Sailing in La Paz

[jamhass]

Check out Sean and Heather's guide book:

Blue Latitude Press - The most up-to-date and accurate Mexico Cruising Guides!

Best guide around. Great descriptions Accurate chartlets to all the popular anchorages, etc etc.

[zeehag]

december is start of high season. high season is high prices and no bad weather. none. it is perfect in mexico in winter. always.
sailing happens in winter.
you only need money.

[capnmatt]

Thanks again for all of the replies. After reading everyone's input I am a little reluctant to roll the dice on sailing there in December. Not that we can't handle higher wind and swell, but it doesn't always make for a relaxing vacation (which the wife wants). I hate going somewhere sunny and warm and not being on a boat and my family loves sailing too, but bashing into the wind for a week isn't their idea of a great vacation.

So, if winter can get a bit dicey in the Sea of Cortez, what would be a better time to go? Spring break would be doable for us too, but I believe the winds can be pretty stiff during that time as well. We used to go down to windsurf on the Pacific side in April due to the reliable winds that time of the year. That was a bit further up the peninsula though, maybe it's different down on the tip. I want to keep La Paz on the table a a sailing trip for the future as it is reasonably close for us and easier to do a shorter trip.

Thanks,

Matt

[Cheechako]

To me April would be perfect. BTW, the water can be pretty cold in the winter also. I remember it being about 63 degrees in Jan/February. It seemed to coo down rapidly after October or so. June thru Sept/October can be very hot, often over 100 degrees IIRC. After sailing there for 1.5 years I chartered out of La Paz 10 years later in late September. It was toasty but we survived!
It really doesn't matter if the prevailing Northers are NE, N or NW, the effect is it comes right down the Sea.
I remember sitting in an anchorage watching huge rollers go by outside for 5 days once. I'm talking breaking waves with coamers at the top.

[iseadreamer]

Been sailing western Mexican waters for 19 years now every October to May. December begins the cool air temps and colder water temps which changes toward the warmer side around April 1 in the Sea. Count on an average of 4 days of winds 15-30 and 3 days of no wind every week in winter. The past three years have seen week long winds to 50 knots at least once late December to March. You are then stuck in an anchorage. There is little to do off the boat in the Sea of Cortez unless you like desert hiking, beachcombing, bouldering and bird watching. The fishing is nothing like what it was 15 years ago. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. If you are seeking peace and contentment it is a pretty nice place on a boat. But, we have seen many charterers unhappy that winter winds have limited their sailing experience.

[zeehag]

from december 1 thru may 15 it is sailing season in mexico including all of soc on down southwest coast.
northers are pretty much a year round thing.
if a coupla few northers in soc are enough to scare you off, mebbe great salt lake has what you need. mebbe a sail to catalina is more your style. oh but then there are santana winds.. ha ha ha . ok/
seriously. high season is winter. sailing season is winter. winter is not cane season. not cane season is high season. filled with sailing folks, tourists and the works.
there is a lot more in mexico than sea of cortez.
there is greenery in tropics, which soc is not--soc is desert with sea water in it.
zihuatenejo is awesome in december, all dressed up for christmas which lasts until 12th night, jan 6th .

[JPA Cate]

OP,

I'm thinking a charter out of PV (Puerto Vallarta) might be a better fit for you. It has night life, whereas, once out of La Paz, it is anchorages, with desert surrounded by salt water, some hikiing, lots of swimming... The mainland is a lot greener than Baja. There are various resorts around PV that can be accessed via your chartered boat.

Ann

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

OP,

I'm thinking a charter out of PV (Puerto Vallarta) might be a better fit for you. It has night life, whereas, once out of La Paz, it is anchorages, with desert surrounded by salt water, some hikiing, lots of swimming... The mainland is a lot greener than Baja. There are various resorts around PV that can be accessed via your chartered boat.

Ann

yeah, it's a matter of whether you want the "wild" or the bar I suppose. I love the Baja desert life and landscapes.

