Leaving San Diego for Mexico in February ?

[engele]

We have finally made the move and are shipping our boat to San Diego at the end of January (after several years in the San Juans). We were hoping to push off soon after we launch. Anything we should know about the run from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas in February? My thought was to follow the Haha route SD -> Turtle Bay -> Santa Maria -> Cabo and then probably head for La Paz or Mazatlan.

[Patrick_DeepPlaya]

Cedros island seemed like a cool stop which the ha ha skips.

-p
At anchor in La Paz

[Charlie]

The Ha Ha is designed for people who have two weeks vacation. It is also designed for people to get south as quick as possible. There is nothing wrong with following their route but if you want things more leisurely there are many anchorages to stop on the way down. If you check in to Mexico in Ensenada then you can stop anywhere along the coast. If you don't check in then you will have to avoid any port of entry which includes Cedros Island and Mag Bay. I've been told there are some nice spots on the Rio San Tomas. Downwind Marine in San Diego has a wonderful laminated map that has GPS locations for anchorages distances and small pieces of information. Also if you get a copy of the Baja Bash there is a lot of information on stops along the way. You just have to read it backward LOL. Have a great trip and good luck.

[engele]

Thank you both. I am feeling like we may check in in Ensenada. Why not? That should also cut some time off of the run to Cedros or Turtle Bay. I keep hearing that talking to the guys at Downwind Marine is a good idea. I guess we will have to make a point to stop in there when we arrive in SD.

[Lowcountry]

Just got done doing the Ha Ha on a 46' Hallberg-Rassy. Seas were small, and wind was annoyingly light. We were hard-pressed to find more than 10kts of wind for the majority of the trip. I don't know if these were typical conditions or not, as I'm an east coast sailor. Turtle bay was ok. There was nothing at Bahia Santa Maria. Cabo was nice, but $$$$$$. Good luck, have fun!

[engele]

Thanks Lowcountry,

How long was your first leg?

[Lowcountry]

The entire fleet motored out of San Diego, and continued motorsailing for about 20 hours before we got sufficient wind and began sailing. We were offshore 3 days down to Turtle bay. The scenery was beautiful. People (on other boats) spotted killer whales. We saw seals, breaching manta rays, etc. Tons of boats caught dorados, tuna, wahoo, and even some marlin. Be sure to take fishing gear!!

[engele]

I just can't believe we have finally put all of the pieces together and are headed out. Thanks for the timeline. Two months from now I should be down there!

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

The entire fleet motored out of San Diego, and continued motorsailing for about 20 hours before we got sufficient wind and began sailing. We were offshore 3 days down to Turtle bay. The scenery was beautiful. People (on other boats) spotted killer whales. We saw seals, breaching manta rays, etc. Tons of boats caught dorados, tuna, wahoo, and even some marlin. Be sure to take fishing gear!!

**IF** you have ***ANY*** Fishing gear aboard the boat, make sure you have the boat and everyone on it properly licensed, else it's a pretty big fine.

[engele]

We will have the fishing licenses and Mexican liability insurance. I am mostly concerned with weather in feb.

[jboats]

I'm keen to do a trip from SD to Puerto Escondido starting end of January, hitting a lot of surf spots on the way. Would be nice to maybe meet up along the way.

J

Originally Posted by engele

We have finally made the move and are shipping our boat to San Diego at the end of January (after several years in the San Juans). We were hoping to push off soon after we launch. Anything we should know about the run from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas in February? My thought was to follow the Haha route SD -> Turtle Bay -> Santa Maria -> Cabo and then probably head for La Paz or Mazatlan.

[engele]

It'd be great to meet up. Have you done the trip before?

[jboats]

Taking this to a secure channel..

Originally Posted by engele

It'd be great to meet up. Have you done the trip before?

[andywelch]

Hi,

La Paz is a beautiful city, very quiet, with a good marina. I've kayaked around Isla Espiritu Santo but have not sailed the Sea of Cortez.

Andy

We have finally made the move and are shipping our boat to San Diego at the end of January (after several years in the San Juans). We were hoping to push off soon after we launch. Anything we should know about the run from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas in February? My thought was to follow the Haha route SD -> Turtle Bay -> Santa Maria -> Cabo and then probably head for La Paz or Mazatlan.[/QUOTE]

[engele]

Thanks Andy,

We have heard good things about La Paz so far. (and the occasional gripe about poor holding in the anchorage).

We will likely head there directly after a short stop in Cabo (mostly stopping in Cabo just to see it quickly and move on).

I know someone with a larger anchor (65lbs CQR) who is willing to trade for my 35lb CQR and I may make the jump even though a nice new 45lb would be ideal I think.

Elan