LOCAL WINDS 

Mirador is anchored in Bahia Candelero (Candlestick Bay) enjoying what is know in the Baja as "highly localized winds."  It has been blowing 20 to 35 knots since about 5 AM and hasn't been below 18 knots since yesterday noon.  We have talked to boats 10 miles south of here and 12 miles north of here and they report calm to SE 5 knots.  We are experiencing W 20 to 30.  The forecast is for SE 10 to 15 knots.

Picture not yet transmitted to WEB siteBahia Candelero is just south of Puerto Escondido and is situated at the mouth of a canyon that leads up into the 4000 foot Sierra Gigante Mountains directly to the west. 

It is only 44 miles from here across the Baja Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean.  Our temperatures during the day reach 90+ degrees  and only drop to the mid-80s at night.  The water temperature  in this part of the Sea of Cortez is in the lower 80 degree range.  The air temp on the Pacific side of the Peninsula reaches the upper 50s at night and seldom gets above the low 70s during the day.  The Pacific water is about 55 degrees. 

When the NW winds blow along the outside of the Baja they push the cool dense air up and over the 4000 foot Gigante Mountains where  it then rushes down the east side canyons, compressing and heating until it spills out into Bahia Candelero as 30 knot gusts at a temperature of about 90 degrees.  The 20+ temperature difference between our air and the Pacific Ocean side exacerbates the wind by creating a large pressure gradient as our warm air rises, creating lower pressure that the air spilling over the mountains must fill. 

The wind is really no problem for boats anchored here.  The fetch from the shore to our west is less than 1/2 a mile and the bottom is good firm sand.  I have Mirador anchored by the 66 pound spade at the end of 100' of chain with 20' of 1/2" snubber lines.  The water depth was 12 feet where I dropped the anchor so Mirador is sitting on a 10:1 scope ratio. 

This is a beautiful anchorage with white sand beaches to the east, south, and southwest, and the Sierra Gigante Mountains to the west and northwest.  Isla Danzante and Isla Carmen are to the north and northeast of us.   There is a small hotel, very small, on a hill above the beach and it has five or six cabins scattered around the grounds.  Other than that there is no sign of civilization here.

We, (Tackless II, Ryokosha, Lady Galadriel), came down here from Juncalito yesterday, about 12 miles.

 This area has five or six pinnacle rocks that rise straight up out of more than 20 fathoms of water and offer wonderful diving and snorkeling. The picture to the left shows one of the small rocks and Isla Carmen in the distance.

  The shallows near the beach are loaded with clams and the waters outside the bay are noted for Dorado.  However, until the wind drops a little we'll probably be sticking fairly close to our boats.

My sail down here was  hard on the wind the whole way. I started with a full main and 120% genoa just after lifting the anchor and spent the last 90 minutes with a double reefed main and 100% genoa beating into 25 knots and 3' seas.  The rail was in the water at times but I had anticipated the wind so the ports were shut and the stuff below was secure. It's not so bad when sweat is running off your bare back after cranking in the genoa on a tack. The air was 48% humidity and it was 88 degrees in the shade with the wind blowing.

The other three boats left 2 hours before me and got here just as the wind started blowing hard. I waited until 11:30 AM which is  when the afternoon wind comes up and therefore got to sail all the way.

Picture not yet transmitted to WEB siteI sailed from Isla Coronados to Juncalito, 11 miles, on July 3. That was also a nice sail but again, hard on the wind all the way. 

The big reason for going to Juncalito was to watch the July 4th fireworks put on by the local gringo community.  Juncalito is a beachside collection of 20 to 30 small houses and palapas that cover RVs of various types.  They all gather on the beach for a big picnic and then shoot off fireworks to celebrate the 4th.

The picture to the right is the trimaran SeaFire from Seattle with Juncalito and the Sierra Gigante Mountains in the background.

We had a big 4th of July party - on Tackless II. It was an All-American pig out right a dusk, Hamburgers, beans, potato salad, Margaritas, Tequila. Lisa made a scratch peach pie and we knew we would need ice cream. So around 1 PM, Paul & I took the dinghy ashore, walked 1/2 mile to Mexican Highway 1,(the only road from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana), and hitched 2 miles south to Tripui with two Mexicans. They had to move the cardboard box full of empty Tecate beer cans so we could get in the back seat. They each finished one beer and started another while we were in the car.

All the ice cream at Tripui, (another Gringo community of RVers), was sold out. So we got a ride back to Mex 1 where another cruiser picked us up. Turned out he was just going  north to Loreto to get 18 gallons of diesel and was coming right back. So he gave us a ride to the ice cream store in Loreto (15 miles) where we bought 2 half gallons of Dryers Very Vanilla. Our ride had a 12-volt Freezer, yes freezer, in his van so the ice cream stayed frozen till we got out of the van that he had driven down to the beach next to our dinghy. Nice guy!

It is now noon on Sunday, July 6th and the other three boats that are in Bahia Candaleros with me are leaving to go to Puerto Escondido.  The wind is still blowing 20 to 30 knots but it is calm just 3 miles away in Puerto Escondido.  I don't want to go up there for several reasons.  1) this place will be great when the wind dies this afternoon 2) I may go ride my sailboard when I finish this WEB update, although the wind is a little too light in between the gusts 3) It is too much work to pull the anchor in 20+ knots of wind 4) I would have to check-in  with the Loreto Port Captain if I go into Puerto Escondido and that would cost at least $75, $30 to check in and out and $45 for the taxi back and forth to Loreto.

So, I'll stay here for a few days and see if this wind dies.