The southwest anchorage and east anchorage are divided by a low, flat strip of land filled with salt flats, desert scrub brush and cactus
Madrone is back in San Francisco.
Isla San Francisco, that is. Located just 20 miles north of Isla Espiritu Santo, San Francisco is another island that has been designated as a protected park by the Mexican government.
Hiking is much more fun with dogs, especially Luego’s Pip and Mac
A huge crescent of white sand on the southwest side of the island curves to form a beautiful bay. Photos of this bay appear in every Sea of Cortez cruising guide – it’s one of the most popular anchorages in this area. The island and long sand spit means that the bay is protected from nearly every wind and wave direction except for the southwest
Looking back at Madrone and Luego at anchor on the east side- well protected from the Coromuel winds
This time of year, a local wind known as the Coromuel blows almost every night. Most of the Baja peninsula is either mountainous or at least hilly, but there’s a large flat plain near the southern tip just between La Paz and the Pacific Ocean. As the air temperature over the Sea of Cortez cools after sunset, wind from the Pacific rushes over the flat plain and blows regularly from the southwest.
Spiny desert cactus like this are common on the islands in the Sea of Cortez
While not that strong (typically only 15 knots or so), there is about 50 miles of open water between the flat plain and the southwest facing bay on Isla San Francisco. That distance allows wind waves to build, and the only obstruction the waves encounter are the hulls of the boats in the anchorage at Isla San Francisco.
Angie, Mike with Madrone in the background
After one less-than-comfortable night in the beautiful but unprotected bay, we moved around to anchor on the northeast side of the island. Just as beautiful, but with the added advantage of calm anchoring conditions.
Heading back down after taking in the view from the top of Isla San Francisco