[nhschneider]

I am very partial to the La Paz area. As others have pointed out, there are good anchorages nearby even in the event of a 'Norther'. However, one could hang out in La Paz and be delighted as long as you're willing to 'expect it to be different'. Since La Paz has no tourist-style beaches, it's largely ignored as a destination for many tourists, however, it does offer terrific accommodations, excellent food, respectable night life and a high level of Mexican culture.

We have been so taken with our many visits to La Paz that it's entirely possible that once we swallow the hook, we'll make it our winter home.

By the way, I believe that those referring to San Juan del Cabo are actually referring to San Jose del Cabo, which is much less touristy than Cabo San Lucas.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[waterman46]

Avoid Baja and Sea of Cortez until late March. It's too cold and possibly windy as mentioned. Even PV was rether cool and rainy for us in December. But a charter out of either area in April should be perfect. If you have kids they will love the beachcombing and desert exploring ashore in La Paz area.

[TacomaSailor]

Originally Posted by waterman46

Avoid Baja and Sea of Cortez until late March. It's too cold and possibly windy as mentioned. Even PV was rether cool and rainy for us in December.

Respectfully disagree.

Long Term weather records (https://weatherspark.com/averages/32...nia-Sur-Mexico)

show the average high in Dec and Jan is 76 and in February increases from 76 early in the month to 80 at the end of the month.

The chance of rain in December increase from 2.5% early in the month to 5.5% after Christmas.

In January the chance of rain is 6% in the middle of the month down to 4% at the end of the month.

The February chance of rain varies from 4% down to less than 3%.

My sailing logs (recorded daily) for three December thru March periods shows only one rain event that lasted more than 36 hours and most of the rest were over in less than 12 hours.

In our first February we spent a month anchored on the islands - snorkeling for hours a day in a shorty wetsuit and running every day in the hills in shorts and no shirt.

The nights get nice and cool (had to run our Ardic diesel heater once or twice) but the sun is warm, even on cool windy days.

Never once, in three winters, did I wear long pants and very rarely even wore a long sleeved shirt.

[TacomaSailor]

The many faces of La Paz, BCS, Mexico:

Waterfront Malecon and the Waterfront road

The last picture is Arlene standing at the seawall close to where Mirador is anchored. The "Norther" is blowing, it is almost sunset and she, who is always cold, is in shorts.

The preceding picture is Thanksgiving at a cruiser potluck - everyone in shorts and short sleeve shirts.

[TacomaSailor]

The Desert Islands within 40-miles of La Paz

[exMaggieDrum]

Not sure where the impression that La Paz sucks came from. I just reread the thread and the overwhelming opinion is that it is a great place with some great places to go north. Cabo not really worth it but the suggestion to check out Todos Santos is good.

We spent two seasons in Mexico on our boat and have traveled there to meet friends on their boat recently. LP is our favorite place on the Pacific side of MX. Hands down. PV is okay in some ways but I'd pick LP over it IMO.

December is not a bad time to go either. It is cooler. The locals will be wearing longer shirts but anyone coming from the US will find it great - not too hot, not too cold. April is a sweet time but if December is the only time you can go I wouldn't use that as an excuse.

But it's you money and your vacation so choose what suits you. We are looking forward to returning to LP on our new/old boat. We will get there around mid-November and likely stay a month or more and enjoy every bit of it. Even if we never left the marina. As noted not a beach resort. But a couple hour car ride will get you to one of the primo windsurfing spots on the continent, if that appeals to you.

[zeehag]

somehow someone planted a bad thing about mexicoast in winter. hah.
the mexicoast in winter is considered paradice by many.
to not sail soc because of good sailing weather is prejudicial and not based in reality.
what part of folks go north in summer and south in winter is hard to understand? winter is perfect along the coast south of ensenada. the winter storms stop there and tropical mexico and soc are perfect. by april the season is winding down, winds are stronger, and by may, humidity has risen enough to let ye know season has ended. 15th storms grow, under normal circumstances.
storms stop growing by end november.
christmas in this mainly catholic nation is awesome. beautiful lights on all houses, and music everywhere. peaceful and tranquil anchorages with perfect climate.
oh yeah. zihuatenejo at christmas time. beautiful.
summer is storm season, winter is play season.