Bahia Ballandra on Isla Carmen,
Agua Verde on the Baja peninsula,
Isla Partida, Isla Espiritu Santos
11/12/2003 - 11/24/2003
Another crossing of the Sea -- this one is a GREAT sail the entire way! This video shows several clips of the daytime ride.
Off to the Baja Peninsula
We plotted several routes toward the Baja peninsula with the hope that a favorable wind would drive us to one of those destinations.
At 10AM on November 12th, we left Bahia San Carlos and motored out of the bay. Within a mile from shore we had 17-25 knots of true W-NW wind on the beam, and a 3-5 ft short choppy sea -- and this was a favorable weather window!
Broad-reaching with partially reefed sails and a favorable current, Whisper averaged almost 7 knots over the next 18 hours. We arrived at Isla Carmen several hours before expected. For the last 12 miles, we moseyed very slowly toward the anchorage entrance and arrived at sunrise.
The passage (red) to Bahia Ballandra on Isla Carmen was a fast ride! We arrived at 4AM -- several hours earlier than planned! This log describes Isla Carmen to Agua Verde (yellow), to Isla San Francisco (blue), to Isla Partida (green), and Espritu Santos (purple), then on to La Paz.
Now much greener than in the spring -- Bahia Ballandra displays a new pallette of colors.
Bahia Ballandra on Isla Carmen
During our springtime visit, we shared the anchorage with at least a dozen boats. Arriving at dawn on a November morning, we were alone in the anchorage! At least for a few minutes...
We arrived at dawn (0700) and anchored in 20 ft of water. Since we had not slept well the night before, we wanted to crash and take a few hour nap. By 0800, we were asleep. By 1030, the sound of an outboard zipping by Whisper's stern awakened us.
Robin peeked out the aft stateroom port light and exclaimed "there's a cruise ship anchored next to us!". Sure enough. There she was -- the Yorktown Clipper. The Yorktown Clipper operates (part-year) in the Sea of Cortez and leads expedition like cruises among the Baja and the Baja Islands. She spends winters in the Caribbean. We had seen the Yorktown Clipper in Isla San Francisco in the spring, and here she was again -- our neighbor in lonely Ballandra. The skipper/mate hailed us on the radio and assured us they would be gone by noon -- so not to worry, our quiet anchorage could be reclaimed soon.
The Yorktown Clipper tenders ferried about 80 passengers too and from shore for lectures and exploratory hikes.
As promised, the Yorktown Clipper left around 1300. At this point, we thought the time changed into the Pacific time zone. Duncan changed every clock/GPS on the boat to reflect the change.
Once the Yorktown Clipper left, we re-anchored further away from shore since we were the only boat around. Under the circumstances, it seemed okay to hog the middle.
It was the next day before we got curious and double checked/verified the time change using a computer-based Encyclopedia. Oh well, Baja California Sur (South) stays on Mountain Time. We changed all the clocks/GPS's back again.
The view of the Yorktown Clipper out of Whisper's aft stateroom port light.
Robin is just happy to be back at anchor!
The view across the channel from Isla Carmen to the rugged Baja peninsula.
The moon is still visible at 1030 on the morning of November 15th, 2003
The steep, cactus-strewn hillside in Bahia Ballandra.
Another spectacular Mexican Baja sunset -- with many more to come!
Off to Agua Verde. Robin enjoys a mellow sail down the channel between the islands and the Baja.
After three very relaxing days in Bahia Ballandra, we decided to move on.
As we witnessed another incredible sunset, a meteorite skipped across the upper atmosphere -- breaking into two or three large pieces -- each glowing red, then yellow, then white -- then disappearing. Nature's fireworks!
We left for Agua Verde at 0830 on the 16th. From 0830 to 1230, we had less than 3 knots of wind for our motor sail. By 1245, 6 knots out of the southeast began to build toward 11 knots! For the next 3 hours, we enjoyed a great full-sail close-reach into Agua Verde.
Awesome Agua Verde
Agua Verde delivered its great natural beauty and provided several opportunities for Whisper's crew to practice re-anchoring. When we first arrived, several boats filled the most protected section of the anchorage. We decided to anchor on the outskirts of the protected area rather than squeeze in with the other boats. For the first couple of nights, Whisper rolled violently when the wind died and the 1-2 ft swell rocked her abeam. Even with flopper stoppers, we found it very difficult to sleep.
On day three, several boats left the anchorage -- clearing an area behind the reef and in the more protected part of the bay. YEAH! Although we moved a couple more times to stay clear of other boats -- we slept at night!
While in Agua Verde, we visited with friends Bill & Diane on True Love, and we made new friends Don & Gwen on Tackless II. We met Gwen last year in Mazatlán, when she gave us polo shirts with her previous boat name on them -- another Whisper!
Don also turned out to be a Spectra factory-trained technician and was a great help in debugging our (new) watermaker issues. One of the new pumps was shutting off because it reached it over-pressure threshold. Although it would be several more weeks before we came to a resolution, Don's initial help was invaluable.
