Sea of Cortez Sailing Week, Revived

We’ve got no problem with ‘cruisers’ who ‘sail’ to La Paz and then become ‘port potatoes.’ After all, La Paz is a great town, and living on the hook or in the marina can be very enjoyable. And we’ve got no problem with sailors who spend most of their time motoring rather than sailing in the Sea. If that’s what they like to do, God bless ’em.

But what does make us grouchy is when people say the Sea of Cortez is a lousy place to sail. We make our objection based on having just completed the third week-long edition of the revived Sea of Cortez Sailing Week, which featured sailing legs from La Paz to Caleta Partida, Caleta Partida to Isla San Francisco, Isla San Francisco back to Caleta Partida, and Caleta Partida back to La Paz. While the two legs between Caleta Partida and Isla San Francisco had to be truncated, the fleet still got in a total of about 65 miles of lovely sailing. We’re talking about winds between 8 and 18 knots, flat water, 85° temperatures, and the water and sky as blue as blue can be. The Sea may not have the consistent winds of the Caribbean or Banderas Bay, but if you use your head and know how to sail your boat well, it can be glorious.

This year’s fleet featured about 40 hard core sailors on 23 boats, with other boats and sailors making guest appearances along the way. In addition to all the sailing, there was a potluck on the beach, potluck and sunset cruises on Profligate, hiking around Isla San Francisco, swimming, and ‘First in Class’ trophies for all participants. Oh yeah, we almost forgot, internet addicts made forays just outside the islands in a desperate search for high-speed internet connections via their Telcel modems. This free Latitude 38-sponsored event, produced by Patsy Verhoeven of the La Paz-based Gulfstar 50 Talion, wasn’t the most successful fundraiser in the world, but $500 was donated in the name of last year’s Ha-Ha fleet to help poor La Paz kids get an education, and we’re hoping to raise another $500. But we’ll try to do better next year.