Sunrise. Indigo sailing towards Isla Cerralvo, heading to Mazatlan. Photo by Starfire.
Two years?! Yup, I know right? It’s hard to believe! In May of 2014, Brian retired after 20 years in the Marine Corps and I quit my job of 17 years. We sold or donated most of our possessions and entered the Baja Ha Ha cruisers rally that October, sailing to Mexico on our 34ft sailboat, Indigo. Before leaving on this stupendous sojourn, the skeptics were in abundance.
“Wow, you sure you want to live on a boat full time?” (No, but we’re going to risk the attempt in order to escape the rat race for a while and see some of the world.)
“What about pirates?” (Haven’t seen or heard any stories of such on the West coast of Mexico.)
“I could never live with my husband in such tight quarters every second of every day.” (I do, and it’s no problem…I have my side of the boat and he has his.)
“How are you going to get food?” “Are you going to have to fish every day?” (We eat better in Mexico then we do in the States. It’s cheaper. Fishing not required.)
“No way, I’ll give you 6 months, tops. You’ll sell the boat and come back.” (…they’re still waiting.)
“You CAN’T do that!” (We CAN and DID.)
So… what’s the verdict?
Two years are gone, but we have no regrats. Not a single letter. Yes, we still enjoy living on a boat. No, we haven’t strangled each other, yet. Yes, we still want to continue the journey... we just don’t know where to, or when, or for how long... you can’t make these decisions lightly.
Stats
I have been asked (hounded, actually… sheesh… alright already) for an overview of our time here in the Sea of Cortez. So here are the stats after two seasons of cruising in Mexico:
Miles traveled: (2yr totals)
2496 miles
Hours at sea:
575 hours on the water = 225 sailing hours + 350 engine hours since we left San Diego
Nights / passages at sea: 14 total nights (a night meaning dusk 'til dawn) / 9 total passages
3 nights straight, San Diego to Turtle Bay (Longest…and uber-tiring)
2 nights, Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria (Worst. Big waves = mental breakdown. I don’t know if I can do this!)
1 overnight, Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas (Getting warmer. OK, we can do this. Truly felt like we accomplished something!)
1, Cabo San Lucas to Bahia de los Muertos (First tropical anchorage… “Ah, now THIS is cruising!”)
1, Playa Santispac to San Carlos (Brian’s best - sailed all the way, dolphin escort, no motoring!)
1, San Carlos to Playa Santispac (Marya’s cranky crossing, moonless night, no fun steering)
2, La Paz to Mazatlan (Our crossing w/Starfire was great! Finally learned how to sleep while sailing.)
2, Mazatlan to Playa Bonanza (Marya’s best - perfectly calm, skating-rink water, 24hrs straight motoring! Can you tell the difference now between my perfect crossing and Brian’s? Basically: motor vs. no motor.)
1, Punta Mangles to San Carlos (Now we are old hats…no biggie.)
Islands Visited: 6, Coronados, Danzante, Carmen, San Francisco, San Jose, Ispiritu Santos
Anchorages Visited: 44, many of these more than once
Favorite Anchorages:
Marya’s favorite anchorages – Isla San Francisco, Puerto Los Gatos
Brian’s favorite anchorages – Bahia de los Muertos, Caleta Mezteño
Best sunsets – Caleta Lobos
Best snorkeling – Marya - Bahia Cobre, Brian - Los Gatos
Best week of seclusion – Caleta Mezteño, 2nd Ensenada Grande
Clearest water – Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante
Best beach hotel – Bahia Candeleros
Best kayaking – Can’t decide: San Juanico, Agua Verde, Candeleros, Ensenada Grande, Honeymoon, Los Gatos – all good
Best tide pool strolling – Agua Verde
Coolest rock formations – Puerto Los Gatos
Best wildlife sightings – Isla Coronados (jumping mobula rays all evening), San Marte (more jumping rays and fish) and Bahia Cobre (fish galore and a bighorn sheep)
Most picturesque anchorage – Isla San Francisco (west)
Best cliff hike – Agua Verde; 2nd – Isla San Francisco
Best canyon hike – Steinbeck’s canyon in Puerto Escondido; 2nd – Ensenada Grande
Best rocky beach – Isla San Francisco (east)
Best sand beach – Playa Bonanza
Best shell beach – Punta Chivato
More Bests and Worsts, Firsts and Tidbits:
Most difficulty anchoring – Punta Mangles (due to strong winds)
Trickiest anchorage – San Juanico (multiple shallow reefs, plus someone inevitably has taken the good spot!)