The beautiful Agua Verde north-wind anchorage. The power boat on the left is Chez Penne. Sailboats, left to right are Tackless II, Whisper, and True Love.
Morning light on the Agua Verde mainland. What could be jungle foliage on a rugged tropical island is actually cactus and scrub on a desert peninsula!
Agua Verde crowded with boats. Whisper's position on the anchorage outskirts is very uncomfortable when the swell wraps around the point and reef.
A hike into town turns into a 2+ mile hike in the heat. Duncan snaps photos and carries trash over to the village. Clockwise from lower left: Robin, Bill, Diane, Don, and Gwen.
The crews of Whisper, Tackless II, and True Love landed their dinghies on the protected beach of the north anchorage, with a plan to hike "over the hill" to Agua Verde. Duncan decided to carry a large heavy trash bag full of bottles and cans.
We had never hiked this route. In the past, we preferred to risk a beach surf landing in front of the village -- just 1/2 mile away by water.
The hike turned out to be a vigorous, hot, 2+ mile trek over several steep hills, up and down washed out roads, across sandy arroyos, and down a steep gravel road -- to reach the quaint village at Agua Verde.
Next time, Duncan will not schlep the trash. Various liquids oozed out of the bottom of the trash bag and down the back of his legs -- which transformed him into bee bait.
Not a bad view. Inhabited by only a few people and many more barnyard animals (goats, pigs, cows, horses, chickens, turkeys), Agua Verde is a charming Baja village. This year's hurricane damage appears minimal.
Maria's Tienda in Agua Verde. The dry goods room has many essentials. We arrived on a "low stock" day for fresh food. Nearby, we waited while a local lady made us all several kilos of fresh flour tortillas -- in her home.
Gwen on Tackless II coaxes a swine in for the close-up photo. The piglets were cute, but aggressive. This little piggy was not happy with Duncan at all...
Don (on Tackless II) made several new friends. The kids would not leave him alone.
Hey, a little kid took a liking to Duncan. Okay, not really. Duncan just chased him around with his camera.
Okay, could this guy be any cuter? People eat goat! A big seller out of Agua Verde is goat cheese -- maybe there aren't any meat goats here?
Robin baked a square, 2-layer cake for Duncan on his birthday! Chocolate with vanilla frosting! And so good for you.
Duncan bumped against his mid-forties while in Agua Verde. Birthdays and holidays are weird while we're out cruising -- they sneak up on us and we are usually at a loss as to how to celebrate -- so we don't. When every day seems like a holiday, it is tough to get in the spirit of things!
Robin broke this trend by calling Duncan's birthday out as a special day -- and baking a cake! We both enjoyed the cake. After a few of days of snacking on cake, we'd had eeeee-nuff, so the fishes got the rest!
After Agua Verde, we moved south to Isla San Francisco. Isla San Francisco was our first landfall on the Baja last spring and we hold fond memories of the great anchorage there.
Isla San Francisco
The anchorage at "The Hook" on the southwest side of small Isla San Francisco offers the greatest protection. We arrived in the late afternoon and enjoyed a great sunset, flat-calm night, and refreshing morning swim.
The go-fast tender for the mega-yacht Centinela III blasted into the anchorage in front of us to scout out and claim their prime anchoring location -- while the big-boat powered around the corner in a rush to get their claimed best spot.
Maybe we stole the best spot? Both of the big powerboats in the anchorage upped anchor and headed out at dusk. Whisper and Alma enjoyed a quiet night in the anchorage.
Whisper is wing-on-wing doing 5.5 knots in 9 knots of wind. A fun downwind ride to Isla San Francisco.
The Baja peninsula just across from Isla San Francisco. It's much greener now than it was in the spring.
Centinela III blasts into the anchorage at Isla San Francisco -- with her wake large enough to surf on!
Centinela III (Duncan calls her Citronella) shares our next several anchorages. Here she enjoys the sunset at The Hook -- then leaves.
Sunset from The Hook on Isla San Francisco. Spectacular!
A moth with a 6" wingspan finds Robin alluring -- or he's seeking refuge from the hungry bats.
Sunrise at The Hook. Sloop Alma rests at anchor nearby.
It is 27+ feet to the bottom of "The Hook" anchorage -- the small bay on the south side of Isla San Francisco. We can see the anchor dug into the bottom,all of our chain, lots of fish, and Whisper's shadow on the white sand bottom. Cool.
From Whisper's stern underwater, we can see all the way to the bow. Great visibility in the nutrient rich water of the Sea of Cortez is rare.
We enjoy a refreshing dip in the clear, warm (79°F) water. Whisper, from San Francisco, at Isla San Francisco.
Although we remembered the bees and the non-biting "no-no's" (large fruit flies) from our spring visit to Isla San Francisco, we were not prepared for our new visitors.
