Anchorages in review - San Juanico - Arrival (April 13)

Nav station with weather notes, log book and 'to do' list

Friday, April 13th: we often hear that cruisers should not head out on this date.  We rationalize that our cruise is 'in progress'.  We left La Paz ten days ago and our log book records this fact for any wind or sea gods to please take note!

It is 69 F in the cabin, 62 F outside, 67 in the pool and the bar is 1014. Stan's forecast is for W 4 - 6 kms and WSW 12 - 16 kms at night for the northern half of the Sea; NW 14 - 19, with WNW 6 - 8 for the southern half. Saturday could be W 15 - 21. These are weather updates we receive via Winlink from a volunteer weather guru who's full time job is as a vet.  Guru Geary advises for the northern crossing (Santa Rosalia to Guaymas) Friday am NE 6 - 9 with afternoon winds ENE 13 - 17; for Saturday NE 18 - 23 kms.  The Loreto area should see SSE 10 - 13 kms for the afternoon.

Checking out cruising guide enroute

Basically we know the winds will be stronger in the next few days.  We want to be someplace secure where we can spend a few days with some options for moving around as the winds sort themselves out.  36 nautical miles away lies Caleta San Juanico, tucked in behind Punta San Basillio.  This anchorage is a special place and one we always look forward to.  Today we were underway by 08:15, expecting to take 7 hours for the trip.

Heading north we quickly were hit by 2 - 3 foot swells from the north-east. These would continue for the entire trip, building to 4 and 5 feet at times; definitely impacting our progress.  This was a motor sail trip.  The winds finally picked up to 12 knots SE at 14:30, so we got a boost at long last. Along the way we heard SV Salish Sea on the VHF and found that Ian and Diane were heading into Guaymas already for their haulout.  The reception was so clear we thought they were on the Baja peninsula side!

As we headed into Caleta San Juanico, the winds shifted to the east and we wondered what that would bring in the way of swells. The small bay in front of the cruisers' shrine was occupied by one sailboat in such a considerate way no one else could fit in.  Everyone else had lined up further west from north to south. INTREPID II 'parked' between Mood Indigo to port and Content to starboard.

San Juanico neighbours

INTREPID II at anchor San Juanico

On with the anchor snubber, out with the flopper stoppers; with one out off the boom to starboard, anticipating those easterly swells.  By 15:00 we were settled in at 26 degrees 22.001 N, 111 degrees 25.831 W, looking forward to a few days of rest, hiking and catching up with friends.  There were so many things to record that we'll have to have a separate blog posting!