Easiest anchorages – Coronados (south)
Anchorages we’ve entered in the dark – Timbabiche (first), Bonanza
Anchorages we’ve left in the dark – Timbabiche, Caleta Lobos, Ensenada Gallina
Anchorage in which we’ve re-anchored in the dark (not recommended) – San Juanico
Best anchorage for norther’ protection – Playa Santispac
Anchorages we’ve had all to ourselves – Lobos, Mezteno, Ensenada Grande (believe it), La Raza, Gallina, Amortajada (south)(where the biting no-see-um’s hung out, no wonder it was empty), Colorada, Perico, Coronados (south), Honeymoon (south), Mangles, Pulpito, Santispac, Santa Barbara, El Burro
Shared with only one other boat – Timbabiche, Punta Salinas, Cobre, Bonanza, San Francisco (east)
This endearing characteristic of the Baja Peninsula (lack of people) is why we enjoy it so much.
Best night’s sleep anchorage – Puerto Escondido
Worst night’s sleep – San Juanico (south swell caused us to re-anchor); Partida (idiot power boat dragging anchor)
Worst anchorage of all time (experts agree) – Bahia Amortajada (biting jejene’s)
First tropical anchorage (wow, we can see the anchor!) – Bahia de Los Muertos
Rolliest anchorage – Los Frailies (so bad we didn’t even set the anchor, kept on going overnight), 2nd – San Juanico (see worst night’s sleep)
Windiest anchorage – San Evaristo (unexpected night blast), Playa Santispac (30kts but we knew it was coming and it wasn’t bad)
Worst beach – Ensenada de la Raza (I wouldn’t call this a “beach”, more like a mud pit)
Anchorage most happiest to arrive at (after sailing 2 nights in uncomfortable seas) – Santa Maria
Worst anchor neighbors encountered – Ensenada Grande & Partida (the two most populous spots)
Unsurpassed fish taco shack – Lupe and Maggie Mae’s in San Evaristo
Best bay if you like bees – Ballandra on Isla Carmen
Cool ghost towns – Bahia Salinas, Punta Salinas
Marinas:
Best Marina Ever – Camp Pendleton Marina
Best Mexico marina overall – Marina Costa Baja in La Paz ties with El Cid in Mazatlan, Palmira a close 2nd
Best pool – Marina Costa Baja
Best internet – Marina El Cid
Worst internet – San Carlos (1st yr, they’ve since stepped up to 2nd best!); Marina Mazatlan (2nd yr)
Best and ONLY Cable TV – El Cid
Best swimming beach – Costa Baja
Best (and hottest) place to do boat projects (like a refrigerator) – Marina San Carlos
Best marina for: canvas work – El Cid; varnish – Marina Mazatlan; engine repair – Palmira
First Mexico marina – Cabo San Lucas
Most expensive – Cabo San Lucas
Loudest – Cabo San Lucas
Cheapest – Puerto Escondido Moorings at $10/day; 2nd Cheapest – Marina San Carlos
Most cruiser-friendly – Marina Palmira
Best wildlife viewing – Puerto Escondido
Most remote – Puerto Escondido
Most resortish – El Cid
Nicest marina admin. – (aside from Camp Pendleton) Marina Palmira ties with Marina Mazatlan
Most surge – El Cid
Least surge/best weather protection – Costa Baja
Cleanest bathrooms – El Cid (hands down)
Best shower facilities – Costa Baja open-air showers at the resort pool ties w/ El Cid, but Palmira now comes in close 2nd with their brand new facilities
Worst bathrooms – Marya - Marina Mazatlan; Brian - San Carlos (the men’s bathroom is just BAD)
Marina restaurant with the most consistently good food & still cheapish – Hammerhead’s at Marina San Carlos
Favorite restaurant (but expensive) – Marina Azul at Marina Costa Baja, La Paz
What's on the agenda this season?
We will be spending the entire winter in La Paz this year (with our friends who are coming down on the Ha Ha) in order to explore the area further. There’s just not enough time to see everything in each anchorage even after two winters. Los Gatos, San Marte and San Francisco are must return-to’s to name a few; we missed several coves on Ispiritu Santos such as Gabriel, Candeleros and El Cardonal; I still haven't visited the baby seals of Los Islotos nor the whales in the Bay of LA. After that, maybe we’ll have seen enough and want to move on down further south. Who knows? Since the majority of world cruisers we meet declare the Sea of Cortez as the best cruising grounds around, we are not in a rush to go anywhere else just yet...
