Winter cruise Sea of Cortez Baja MX 2020

D

danabigsur

New member
Hi from Dana & Micah on “Sierra” out of Big Sur Ca. We are planning a winter, Jan-April 2020, cruising the Sea of Cortez. We will be crossing the border in Tecate shortly after the New Year and driving down the Baja Peninsula as far as Loreto/Puerto Escondido. There is a launch ramp, safe place for truck & trailer storage and a good start home base at the local marina, from there by water heading south to La Paz. We have cruised these waters on our sailboat for 5 years and on our Ranger Tug for 2 years on the mainland side. We have not yet taken our C-Dory down nor have we driven the Baja HWY, though we have driven many times down the mainland side to San Carlos and towing the tug. We do know the necessary paperwork and what is needed to make a trip like this. We are hoping to find another like minded cruiser who would be able to join us and are willing to help with the logistics. Let us know if you are interested. Dana & Micah & Sierra. You can PM me for personal contact info if you’d like to chat.
 
We can help you with the logistics and how to get all the paperwork that you will need for yourselves and your boat
We hope someone else will want to share in the adventure. A lot of press makes Mexico sound dangerous but we and thousands of other U.S. boaters travel to Mexico every year safely and the Mexican people are great!
 
Hi again. Just checking in again in case this post was missed by anyone interested in joining us. Please PM me to chat about it
Hope to hear from any potential takers
Dana & Micah on “Sierra”.
 
Hi Dana and Micha,

Barb and I are interested in the adventure you are planning. I thought I had sent a detailed PM, but must have done something wrong since I don't see it in my message outbox.

Send me a PM with your personal email and maybe we can start a conversation.

We have been thinking of going to the Bahamas in the Spring, but depending on timing we might be interested. We have traveled extensively in Mexico and have driven the Baja Peninsula before (without trailering the boat).

We are leaving early for the C-Brats Mississippi Gathering in a couple of days but will keep and eye on email. I will PM my email as well.

Scott & Barb
"Little Bit"
 
Dana got at least part of your PM and will get back to you. Hope we can work out a trip together. It looks like you have done some good cruising mods to Little Bit. We missed our anual trip to Mexico and have spent the last year doing cruising mods on Sierra. We have just ordered a watermaker which is our last major project.
Dana used to have a charter boat business in the Florida keys and wants to get back to her old stomping grounds next year ( winter 2021 if the Creeks don't rise) She cruised several times in the Bahamas so we also are interested in a possible cruise there.
 
Hi from Dana & Micah aboard “Sierra”
We are still gearing up for a border crossing in Tecate after New Years, a drive down the Baja Peninsula to a Puerto Escondido launching, then by water to La Paz. We are looking for a buddy boat or two. Any like minded adventurous folks out there? We have been there on our sailboat & Ranger Tug for 7 years, but this will be a first for the drive on the Baja side & with our C-Dory in tow. We can help you with the logistics of the paperwork. Please PM me if interested for personal contact info and further discussions.
Dana & Micah
 
Can't join you this year and our trailer will need to be upgraded to do the 2000 Mile tow from Victoria BC, but would love to learn how the trip goes! Have an amazing adventure.
 
Hi C-brats, I just thought I would bring this up again. No need to spend the whole 4 months down with us. You could just cruise from Loreto/Puerto Escondido down to La Paz with us, a bit over 100 miles. Cell service is spotty but we have an InReach for satellite texting. We get the weather every morning over the Marine SSB and ham radio nets.
That is a great cruising area, remote national park islands, little fishing villages, great views and hikes. There are a lot of great picturesque Anchorages filled with sea life and walking beaches. Have you ever paddled your board past a Blue footed Booby nesting site, or had pelicans dive bombing fish 5 feet from your boat? I am not a great fisherman but even I catch fish. The tides and currents are minimal and the winds are usually just in the afternoon with the occasional norther that we wait out at safe Anchorage. The temperatures in La Paz are usually above 70 during the day and if you like food they have some incredible, fun, restaurants and the whole city is full of great people and cultural events. With so many north americans visiting you don't need to speak Spanish to have a great time.
Puerto Escondido has a full service boat yard with a good ramp and safe long term vehicle storage. (Check out their website)
Hundreds of boats are towed safely down the main Baja highways every year. We get our paper work done in advance so we have never had a problem crossing the border.
Your adventure awaits!
 
