Magdalena Bay Shortcut

[theway]

Has anyone done this shortcut? The charts make it look like it’s a no go, but the satellite images appear to be pretty deep.. for a shallow keel.

Thanks

[sv_pelagia]

No soundings... shifting sands....

Even if it were possible, I can't imagine it would be a "shortcut". Much faster to sail around Cabo San Lazaro rather than slowly motoring your way around shallows.

[theway]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

No soundings... shifting sands....

Even if it were possible, I can't imagine it would be a "shortcut". Much faster to sail around Cabo San Lazaro rather than slowly motoring your way around shallows.

Thanks.
I wasn’t thinking of it as being faster, just a nice way to cut 30nm off while waiting for a weather window

[Chenega]

Originally Posted by theway

Thanks.

I wasn’t thinking of it as being faster, just a nice way to cut 30nm off while waiting for a weather window

Did a lot of this by kayak to San Carlos 30 years ago…
Beautiful, in winter lots of Gray Whales, bird life, great fishing and oysters in the mangroves!
If you have a shallow draft boat - do it!

[JPA Cate]

My chart is pretty old, but it shows an area all the way across that dries. You maybe braver than we, but given that those kinds of places open and close according to the whims of Aeolus and Neptune, we would avoid it, except for exploration by dinghy, and maybe doing it at springs, prepared to spend the night with the creatures ashore and plenty of Deet.

For the mother boat, I am with Pelagia. Have a nice down wind and current sail on the outside. Anchor the mother boat where she will be safe, and explore by dinghy or even swimming, and remember, if walking, to do the stingray shuffle.

Ann

[wholybee]

If you anchor in Bahia Santa Maria, you effectively gain as many miles by not have to backtrack out of Magdalena. Unless you need to provision or get fuel, I would(did) skip Magdalena.

[mvweebles]

You night want to ping Southbound-Group as they have a high percentage of active cruisers along the pacific coast. Good source of local knowledge.

https://groups.io/g/southbound-group

Bear in mind charts (any of them) are not incredibly accurate for Baja and Sea of Cortez. Personally, I lean on known GPS coordinates from reputable cruising guides and take an extremely conservative approach. The consequences of an error in these remote areas are just too great - 15 years ago, a Nordhavn 62, a very capable trawler yacht whose sisterships have completed several circumnavigation, went aground just south of Mag Bay. Sadly, a crew lost their life in the melee.

[pressuredrop]

I have a friend that took a j42 most of the way up on your course. I made it halfway up your course line in a 64' schooner. A little past where the Garmin charts cut off, and we still had plenty of water, dark but easy to read the depths. The charts make it look scary, but there is allot of water back there. This was one of the highlight on our trip from Maine to Washington. Highly recommended even if you have to go back out the way you came...

[mikereed100]

Friends in a Shionning 49 did this a few year back. I believe they wrote about it in Latitude 38. The local shrimpers do it all the time. Just follow one out and you should be fine.

[Cheechako]

Not sure it's a shortcut. Open air on the outside and you're flying!