“Wow, you sure you want to live on a boat full time?” (No, but we’re going to risk the attempt in order to escape the rat race for a while and see some of the world.)
“What about pirates?” (Haven’t seen or heard any stories of such on the West coast of Mexico.)
“I could never live with my husband in such tight quarters every second of every day.” (I do, and it’s no problem…I have my side of the boat and he has his.)
“How are you going to get food?” “Are you going to have to fish every day?” (We eat better in Mexico then we do in the States. It’s cheaper. Fishing not required.)
“No way, I’ll give you 6 months, tops. You’ll sell the boat and come back.” (…they’re still waiting.)
“You CAN’T do that!” (We CAN and DID.)
So… what’s the verdict?
Two years are gone, but we have no regrats. Not a single letter. Yes, we still enjoy living on a boat. No, we haven’t strangled each other, yet. Yes, we still want to continue the journey... we just don’t know where to, or when, or for how long... you can’t make these decisions lightly.
Stats
I have been asked (hounded, actually… sheesh… alright already) for an overview of our time here in the Sea of Cortez. So here are the stats after two seasons of cruising in Mexico:
Miles traveled: (2yr totals)
2496 miles
Hours at sea:
575 hours on the water = 225 sailing hours + 350 engine hours since we left San Diego
Nights / passages at sea: 14 total nights (a night meaning dusk 'til dawn) / 9 total passages
3 nights straight, San Diego to Turtle Bay (Longest…and uber-tiring)
2 nights, Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria (Worst. Big waves = mental breakdown. I don’t know if I can do this!)
1 overnight, Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas (Getting warmer. OK, we can do this. Truly felt like we accomplished something!)
1, Cabo San Lucas to Bahia de los Muertos (First tropical anchorage… “Ah, now THIS is cruising!”)
1, Playa Santispac to San Carlos (Brian’s best - sailed all the way, dolphin escort, no motoring!)
1, San Carlos to Playa Santispac (Marya’s cranky crossing, moonless night, no fun steering)
2, La Paz to Mazatlan (Our crossing w/Starfire was great! Finally learned how to sleep while sailing.)
2, Mazatlan to Playa Bonanza (Marya’s best - perfectly calm, skating-rink water, 24hrs straight motoring! Can you tell the difference now between my perfect crossing and Brian’s? Basically: motor vs. no motor.)
1, Punta Mangles to San Carlos (Now we are old hats…no biggie.)
Islands Visited: 6, Coronados, Danzante, Carmen, San Francisco, San Jose, Ispiritu Santos
Anchorages Visited: 44, many of these more than once
Favorite Anchorages:
Marya’s favorite anchorages – Isla San Francisco, Puerto Los Gatos
Brian’s favorite anchorages – Bahia de los Muertos, Caleta Mezteño
Best sunsets – Caleta Lobos
Best snorkeling – Marya - Bahia Cobre, Brian - Los Gatos
Best week of seclusion – Caleta Mezteño, 2nd Ensenada Grande
Clearest water – Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante
Best beach hotel – Bahia Candeleros
Best kayaking – Can’t decide: San Juanico, Agua Verde, Candeleros, Ensenada Grande, Honeymoon, Los Gatos – all good
Best tide pool strolling – Agua Verde
Coolest rock formations – Puerto Los Gatos
Best wildlife sightings – Isla Coronados (jumping mobula rays all evening), San Marte (more jumping rays and fish) and Bahia Cobre (fish galore and a bighorn sheep)
Most picturesque anchorage – Isla San Francisco (west)
Best cliff hike – Agua Verde; 2nd – Isla San Francisco
Best canyon hike – Steinbeck’s canyon in Puerto Escondido; 2nd – Ensenada Grande
Best rocky beach – Isla San Francisco (east)
Best sand beach – Playa Bonanza
Best shell beach – Punta Chivato
More Bests and Worsts, Firsts and Tidbits:
Most difficulty anchoring – Punta Mangles (due to strong winds)
Trickiest anchorage – San Juanico (multiple shallow reefs, plus someone inevitably has taken the good spot!)
