Baja Sailing Season 2019 starts tomorrow
The leg 1 crew comes together tomorrow in Phoenix and heads south to Puerto Penasco for our final provisions and a 3:30 AM departure Wednesday morning. Our first day is the biggest of Leg 1 crossing 90 nautical miles to the small island of Pulma just off Baja near Willard/Gonzaga Bay. The early departure should allow us to arrive with good 
daylight which is important for this small little island with an anchorage like a parking garage protecting from the night time prevailing west winds. Due to it’s tighter quarters it should only be considered in moderate weather. Speaking of weather the southwest is experiencing a mild low pressure system today and Tuesday. Sea of Cortez winds are blowing moderate also at 15kt. It looks like we will have fresh winds as we head out and eventually sailing into the eye of the low pressure were winds will be very light. Mid day winds will shift from SE to NW for a while and finally die late afternoon. We should see if the forecast is correct.
Satellite email and weather – Thanks to Jeffrey and Lynnie we will have satellite service on board allowing us to get weather updates at will. We will also be able to send and receive small emails without photos involved using the address chivo@gmn-usa-com Save this address if you think you would need/want to email us during this season. I will also be able to post brief blog updates which is great for the northern Sea of Cortez where internet is only available in a few locations. When we have cell service further south my cell phone will work for talk and text 602-909-2723.
Routing – Leg 1 routing is a Baja adventure starting with the Gonzaga area down to San Fancisquito before we cross back to the San Carlos area for our crew change at Marina Real. There’s lots of short easy days giving us some flexibility if weather becomes a factor. Below is rough planning and as usual weather will always influence us as safety comes first.
Wed May 1st – Penasco to Isla Pulma – 90 Nms crossing to Baja (dinner on board)
Thurs 2nd – Pulma to Gonzaga – 12 Nms sightseeing the Enchanted islands then on to Alfonsia’s (dinner out)
Fri 3rd – Gonzaga to Puerto Refugio – 44 Nms (Dinner on board)
Sat 4th – Puerto Refugio – Bay of LA – 40 Nms Dinner out)
Sun 5th – Bay of LA – Yurt Bay- 15 Nms
Sun 5th – Yurt Bay – Isla Sulsipuedes – 24 Nms (dinner on board)
Mon 6th- Isla Sulsipuedes to San Francisquito – 20 Nms (dinner on board)
Tue 7th- San Francisquito to Los Japanese – 77Nms crossing back to Sonora (dinner on board)
Wed 8th– Los Japanese to Marina Real – 32 Nms (dinner out)
See maps below for the cruising grounds for Leg 1.
Baja 2019 Schedule
Leg1 – Penasco to San Carlos May 1st to 9th (Lowell, Dave & Ellen, Norman & Sara)
Leg2 – San Carlos to Puerto Escondido (Loreto) May 9th to 18th (Lowell, Rick, Chris & Todd)
Leg3 – Multihull Sailing Rally May 19th – 25th (Lowell, Frankie, John & Carol)
Leg4 – Loreto islands May 26th – 30th (Lowell, Frankie, Jeffrey and Lynnie)
Leg5– Puerto Escondido to Penasco May – 30th – June 6th (Lowell, Dave, Ed and Marcia) arriving in Penasco just in time for Peacemaker weekend.
Until the next Update
Leg 1 Cruising grounds.
Safe travels! Happy sailing!
Off for another great adventure! Here’s to smooth sailing and a great time to be had by all! Looking forward to all the great stories and pictures.
Safe travels and wish you good wind!??