We have spent the last three weeks exploring the beautiful waters and rugged coastline of the Sea of Cortez. It’s a beautiful area to cruise. If you were ever thinking of chartering a yacht for 7 to 10 days, we’d highly recommend this area. Multiple beautiful anchorages protected within a National Park within 40 miles of La Paz. I can see us returning to this area again at some point!
Islas Espiratu Santo and Partida
The scenic islands of Espiratu Santo and Partida are a short 19 miles from La Paz. We spent a week in the company of some kid boats we met in the HaHa hopping between various bays, enjoying hikes, knee boarding, skurfing, snorkeling and swimming. We visited Ensenada de la Raza for two nights, then Caleta Partida for another couple of nights, then Ensenada Grande. Each were beautiful. We loved snorkeling along the steep rock walls at Ensenada Grande. We also enjoyed hiking the well marked 8 km round trip hike on Isla Partida from Ensenada Grande. The highlight by far was our swim with the sea lions at Los Islotes north of Isla Partida. The sea lion pups were so friendly and curious. They were not at all frightened and it was amazing to watch them play in and around large schools of small fish. Meanwhile, the pelicans were swooping down one after another scooping up fish. Altogether it was an amazing experience! Gavin managed to capture some excellent underwater footage which you can see via our instagram feed. A must do if you are in the area! (Note – we anchored in El Embudo temporarily with Slingshot and took Pebbles – our dingy- the mile over to Los Islotes. This worked out perfectly as there were tides and current surrounding the area and it was easy to hover nearby in the dingy while snorkeling).
Isla San Francisco
Next stop was Isla San Franciso. This bay is often featured in guide books as a must stop along this coast. We could understand why! It features a beautiful sand beach in a well protected semi circle bay with nearby hiking to peaks to enjoy the rugged coastline and salt flats. We visited this bay again on our return back to La Paz. The hike across the ridge is spectacular. The snorkeling along the Northern wall of the bay was amazing. Julia gained a lot of confidence and we swam with a turtle, saw millions of fish and green eels. Fun!
Isla San Jose and Punta Evaristo
We then stopped in at Isla San Jose quickly before seeking protection from the strong northerly winds in Evaristo, a small fishing town nestled in amongst the steep mountainous shoreline. Every few days there are strong Northerlies that sweep down the Sea of Cortez which means that it is important to time travel days for light wind days and it is important to be in a well sheltered anchorage when the wind blows. We are looking forward to enjoy some downwind sailing when the time comes to head South to the mainland. Evaristo had a quaint restaurant beachside where we enjoyed meeting fellow cruisers.
Agua Verde
Next stop after a bumpy 40 mile motor sail straight upwind was Santa Marte then Agua Verde. The water was actually green! We enjoyed snorkeling and paddleboarding in this beautiful area. Nathan and I shopped for groceries at the tiny store in the village of Agua Verde after saying hello to some friendly goats.
Isla Carmen
We then rose early to take advantage of the shore wind from the west which allowed us to sail on a close reach to close hauled in flat water the 40 miles to Puerto Ballandra. We made steady 8 and 9 knots of boatspeed in comfort reaching the bay by lunchtime. We appreciated the beautiful sail after the bumpy upwind a few days previously! We met up again with our kid boat friends and enjoyed happy hours, hikes and beach time.
Boat Work in Exotic Locations – again
As we had to wait a couple of days for the wind to subside before venturing to Loreto for provisions, Gavin decided it was a good time to take off our Max Propeller and change the pitch to increase the efficiency of our powering. Helpful consensus on the Sundeer forums had given us the suggested pitch which sister boats with identical engines had found worked well. Most people do this out of the water on the hard. Gavin had seen someone on utube change the pitch while in the water and thought he would try it too…
Thankfully we had the benefit of clear water, mostly sandy bottom and a friend who had recently changed the pitch on his max prop and who was kind enough to help us. Thank you George!!! Essentially they had to take off the propeller entirely, make an adjustment to the pitch, then reassemble. The Max prop feathers while sailing which reduces drag. This makes it more complicated to reassemble and adjust than a typical fixed prop. All went well- thankfully they were able to take off the propeller and reassemble with the correct pitch angle. So far we are happy with the results a we motor faster at a lower RPM and Gavin has managed to identify and fix the mild vibration issue that we had while powering. He has re greased the Max Prop and ruled out any shaft or engine alignment issues.
Getting ready for Christmas on the boat
We had fun shopping at a thrift store in Loreto for a tiny Christmas tree and found some beautiful Mexican ornaments. We decorated the inside of the boat with lights, a Christmas chain and the kids made more decorations for the tree and painted them. We made delicious Christmas cookies and have been playing Christmas Carols non-stop. It’s strange for us to be doing all of this in warm weather and swimsuits and we miss home a bit, but it’s been fun and the kids are excited to celebrate on board.
Back to La Paz area for Christmas, then on to Puerto Vallarta.
After Loreto we decided to head south. While we were considering heading North as far as Santa Maria for Christmas with some other kid boats, we decided that we would not be hauling out in Guyamas (a beam reach across from Santa Maria) and we were not keen to do another 140 miles of upwind or motoring (it’s mostly upwind or dead calm when heading north in the Sea of Cortez this time of year).
We spent two nights in Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante and were mesmerized by the clear water and beautiful snorkeling. Then we head south covering 80 miles in one day with the asymetrical spinaker up doing 8 and 9 knots all the way to Isla San Franciso where we spent another three days snorkeling daily, sailing the byte, hiking, and meeting new cruiser friends.
We are looking forward to heading across to La Cruz, a 350 mile crossing. We will be looking for a nice downwind weather window after Christmas to make this trip.
Amazing photos and adventures! I love the christmas preparations on the boat – so sweet – must be so special for the kids!
Thanks SFG! Yes we’re improvising as we go and kids are excited! Next challenge will be pulling off cherished xmas food favourites in my boat galley! Merry Xmas to you and family!