# What should I know About Sailing To Baja Mexico?



## adell50 (May 25, 2011)

I am captaining a 1984 54' Hunter from Marina Del Rey, California to La Paz, Mexico. 

The boat has all new safety equipment - life raft, EPIRB, harness, lanyards, strobes, horns, and flares. New batteries, new sails, and the engine has just been serviced.

3 passengers.

Depart on July 18th and have 7 days scheduled for the voyage.

What should I know about weather?

What should I know about customs?

What should I know about pirates/folks up to no good at sea?

What should I know about shifts/sleep/food rationing?

Know of any good articles or blogs covering the topics above and others I can't think about right now?

Many thanks!


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## Bradhamlet (Nov 8, 2002)

Check out the Latitude 38 web sight, the BA HA HA is a neat way to learn all there is to know about the trip. It will be lots of fun for sure.
Brad


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## tomperanteau (Jun 4, 2009)

I'll be really interested in watching this thread, as we'll be sailing that direction soon. One thing I can say is to take a lot of sushi rice and soy sauce to accommodate the bonito that you'll catch.


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## imagine2frolic (Aug 7, 2008)

It's going to be cold damp, and at times wet until you reach the cape.......*i2f*


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## montenido (May 14, 2008)

Hi, I am also interested, as one day I would like to do the BaHaha. I wonder if 7 days is enough time for the trip? MDR to the Cape is over 1000 miles, and La Paz is a ways up the inside. I'd allow at least a couple of weeks. 
Be safe and have a great time. Drink a cold one (or two) for those of us stuck at home, and please let us know how it goes.

Cheers, Bill


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## tomperanteau (Jun 4, 2009)

Bill, I'd think you're right to allow a couple of weeks. If you averaged 70 miles a day it would take 14 days.

When are you leaving?


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

Why rush? Plenty of great spots on the Baja Peninsula to explore. 2 weeks or more sounds better. Also we found it was too cold in Early November near Cabo, Los Frailes, so we headed for the mainland. Tenacatita is the spot!


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## seansmith510 (Aug 23, 2011)

If you can be in San Diego on October 3rd, Ullman Sails on Shelter Island is going to be having an offshore sailing seminar and BBQ on Monday October 3rd free to all Baja Ha Ha Sailors.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

I'd be interested in knowing how this person made out, seeing as these most important questions were asked just two days before the planned departure by the skipper of the boat. Given the nature of the questions, I wonder if he or she should _be_ the skipper of the boat.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

drferron said:


> i'd be interested in knowing how this person made out, seeing as these most important questions were asked just two days before the planned departure by the skipper of the boat. Given the nature of the questions, i wonder if he or she should _be_ the skipper of the boat.


+1


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

Wondered the same thing myself. July is at the beginning of the cyclone season down there......too many basic questions for a "skipper".......


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

The list of threads started by this "skipper" is interesting as well. They include:

"How do I dock singlehanded?"

"How can I keep my genoa from beating up my boat?"

"Is it ok for waves to splash up on the genoa?"

and

"Just bought my first sailboat." (thread started 2 months ago!)

I wonder how he made out as well.


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## neophytecruiser (Oct 2, 2009)

Adell, I'm hoping the three "passengers" scheduled to sail with you have some sailing experience. Some things you might want to consider are when to leave (hurricane season "officially" ends the end of October); places along the route to duck into to get out of the weather, make emergency mechanical repairs or to top off your fuel; navigation equipment and chart information for your planned cruise (cruising guides and paper charts are invaluable for their reliability when your electronics act up). The website for Downwind Marine (San Diego on Canon Street) also has a good cruising guide for Mexico that can be downloaded.

Customs can be cleared in Ensenada, Isla Cedros, Cabo San Lucas or La Paz. You can secure your temporary import permit (TIP) for the boat in either Ensenada or La Paz. I'd suggest, in lieu of doing the customs shuffle on your own, you may save time (but not money) hiring an agent to expedite your clearance. Yoli, at Marina de La Paz, provides this service to cruisers and I would recommend her services. If you choose to check in at Ensenada, it should be easy enough to do everything yourself (aduana [immigration], port captain, TIP).

I agree with others, 7-days is overly ambitious for a delivery. The last time I made a run to La Paz from San Diego in my boat ('82 Cal 39 MRKIII) we took eight days with an experienced crew of three. We did stop at Turtle Bay to top off our fuel, arriving at around mid-night and having to wait until the following morning to fuel. We also made two overnight anchorages on our way to La Paz (Las Frailes and Ensenada de los Muertos) just to allow us to be somewhat refreshed when we finally arrived in La Paz. We made it in 8-days. It would have been far more enjoyable to take two weeks to do it, but some of the crew had commitments they had to return for.

If you're a relatively new sailor (I'm assuming you might be), I'd recommend you consider trying to enlist the help of a more experienced sailor to assist in your trip down Baja. If most of your sailing experience has been on your 27 foot Catalina, sailing a considerably larger boat (which I also presume you have limited familiarity) is to invite trouble, should you encounter sloppy weather or have mechanical issues. Pirates are not a concern here but safe boat handling and prudent seamanship will be; there's no substitute for experience.

Whatever you decide, good luck with your adventure and let the rest of us know how your trip turned out. Safe sailing and good luck.
Neophyte cruiser
s/v Citla
Puerto Escondido, BCS, MX
Homeport: San Diego, CA


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## vitalspark (Sep 27, 2017)

Watch out for hurricanes developing during the summer months. There's no place to hide on the way and the two really suitable bays, tortugas and santa maria don't offer hurricane protection.


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