Along with the daytime bees and no-no's, bats squeaked overhead at night, giant moths attacked Robin in the cockpit, and hundreds of biting "no-see-um's" came through the screens and found Robin in bed! Upon learning of Robin's bites, Duncan applied OFF! multiple times during the night and was spared. On our swim the next morning, the sea nettles (small jellies) found and stung both of us. By 9AM, robin was a bitten, welted mess -- with hundreds of no-see-um bites and a couple of jellyfish welts on her body. Although Robin was still smiling, we sensed it might be time for an anchorage change.
Although we LOVE Isla San Francisco, the wildlife deterred our enjoyment on this particular visit. We decided to move to Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida after only one night in Isla San Francisco.
Although a bit exposed from the northwest, Ensenada Grande was a beautiful place to explore or to relax at anchor.
Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida
The two large islands north of La Paz in Bahia La Paz are new territory for Whisper and crew.
We skipped the La Paz area last season and had a strong desire to explore the best anchorages on the west sides of these islands -- as well as the town of La Paz.
Ariel photographs of the island's western coastlines reveal numerous bays with turquoise water, white sand beaches, and rugged desert coastlines.
Other cruisers recommended their favorite spots to us, so we compiled a list and picked two of the most frequently mentioned -- Ensenada Grande and Caleta Partida.
Once secure in the large southern bight of the Ensenada Grande, we launched Shout and began exploring. A beach-full of campers on the central bight, and two party-snorkel boats (BajaFUN) out of La Paz on the north bight made the other anchorages less than desirable.
Left & below: The cool rock formations along the coast of the large south bay of Ensenada Grande. The eroded shapes evoked many human-form images.
The rocks included faces, bodies, and various body parts -- with a pinkish hue, to ensure an association to human form.
Duncan drives Shout along the shore looking for an ideal snorkeling spot.
Robin checks out the interesting formations in the eroded pink rocks.
Centinela III joins Whisper in another anchorage this time at Ensenada Grande.
A Norther is Brewing
The daily weather report indicated that a strong "Norther" was brewing in the northern Sea of Cortez and was working its way south. A norther is usually characterized by strong, NW to NE 20-40 knot winds, clear blue skies, and large, choppy seas. Northers usually form when the Santa Ana winds blow in southern California.
Although Ensenada Grande is protected from the north and northeast, it is not as well protected from the northwest. Out of concern for sleeping comfort, we moved south to Caleta Partida -- hoping to find protection from all northerly angles.
This provoked us to depart from Ensenada Grande earlier than desired. For future reference, it looks like the snorkeling here would have been great!
The "Caribbean-like" waters of Caleta Partida.
Caleta Partida
The islands of Isla Partida (the northern island) and Espirtu Santos (southern island) just north of La Paz are separated by a small winding pass (the "partida", or partition). This pass is a sandy "S" curve connecting the protected inner bay of Caleta Partida, with the wind-swept eastern shores of both islands. Only small boats can pass. If the conditions are boisterous in the Sea, small boats might get swamped in the large waves.
We took Shout through the pass, but the large breaking waves on the east side kept us in the channel. The waves encouraged a retreat back to the protected waters of the Caleta Partida anchorage.
On the way back through, we were joined by a large sea turtle that we followed for a while before we decided to land the dinghy on a nearby beach.
Several of the Baja islands are protected wildlife reserves with specific rules about camping, trash disposal/burning, hiking on trails, excrement disposal, and (no) pets.
A lonely, quiet beach and nearby abandoned fish camp. Hurricane Marty had completely destroyed several of the fish camp buildings.
Shout is beached at the "partida" beach. In the distance, the boats sit at anchor -- tucked up behind the point and protected from the north.
The white-sand bottom of Caleta Partida reminded us of some of the beautiful lagoons in French Polynesia -- except for those darn cacti on shore.
Even with only 1/4 mile of fetch and a huge wind-blocking cliff, the norther can't be stopped -- we see wind speeds up to 38 knots and whitecaps in the anchorage!
Whisper's GPS track (the red squiggles) in our anchoring circle (the big red circle), shows where we rode out the norther (the anchor is in the middle of the red circle).
With the wind out of the N-NE, we didn't move very far off our small swinging arc.
Post-norther, Whisper rests almost on top of her anchor (the small green boat in the center).
On November 23rd, the predicted norther came and went over about 24 hours. On the first night, with an initial 20 knot wind-shift, Whisper dragged back about 240 feet from her original location, then reset. We got a bit too close to a trawler that had anchored right next to us the day before, so at daylight, we re-anchored to give us a bit more breathing room.
By 1400 (2PM), the winds were peaking with 38 knot gusts, but Whisper held firm. It was a sunny, clear day, but the winds encouraged us to stay aboard. That night, the winds diminished into the low 20 knot range, with a few gusts to 28 knots. We slept fairly well and awakened the next morning to a calm, clear day. On November 24th, we left Caleta Partida and motorsailed over flat seas to La Paz.
This will be our first visit to La Paz! Many cruisers describe the La Paz area as their favorite Mexican cruising destination -- as well as their favorite Mexican town. We're looking forward to exploring La Paz and catching up with several friends that have made La Paz their Mexico cruising hub.