A trip to Baja is on our bucket list, just not this year. We certainly would consider joining you this year if it was possible. I am looking forward to your future reports posted on C-Brats. Info on the logistics of such a trip would be a great asset to have on this site and certainly would make planning such a journey in the future much easier for us. Good luck on your voyage.
 
Peter and Judy, yes I will try to put up some helpful posts and a Sierra Baja photo album, hopefully it will excite other C-brats to try the trip. I notice that Alain has had his CD down there.the towing and overnight stays will be new to us compared to our sailboat experience.

Micah, Apple Pie Ranch, Big Sur Ca.
 
Looking forward to run into each other, either in Puerto Escondido, La Paz or somewhere in between. We will likely launch in San Carlos sometimes in November.
Re: the trailer, I am sure you have made all necessary preparations for your trip down the Baja including 2 spares, a big breaker bar and a cordless impact wrench, makes life so much easier when you have two flats and/or blow ups in a row.:)
Alain
 
Alain, yes just changed the trailer hubs over to oil bath hubs, new tires, 2 spares + a tire, have a breaker bar and Milwaukee impact driver and a good 12v compressor. All stuff I used going down to San Carlos with the Ranger Tug.
San Carlos was so easy just 5-6 hours south of the border on good roads, but we didn't get good weather windows in January to cross over and it will be nice having the truck on the other side.
I am on a couple of FB Baha sail and road forums and still haven't worked out where we can spend 2 nights in Mexico at an inexpensive hotel that has secure boat parking, or a good campground. I may be a bit of a excessively prepared planner, so that is stressful, the water cruising will be a piece of cake!
Do you participate in the HF morning nets?
 
Appears to be good preparation to me, similar to ours for trips to Alaska, but somethings in Mexico travel are more difficult to prepare for. My step grandchild’s grandparents, who immigrated from Mexico many years ago have a home there & drive back & forth each year at least a couple times. Last year her dad on a trip down there was shaken down for money by law enforcement on the way to his folks house & just a week ago the grandparents on the way down were pulled over by what they thought were law enforcement, but turned out to be cartel members. They were robbed & told after handing it over if they found more cash or other valuables they hadn’t declared, they would be killed on the spot. They are 80 years old & were terrified by the experience & now will only go there by plane. I imagine you are well versed in this kind of activity & hope you have a plan in place just in case.

Jay
 
Thanks for the note... yes, we have been hearing & reading things like that happening. Also a lot of just plain crooked police stopping people for bogus things like speeding or not stopping at signs, then demanding “ticket money” on the spot Definitely these ion the road driving issues are the most worrisome part for us. We have only driven the 5-6 hrs down to San Carlos (minimum time on the highway) & not the 3 days down Baja. That’s why we are hoping to buddy boat caravan down with another cruiser.. safety in numbers. Question is ??? Was their drive down the Baja side or down the mainland side (& how far down) when these 2 incidents happened .
Dana
 
Dana, all that was shared with me was 2nd hand. It was several hundred miles into Mexico & down from Texas, so the Baja side may be much less of a concern. One of my sons teaches in a Charter School just outside south Denver & the school has a high percentage of both legal & non legal students that came from Mexico & other countries south of it. These students & their family members travel back & forth & they have shared lots of instances like this occurring in their trips with him saying these situations are getting worse not better. Most of them who can now fly to the nearest airport from their destination & only use the roads from airport to it. This stuff has got to be really hurting the Mexico economy.

