Tips on the Baja Bash
April 7 - Cabo San Lucas, BCS
"I saw Doña de Mallorca and
Profligate in Cabo at the beginning of April before they
started the Baja Bash, and she seemed surprised I was still around!"
writes Captain Jim Elfers, author of the now out of print Baja
Bash. "Baja ain't perfect, but I still prefer it to
the Great North, and even obtained Mexican citizenship recently.
I split my time between deliveries, surveys, and my bed and breakfast.
In any event, she indicated that you were going to try breaking
Rule #1 of the Baja Bash by returning home in the spring! My
book is long out of print, but since you asked, here is a rehash
of two pertinent areas:
"Skipper Tim Murison is right to go
out to the San Benitos. As I wrote in the book: 'The vast majority
of boats heading north always go east of Cedros, enjoying its
lee for several hours. My philosophy is to go west of the island.
Why? 1) It allows you to give Punta Norte at least a six mile
offing. 2) It's a shorter rhumbline course to San Diego. 3) Going
outside gives you an immediate and clear idea of what the weather
is like as opposed to guessing and hoping from the lee. 4) Since
you will usually know the true weather before you reach Cabo
San Agustin, you have the option of changing your mind and rerouting
to the east side of the island or anchoring at Bahia Sur. 5)
The fact that if you do commit yourself to the west side and
start to get hit by heavy air, you still have the excellent anchorage
at Islas San Benitos. 6) This course sets sailboats up for a
much better sailing angle to cross over to 'mainland' Baja than
coming from the lee.
"As to Profligate breaking
Rule #1, here are the eight rules as written in my book - remembering
that they are more appropriate for a retired couple from Los
Angeles cruising in a Catalina 36 than you folks in a 63-ft twin
diesel catamaran:
1) Avoid Spring. 2) Get Comfortable With Your Boat - meaning
be confident in your ability to bleed the diesel, sail at night,
and so forth. 3) Bring The Right Stuff - meaning emergency repair
items. 4) Optimize Your Vessel - meaning clean the prop, reduce
windage, distribute weight properly, and so forth. 5) Jump On
A Favorable Weather Window. 6) Avoid Afternoon Cape Transits.
7) Keep The Mainsail Full And Driving - referring to powertacking.
8) Go outside rather than inside Cedros.
"As for the Irwin 37 who did the Clipper
Route and sailed 2,700 miles in 28 long, cold days on the wind,
that's not a terribly impressive time - although it was for an
Irwin 37. He mentions that he arrived in San Francisco before
other boats made it to San Diego. Assuming that is true, and
that most cruisers are retirees or have minimal time pressure,
could it not be possible that the other boats enjoyed a few days
in Cabo, anchored in Mag Bay, traded for lobster or fish in Turtle
Bay, or checked out Ensenada or San Diego? None of these are
options on the Offshore Route, but more power to those who can
or wish to."
Readers - Elfers is correct in that spring
is the worst time to come north along the Baja coast. Late winter
and early summer would both be considerably better for weather
- plus you'd have more time to enjoy warm water waves such as
these at La Launcha near Punta de Mita.
Photo Latitude/Richard
But since Profligate has to be in
Mexico through late March's Banderas Bay Regatta and then has
obligations in Southern California by mid-April, spring, the
worst time of year to come north, is when it has to be done.
Like Elfers, we would not recommend coming north from mid-March
until mid-May. In fact, if we were a retired couple with a Catalina
36, we'd have the boat trucked back to California from San Carlos.
In a related issue, does anybody know why
they don't run a semi-submersible yacht carrier from Puerto Vallarta
to Southern California in about mid-May? We think there would
be a tremendous market from such a service. Old hands will remember
they used to put yachts on a ship for the run from Cabo to Newport
Beach . . . until somebody ran off with all the money.
Our last word on the Baja Bash is that
the engine(s) should be checked very carefully before leaving
Cabo. As Wayne Meretsky was checking Profligate's port
engine, he discovered that the bracket for the high-powered alternator
had cracked. Although it looked fine even when running at high
speed, a close inspection revealed the problem. It was quickly
repaired.
Profligate
is now in San Diego, having made it from Cabo in four days and
a couple of hours, averaging over eight knots for the trip, including
the stop for fuel at Turtle Bay (where Ernesto might as well
have been wearing a bandito outfit). Although the trip
started out in flat water, it got and stayed rough and sloppy
from south of Turtle Bay to San Diego. There were lots of launches
over waves and plenty of slamming, nonetheless the cat did a
pretty good job of maintaining speed - thanks to a great crew
of five.
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