Heading south from San Diego in March

[G2sail]

Just looking for weather advice on March weather on the Pacific west coast. Heading for Sea of Cortez. Any advice on weather nets??? Which is better, sat phone or ssb for getting weather and internet?????

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, G2sail.

[Sailmonkey]

I can’t help with west coast weather, but when you say internet, you mean like open a web browser and go to a weather page?

SSB will not help with that, it’s limited to sending/receiving short text only emails.

[zeehag]

before you leave for ensenada, make sure you check passage weather. eeb mike is a good online weather source for soc and north mex waters. passage gives 5 good days. you only need 19 hours to get to ensenada, your first port of entry on your adventure.
as your adventure is inclusive of short hops and some longer passages, you should be fine.
i left san diego on a prefrontal wind for a righteous hail storm. we ran out of wind at salsipuedes, and motored into ensenada just in time to secure before the hail happened. it was impressive.
this is a la nina cycle again.
you may find storms until march. as ensenada is only 19 hours from san diego you should not find issues. it is getting to san diego from north of point conception that seem to present issues.
if you have ssb, you have weather on route.
as ensenada is your first port of entry on your route, you will need to check into mexico there. from there south is harbor hopping and sightseeing, with following seas downwind.
you will either head straight to cabo san lucas or hop down coast, depending on your choices, once checked into country.

[Moontide]

Cell phone with data plan is best. Coverage for most of the trip. There used to be a couple of wx guys who ran SSB or ham nets too.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by G2sail

Just looking for weather advice on March weather on the Pacific west coast. Heading for Sea of Cortez. Any advice on weather nets??? Which is better, sat phone or ssb for getting weather and internet?????

G2sail,

There is a chandlery in San Diego originally founded by cruisers called Downwind Marine.

They have historically been a great resource not only for items you may need, but for information also because they focus on boats going to Mexico.

They have always published a free online cruising guide for Mexico- one dealing with things to be aware of, not necessarily places to go.

Here is the link to their latest edition. It will answer all of your questions, and probably prompt a few more you haven't thought of yet. You will still want to have other books about places to go, but this will get you started with your planning...

Wishing you a great [and safe] adventure.

Cheers! Bill

PS: If you depart in March, and hurricane season begins in June, make sure your insurance is adequate for your needs.

[waterman46]

T mobile: we used from Ensenada all the way to Acapulco, but coverage is spotty on the Baja coast.. Get the unlimited data plan. It is not expensive. Load Windy program to your phone. Many use Predictwind but Windy much better. Satphone if you pay the price, would be absolutely the way to go.

If you have SSB with Pactor modem and subscribe to Sailmail then you can get forecasts any time. There is an easy to use menu allowong you to transmit a request for a forecast for your specific location which are then received by you a few minutrs later. This is preferred method for Baja due to spotty cellphone coverage. We got best results using the Corpus Christy station.

If you have ham radio, even just receive only, listen to the Baja net. Get lots of details on allof this at docksideradio.com

You will only really have to be concerned with weather north of Mag Bay. Sometimes you get a strong norther and can wait it out in Turtle Bay or Mag Bay. March should present no problems generally though I remember being in Cabo one week with a strong cold northerly, but less than 25 knots.

[zeehag]

south of turtle be prepared at night for chubascos. they are heavy winds from east to west and can exceed 60 mph. after midnight, usually around 4 am and last until 0600. reef down well at night.

[neophytecruiser]

The weather in March shouldn't be much of a concern, particularly if you consider Zeehag's point regarding weather forecasts on sites such as Passage Weather or SailFlow, both of which give reliable forecasts out multiple days. As with any weather forecasts, it's been my experience with both of these weather sites, they're very reliable for 72-hours out, which provide windows to hop between protected anchorages.

San Diego to the port of entry of Ensenada (where you can check-in to Mexico, pick up your temporary import permit or TIP, your tourist permit or FMM, and Mexican fishing license all at one stop) is a relatively short sail of ~15-18 hours. Once there, after checking in and getting all of your paperwork, you can plan for your next leg. The next leg many boats opt for is Bahia de Tortugas or Turtle Bay (~265nm). Along the way, there are a number of points to duck in from the normal weather out of the northwest: Punta Colnett (~60nm); Bahia San Quintin (~100nm); Punta El Rosario (~125nm); or, the lee of Isla Cedros (~225nm). Fuel, laundry and limited supplies can all be had at B. Tortugas. Sailing time from Ensenada to B. Tortugas will likely be between 55-65 hours.

The next leg many opt to sail is from B. Tortugas to Bahia Santa Maria (or Bahia Magdalena; ~225nm to Santa Maria and 242nm to B. Magdalena). An intermediate anchorages (~65nm south) can be taken at San Hipolito or Punta Abreojos (~90nm). Partial protection can be had at Punta San Juanico (Scorpion bay; 125nm) but surf can be a problem. Anchorages at either Bahia Santa Maria or the entrance to Bahia Magdalena both offer good holding and good protection from prevailing weather out of the northwest. No services are offered at either location, however, a long tortuous channel can be taken from the entrance to B. Magdalena to Puerto San Carlos to take on diesel and limited supplies.

Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo Falso is ~170nm. Then it's just a short reach to the east to Cabo San Lucas and the southern reaches of the Sea of Cortez.

If you're interested in buying an alternative for long range communication, the Iridium Go would be a choice offering flexibility. Cell phone reception is surprisingly available along stretches of both coasts of Baja California and Baja California Sur, but it is not continuous. The Irridium Go allows you to use your smart phone anywhere in the world and provides an opportunity for WiFi connectivity, as well.