I made a trip with some family members down the Baja to south of San Felipe in 1971. We had a wonderful time, though the roads weren’t much back then. I wish you & anyone who goes with you with a fantastic trip. Personally I prefer the PNW waters & especially SE Alaska, but your plans sound like another grand adventure in the making to me.

Jay
 
The "shakedown" racket has been in Mexico as long as I can remember. I can remember some incidents in the 60's even in Baja, but near the border. But it rarely affects boats. (but I know of several incidents which did--and we almost had one.) A Mexican fishing boat attempted to ram us, I knew about this type of scam, and turned sharply to get on the Fishing boat's stern. We had more speed, and just kept on the stern as they turned--they broke off fairly quickly--shadowed us for a while; then disappeared back toward the coast. One of my friend's boat was hit and damaged. Her boat was seized. The fishing boat claimed the yacht was at fault and demanded a payoff. She gave up cruising. A C Dory would be a very unlikely target.

My impression is that Cabo is not as safe as it was in the past. This is based on family members who have been there this year and were warned to stay on the resort property, or take a verified shuttle to the "down town" area during the day, if they must. Tijuana, Los Cabos and Acapulco are listed as highest murder rates in the World. These are mostly related to the drug trade.

Further up and coast and the Sea of Cortez things still seem stable. Have you checked out?

The Vagabundos del Mar club?

Their Facebook page.

The Vagabundos Del Mar have been organizing both trailer boat (initially) and RV trips to Baja for many years.

I don't know much about this group, but they do have road conditions.
 
We have been keeping track on the traveling Baja forums lots of people with houses down there back and forth all the time so far Baja has been good, no cartel roberys but some bad border cops mostly at the Tecate crossing. We have gone through that drill before, we only gave the cop the 30 bucks we had in my wallet, everything else was hidden. We didn't pay attention to the 25 km sign and were going probably 25 mph, so we were speeding....
Baja roads are narrower than US 2 lanes by about a foot.
 
Bob, the on the water cruising community haven't reported any problems. The Bahia Conception to La Paz coast is tourist remote so not any crowded area criminals. There are more boat burglaries in the La Paz Anchorage so unlike before we will be in a marina, they are very safe.
 
Agree, the area away from the tourist area is much safer. We have always had good experiences in Mexico on Baja, Pacific and Caribbean coasts.

You mentioned hotels, how about staying on the boat in RV type of compounds?
Even in the US the few times I left the boat in a motel parking lot, I would try and get a room where I could see the boat, and get up about every hour to check for activity. There are a number of campgrounds along Hwy 1 especially.
 
Hate to put a damper on this subject but I need to share a story with you. Back in 1987 I drove 800 miles below Tijuana along the West Coast of Baja California. Went with several other friends that also drove their own vehicles and family members. Had a great time and saw lots of neat villages along the coast. The people were great, friendly and very hospitable. The problem we saw was with the Police. At the time, if you brought a new Jeep Cherokee into the country, the Police would stop you, plant an excuse in a way to confiscate your vehicle (place narcotics into your vehicle) and then arrest you and confiscate your vehicle. It was common practice back then and I don't think things have changed in 30+ years. We witnessed in person while down there, a family with a new Ford full size van being pulled over by the Police. We watched from a distance (was really stupid to do so but I was younger at the time) a stand-off with the Police and the family of the van occupants. The family appeared to be of White descent and I am pretty sure the van had a California registration. The situation had become a shoot-out stand off with the owner of the van not willing to surrender the van to the Police. I do not know the circumstances of the situation but after an hour had taken place, the Police left the scene and the owner of the van and its occupants drove off in peace.
I suspect that the Police wanted that new van for somebody or something in the Police Agency. I will never again consider travel into Mexico again for this reason and my personal experience. Maybe travel into Mexico is different with a C-Dory but I personally won't take the chance. Sorry again to be such a pill on this post but I felt I needed to share my experience with travel into the Country with a vehicle or boat that you actually have the Title on. Gary.
 
Back
Top