks.
San Carlos Marina
The San Carlos Marina is one of the top 5 marinas we visited in Mexico. The nearby Marinaterra resort hotel provides restaurants, a bar, a pool, and several small shops.
We considered keeping Whisper in Marina Real, just a few miles north of Marina San Carlos, but after a quick cab ride to check out the locale, amenities, and facilities -- we decided to keep Whisper in Marina San Carlos over the summer.
Our objective was to find a safe place to keep the boat through hurricane season. Since we would only be gone a couple of months, we decided to keep Whisper in the water rather than to haul her out and truck her into dry storage.
The grounds of the Marinaterra Hotel & Resort.
The Heat is On...
July, August, and September are the "hot" months in San Carlos. The daily temperatures soar into the 100's, and nighttime temps plummet to the 80's. As un-acclimatized gringos -- these temperatures were unbearable by late June. In August and September, the Monsoon season arrives to bring rain and humidity.
Because of the heat, we completed chores early in the day, then hibernated in an air-conditioned restaurant for lunch. Sometimes, we would end up hanging around until dinner time! We sampled many of the San Carlos Restaurants and at least two in ten were exceptional. The rest were above average, and only a few were mediocre.
The local "Marina Cantina" (just steps away from Whisper) has great sandwiches and soups. As a side benefit, they also offer free high-speed wireless Internet access (as long as we spend some money on food/bev). This was a great deal, and we took advantage of it often!
Marina SECA, the dry storage yard for Marina San Carlos. Boats are trucked from the water to a dry lot about one half-mile inland.
Nightclubbing
One of our après-dinner excursions with friends on Citation and Crusader, found us chatting and dancing at nearby Tequila's -- the marina night-life hot spot. A live band did great covers of Santana and other popular bands, as well as some authentic Mexican ballads.
During the first set, the Federal Police entered the bar with M-16's and AK-47's poised. They blocked the exits and searched the crowd for their suspects. A friend of the absent owner took the microphone and tried to assure everyone (in English) that this type of thing happens all the time. Maybe it's no big deal, but he lost several tables within minutes. After the police left (without anyone in custody), we toughed it out for a couple more songs -- then left too. We left not due to the police appearance, but because it was well past our bedtime.
Over 600 boats are "on the hard" at this one (Marina SECA) dry storage facility in San Carlos! Marina Real has a dry storage yard as well.
Hey, where ya going?
Not too many gringos hang out in San Carlos during the hot summer. Most return home to the US or Canada to visit family and friends. Some travel in the US or Europe.
Both Citation and Crusader planned to travel (and/or hang at home) over the summer and return to their boats in the fall. Each decided to haul-out -- moving their boats over in Marina SECA, the Marina San Carlos dry storage yard.
We too decided to leave Mexico for a couple of months to get out of the heat and to wait out hurricane season.
Crusader emerges and heads for dry storage.
Kevin and Betty ready Citationfor its trip to dry storage.
The main drag in downtown Guaymas
Guaymas, Sonora Mexico
We had a couple of opportunities to visit Guaymas. It was just before their presidential elections so the town exhibited some extra color.
The restaurant we visited was not worth mentioning, but the town is colorful and bustling.
We may explore Guaymas more when we return in the fall.
An abandoned building on a side street in Guaymas.
The Guaymas Harbor is a major commercial port for the shrimp fleet (boats lined up in the background).
Victor waxes Whisper.
Departure Preparations
Enter Victor. Marcos, the very helpful fishing charter skipper on nearby Como No, offered to provide us with any information on local services or businesses. We took him up on his offer by asking him who he would recommend to take care of Whisper for a couple of months in our absence. Marcos was quick to recommend his son Victor.
Victor does a great job and occasionally keeps us updated by email on Whisper's condition. He runs the engine and genset, monitors the batteries, washes and waxes the topsides and cabin-top, cleans the bottom, checks the zincs, and dusts! We look forward to returning from our trip to a well maintained boat.
Robin and Betty on one of our many air-conditioned afternoons in the Marina Cantina.
We tried to perform all the preparations for "closing up" Whisper for the summer and for potential hurricane conditions during the mornings, but the chore list was extensive. Down came the sails. Sheets and lines were removed and washed. Cupboards and refrigerators were emptied. The watermaker was pickled. Fuel was topped off. Water tanks were topped off and dosed with bleach. The propane system was shut-down and bled. Thru-hulls were closed. The v-berth was filled with the dinghy and cockpit cushions.
The temperatures were getting to the point where we slept with AC fans in the bed. The last two nights prior to departure we splurged on an air-conditioned hotel room at the Motel Creston. Early mornings, we finished up departure preparations. Foil was placed on all the hatches and portlights to deflect the sun. Water with bleach was left in buckets to add a little moisture down below. We shut down and cleaned the fridge and freezer, and turned off all the electronics. After one final check of the spreadsheet to-do list, we slid in the hatch boards, turned the key and headed for the United States.