A beautiful sunset our first night underway
When Madrone first arrived at the south end of the Baja peninsula back in December, the plan was to turn the corner and sail north into the Sea of Cortez. As often happens on a sailboat, though, the weather got in the way.
As winter approaches, storms from the US Great Plains and southwest actually make their way all the way south to Mexico. The result is strong north winds creating uncomfortable choppy seas, accompanied by “cold” temperatures (50s and 60s F). Certainly not the worst thing ever, but also not why Madrone’s crew sailed 1500 miles to Mexico.
Sunrise sailing
With spring now firmly in place, the weather in the Sea of Cortez moderates – the strong north winds are replaced by gentle breezes and the water temperature, while still not tropical, starts to warm up enough to allow for comfortable swimming.
The change in the season was beckoning Madrone, and a two-day pulse of southerly winds (instead of the typical northwesterly) arrived at exactly the right time. We pulled up anchor in Mazatlan in the company of three other sailboats and pointed the bow to the west.
Screaming along on a beam reach
The trip across the Sea of Cortez from the mainland to Baja is about 200 miles, and by waiting for a good weather window we were able to sail nearly the entire way. Once clear of the calms associated with shore effects, Madrone took off. The steady 15-18 knots of breeze was just behind the beam – enough to keep the boat fully powered up but not too much to kick up an uncomfortable sea state.
Thanks to S/V Luego for taking photos of Madrone
Madrone screamed across the Sea, taking advantage of her longer waterline to catch and pass the other boats that left a couple hours ahead. About 36 hours after pulling the anchor out of the mud in Mazatlan, we buried it again in the soft white sand just south of the town of La Ventana.
