Mexico storm season

[rebel heart]

I've lived in San Diego for years, and I've seen the aftermath of Mexican tropical storms and depressions. They're usually quite weakened by the time they get this far (32 degrees) north, and usually it's just the swell and humidity we experience.

The Baja HaHa, a huge cruising rally, leaves for Mexico every year from San Diego right at the end of October, which is the end of the storm season.

How risky / smart is it to go down the Baja peninsula before then, maybe by a couple of weeks? I can't imagine two hundred miles down the coast making a huge difference between the full brunt of a tropical storm and a bit of humidity.

Additionally, I've worked on sport fishers that routinely go ~100 miles down into Mexican waters during hurricane season. Again, the worst I've dealt with is excess swell.

[Celestialsailor]

I know a few people who have. The chances these days are slim that you'll get caught with your pants down. Most of the reason being that sailors have a greater resource to tap from than they had 10 or 20 years ago. Better, longer and more reliable weather reports.
My friends that did it wanted to avoid the crowds in the anchorages and would roll their eyes at the thought of a bunch of drunken newbies drifting down to Mx.

[rebel heart]

Cool thanks; reading a detailed version of that here as well: http://www.bajainsider.com/weather/h...urricanesa.htm

They start farther south and cross over lower baja, so I guess we'll just take it slow. I checked bowditch and even in there it says "hurricanes can happen any time of the year" so I know this is all generally speaking stuff. But it's still good to know, especially looking at the October tracks in that baja insider.

[Celestialsailor]

I have not been up on El Nino or La Nina lately, so I don't know what cycle is currently going on. I left for Hawaii in late June 2008 on my Ingrid 38 and got clobbered. We had watched before taking off that the depression would collapse off the coast of Mx and then collapse, so we took off. Wouldn't you know that DP Douglass and Boris did not collapse but instead went offshore to raise havoc. If you start getting winds and seas out of the south, pay attention and look for a hole if you have to.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I have not been up on El Nino or La Nina lately, so I don't know what cycle is currently going on. I left for Hawaii in late June 2008 on my Ingrid 38 and got clobbered. We had watched before taking off that the depression would collapse off the coast of Mx and then collapse, so we took off. Wouldn't you know that DP Douglass and Boris did not collapse but instead went offshore to raise havoc. If you start getting winds and seas out of the south, pay attention and look for a hole if you have to.

That's the other thing we'll be doing. This is my first time heading into known hurricane territory, so no more lazy-weather monitoring like we can do here in Southern California. I'll start getting my weather charts in the morning religiously and looking for badness.