LaPaz and Sea of Cortez April 1st?

[jsmithkra]

Traveling to Cabo for a wedding at end of March. Considering chartering a bareboat out of La Paz the first week of April. Looking at other posts I am wondering.
Will it be too cold, i.e. Northerlies and water temp. I see May is more optimal
Are the harbors and anchorages open now? I understand COVID closed a number of them.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[sv_pelagia]

Too cold in April? My experience (2 Aprils) is it starts getting too hot in April. Certainly too hot in May.

Northerlies a bigger issue in the Winter. Corumels (unpredictable west/Sw winds) can occur ANY time in Bahia de la Paz (the islands), but especially as you get closer to Summer.

We swam all year round in La Paz and the islands: temps no lower than 19-21°C. (Admittedly, many find waters cool Dec-Feb... but we are used to BC temps where 21°C is "warm".)

[jsmithkra]

thanks that is helpful

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by jsmithkra

thanks that is helpful

If you do go, get the Blue Latitude cruising guide for Sea of Cortez. It will give what you need for cruising "the islands" in Bahia de la Paz (and much much more).
https://bluelatitudepress.com/

Blue Latitude harbour/anchorage charts are also available for Navigation programs (for example: O-charts has them for OpenCPN).

There is a new detailed SEMAR chart for Bahia de la Paz and islands. Navionics includes this. CMAP does not. (Keeping fingers crossed for O-charts in future....)

[PirateGuy]

Still plenty of ice and bergie bits April 1.
Suggest mid-August for true La Paz experience.

[Cheechako]

April would be a good month I think. Water heating up a bit, the Northers should be gone.
My picks would be April or October for the Sea of Cortez.

[jackdale]

Be aware that the port authority in La Paz might not issue a permit to leave the habour in strong winds. That happened to us several years ago.

When we finally did get permission to depart we anchored in Espritu Santo with the wind picking up to 45 in the anchorage and 55 outside. That is the only time I have ever dragged anchor (twice on the same day). The Northers can be brutal.

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by jsmithkra

Traveling to Cabo for a wedding at end of March. Considering chartering a bareboat out of La Paz the first week of April. Looking at other posts I am wondering.
Will it be too cold, i.e. Northerlies and water temp. I see May is more optimal
Are the harbors and anchorages open now? I understand COVID closed a number of them.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

April is fine, warm even we think. May is hot, June horrific without a/c.
We start swimming daily in the Sea of Cortez in March when spring break (when they have it) kicks in,
and that's up north in San Carlos.

[arthur.watson.1]

I spent a winter in the SoC recently, and I think April should be just fine. You’ll probably appreciate having a light wetsuit for swimming/snorkeling. My experience was that you did not want to trying to go upwind in the northers, but downwind, properly reefed, was doable. As was said, the Corumels happen and I never figured out what to do about them except put out a lot of scope. (That said, I did see a few boats anchoring on the east side of the islands and this might be a good strategy). In my entire winter operating out of La Paz, the port was never closed to departing traffic. And if it is, there’s plenty to see and do right in town. My $.02

[wingssail]

April is a good time as it starts to get warmer (March is still a bit cold for us).

The water begins to warm up.

May and June are delightful. By July 1 we wish to be at a dock with shore power for the AC.

Winds? The northerly winds usually slack off during April. In May you will see the wind switch to more fequent southerlies.

Corumel Winds? Just avoid any harbors which are open to the SW (and many of them close to La Paz are) Seek protection behind a point or something so you are not exposed to SW winds. Many roadsteads which are open to northeries and lousy in the winter are really nice once the winds switch to southerlies.

[frantzjoe]

For many years we chartered out of Loreto and then La Paz. Have gone in April, May, June and July.
It was usually fine on the boat but one July we needed to go back to land to fill SCUBA tanks and the temperatures were hot even in the shade.
For me the water is too cold except for a quick dip. Upwelling keeps it cold until well into May.
The Coromwells blow in the late evening through the night and can be very strong. Mostly blow south of San Francisquito. No wind mid-day so sailed in morning and late afternoon with Espiritu Santo the worst. There are a few anchorages on that island that are safe at night with the winds. They are strong but with protection there isn’t much fetch so it is smooth. Also seems every place is 15 feet of good sand.
You can visit most anchorages in the day. Up through June water is quite cool so not too bad on boat. But hot on shore. The Corumwells (sp) keep it cool enough at night to need to close hatches late at night. Water is clearer by May/June also for diving.

[FitzpatrickMac]

We're thinking of doing sailing charter in the last week of June. Would the Sea of Cortez be a good option to consider or is it too hot then? What are the best months to sail in the area?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by FitzpatrickMac

We're thinking of doing sailing charter in the last week of June. Would the Sea of Cortez be a good option to consider or is it too hot then? What are the best months to sail in the area?

It's damn hot then for sure.
I chartered early October and it was 102 some days.
I spent a year and a half there in the 80's. April is nice. Sept-October is liveable. Water can be cool in feb-march. But Cortez water is never super warm, except some protected places. It's deep with a lot of upwelling.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by FitzpatrickMac

We're thinking of doing sailing charter in the last week of June. Would the Sea of Cortez be a good option to consider or is it too hot then? What are the best months to sail in the area?

See post #10

[sv_pelagia]

Everybody is different!
How do you like heat? What water temperature do you consider warm?

We hate heat and thus feel by April (and certainly May), it it too hot in Bahia de la Paz. Others like it hot.

We feel comfortable (and enjoy) swimming in 21-24°C (70-75°F) seawater - - typical for Bahia de la Paz in the Winter. In late Spring/Summer, the sea would be much warmer! Yet others feel Winter swimming is too cold, and at least one here thinks it is never warm enough.

Everyone is different. So review La Paz's climate and decide for yourself:
https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/mexico/la-paz

Corumuel winds:
Although this can make anchoring more tenuous for cruisers, it also keeps the no-see-ums and other flying insects at 'bay'. The winds can make anchoring along the western side of Espiritu Santos a challenging experience as well. With only one anchorage, Partita well protected and Ensenada Grande somewhat protected other anchorages at the island can make for a long night. Anchorages like El Cardinal can point directly into the building Coromuels and 3' rollers reflect around the small area. Late in the spring many boaters choose to anchor on the north/east side of Partita after the threat of north winds has passed during the day.
http://www.bajainsider.com/article/c...ahia-de-la-paz

Blue Latitude Sea of Cortez Cruisers' Guidebook: These southwest winds leave the majority of the anchorages on the western shores of the islands [Espiritu Santo, Partida, San Francisco] unprotected....