Trailering South

[Chinook]

Nogales is the crossing to be used by trailerable boats headed for the Sea of Cortez. The 4 lane divided highway south of Nogales is a good route, around 300 miles drive to San Carlos, near Guaymos. San Carlos is a good jumping off place for cruising the mainland coast or for crossing over to Baja. The Tuscon Sailing Club members regularly travel this route with their trailerable sailboats, for their annual sailing excursions on the Sea of Cortez.

[mastreb]

Still want to do Sea of Cortez sometime. I hear the fishing is good.

Ever done it BOAT?

[BOAT]

Yes, many times as a young person - never in 'boat'. 'boat has not even been to Catalina yet. We went out sailing Tuesday offshore in 2 knot breeze and actually got 'boat' up to 4 knots in that stuff. I was surprised. The sails on 'boat' are light from the factory - I think for Mexico I would want to carry a heavier sail.

The Sea of Cortez is very very windy and sometimes in the evening there can be really strong squalls that can blow a boat right off anchor. If you have a good anchor your okay. The water is very nice - warm and clear and I would find baby octopus in the small rocks on the bottom.

The tides are really nuts - like 30 foot tides - you anchor at high tide in some places like San Felipe in 20 feet of water and at low tide you walk into shore.

I was in Cabo back in the early 70's when there was nothing there but the bell in the center square and the marlin club - that was it. Now it's a city. We went back there about 3 years ago.

[BOAT]

mastreb, what's a 'slashnot'?

[Chinook]

Deciding on time of year can be tricky with the Sea of Cortez. From mid May through September it is typically blistering hot down there (over 100). If you're into big game fishing though, those are the best months, since the fish tend to follow the warming water. Winter is not a great idea, since the Sea of Cortez tends to act like a wind tunnel for the northers, which blow down the chute with great strength whenever a storm system system moves through. Fair weather can cause trouble as well. If a high pressure settles over the 4 Corners region of the US, the air tends to drain off down the Colorado River valley and down the Sea of Cortez. Extremely windy there if you have high pressure over 4 Corners. Summer and early fall is also hurricane season, and the Sea of Cortez is vulnerable to hurricanes. The spring (March/April) offers comfortable air temperatures, however the water temps can be disappointingly chilly. We were down there in the spring, and found water temps in the high 60's much of the time. We did find low 70 temps in protected Bahia Conception, and down in the La Paz area. A shorty wet suit is definitely a good idea for snorkeling. The fall months of October/early Nov might be a nice time to be there, with water temps warmer than in the spring. The fishing might still be decent then. I fished whenever I had the chance, but didn't catch anything large. Mostly triggerfish and small stuff from the dinghy. Spring is the season for yellowtail fishing, but I never managed to figure out how to catch one.

[dlandersson]

Thank you very much...I tend to think of the Sea of Cortez as a perpetually warm, calm, place with whales.

[Chinook]

If you start getting serious about sailing on the Sea of Cortez, I would recommend you check out the Tuscon Sailing Club website. You might even want to join this fine organization. We made contact with them prior to our trip, and they were extremely helpful in answering all our questions. The Sea of Cortez is "home waters" for them, and they typically go on at least one group outing each year together. One member even met us at a shopping center near Tuscon while we were trailering south. You're also welcome to check out our pictures and journal, which are posted on our website along with descriptions of other extended cruises. The website is: http://chinook.cecka.us.

[BOAT]

Chinook describes it the way i remember it. We always went at Easter break. We would get high wind, but it was not too hot - the water is cold. We went in December and all the conditions were perfect. We never go in the summer (Aug-Sept) it is just too hot.

My favorite place is La Paz.

[mastreb]

mastreb, what's a 'slashnot'?

It's a parody site for geek news that I started and wrote a decade ago for a few years. It was a parody of the famous geek site "Slashdot". It did pretty well.

Matt

[Irafatsar]

There will be several snowbirds at pier 32 in January hope I can get a ride on somebody's boat.

[Mikex]

Well we have rebuilt the trailer with a new axle, lights, reinforcements, and serviced the motor and we are now starting to prep the boat and packing to leave here on the 12th of December - hoping to arrive in San Diego the 15th. Staying for a month!
Thanks everyone for all your info. It will be our first time going down and looking forward to new adventures!

Merry Christmas all,
Mike & Lise

[Chinook]

We're getting our first snow of the year (6 inches and still coming down) and my new snowblower won't get delivered until Tuesday. You're one of the lucky few who are preparing to take the boat out, instead of putting her to bed for the winter. Best of luck on your warm weather adventure. And when you trailer through towns on the way, and notice pedestrians and motorists stopped at signals, be prepared to notice "the look". It's in involuntary expression which overcomes many people as they see your beautiful boat rolling by. They can't help but wish they were in your shoes.

[mastreb]

Mike, message me for contact info. I'll help you get setup at Pier 32 and show you the sights if you'd like.

[Mikex]

Thanks to everyone for their help and great recommendations, we are all nestled into our slip at Pier 32 in National City, 6 miles south of San Diego. What a beautiful Marina! And such great service - they are looking after us over here! The trailer mods worked very well - towed great! Now to enjoy a month in the sun! Merry Christmas to all!