Easiest anchorages – Coronados (south)
Anchorages we’ve entered in the dark – Timbabiche (first), Bonanza
Anchorages we’ve left in the dark – Timbabiche, Caleta Lobos, Ensenada Gallina
Anchorage in which we’ve re-anchored in the dark (not recommended) – San Juanico
Best anchorage for norther’ protection – Playa Santispac
Anchorages we’ve had all to ourselves – Lobos, Mezteno, Ensenada Grande (believe it), La Raza, Gallina, Amortajada (south)(where the biting no-see-um’s hung out, no wonder it was empty), Colorada, Perico, Coronados (south), Honeymoon (south), Mangles, Pulpito, Santispac, Santa Barbara, El Burro
Shared with only one other boat – Timbabiche, Punta Salinas, Cobre, Bonanza, San Francisco (east)
This endearing characteristic of the Baja Peninsula (lack of people) is why we enjoy it so much.
Best night’s sleep anchorage – Puerto Escondido
Worst night’s sleep – San Juanico (south swell caused us to re-anchor); Partida (idiot power boat dragging anchor)
Worst anchorage of all time (experts agree) – Bahia Amortajada (biting jejene’s)
First tropical anchorage (wow, we can see the anchor!) – Bahia de Los Muertos
Rolliest anchorage – Los Frailies (so bad we didn’t even set the anchor, kept on going overnight), 2nd – San Juanico (see worst night’s sleep)
Windiest anchorage – San Evaristo (unexpected night blast), Playa Santispac (30kts but we knew it was coming and it wasn’t bad)
Worst beach – Ensenada de la Raza (I wouldn’t call this a “beach”, more like a mud pit)
Anchorage most happiest to arrive at (after sailing 2 nights in uncomfortable seas) – Santa Maria
Worst anchor neighbors encountered – Ensenada Grande & Partida (the two most populous spots)
Unsurpassed fish taco shack – Lupe and Maggie Mae’s in San Evaristo
Best bay if you like bees – Ballandra on Isla Carmen
Cool ghost towns – Bahia Salinas, Punta Salinas
Marinas:
Best Marina Ever – Camp Pendleton Marina
Best Mexico marina overall – Marina Costa Baja in La Paz ties with El Cid in Mazatlan, Palmira a close 2nd
Best pool – Marina Costa Baja
Best internet – Marina El Cid
Worst internet – San Carlos (1st yr, they’ve since stepped up to 2nd best!); Marina Mazatlan (2nd yr)
Best and ONLY Cable TV – El Cid
Best swimming beach – Costa Baja
Best (and hottest) place to do boat projects (like a refrigerator) – Marina San Carlos
Best marina for: canvas work – El Cid; varnish – Marina Mazatlan; engine repair – Palmira
First Mexico marina – Cabo San Lucas
Most expensive – Cabo San Lucas
Loudest – Cabo San Lucas
Cheapest – Puerto Escondido Moorings at $10/day; 2nd Cheapest – Marina San Carlos
Most cruiser-friendly – Marina Palmira
Best wildlife viewing – Puerto Escondido
Most remote – Puerto Escondido
Most resortish – El Cid
Nicest marina admin. – (aside from Camp Pendleton) Marina Palmira ties with Marina Mazatlan
Most surge – El Cid
Least surge/best weather protection – Costa Baja
Cleanest bathrooms – El Cid (hands down)
Best shower facilities – Costa Baja open-air showers at the resort pool ties w/ El Cid, but Palmira now comes in close 2nd with their brand new facilities
Worst bathrooms – Marya - Marina Mazatlan; Brian - San Carlos (the men’s bathroom is just BAD)
Marina restaurant with the most consistently good food & still cheapish – Hammerhead’s at Marina San Carlos
Favorite restaurant (but expensive) – Marina Azul at Marina Costa Baja, La Paz
What's on the agenda this season?
We will be spending the entire winter in La Paz this year (with our friends who are coming down on the Ha Ha) in order to explore the area further. There’s just not enough time to see everything in each anchorage even after two winters. Los Gatos, San Marte and San Francisco are must return-to’s to name a few; we missed several coves on Ispiritu Santos such as Gabriel, Candeleros and El Cardonal; I still haven't visited the baby seals of Los Islotos nor the whales in the Bay of LA. After that, maybe we’ll have seen enough and want to move on down further south. Who knows? Since the majority of world cruisers we meet declare the Sea of Cortez as the best cruising grounds around, we are not in a rush to go anywhere else just yet...
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