It is sunny again and, we said goodbye to our new friends in La Paz and headed out to Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. The one island was split into two by an ancient volcano and the cove formed from this event between the two islands is called Caleta Partida. A spit of sand almost ties both islands together except for a small stream that flows through the sand spit which is not navigable except by kayaks’ or inflatable boats, only then for a few hours at high tide. On this spit is a Mexican fishing camp.
On our way north we passed Caleta Lobos where we stayed a few weeks ago and Puerto Balandra which is a popular weekend beach place for La Paz Locals and is also an excellent anchorage. After Balandra we crossed the entrance of the San Lorenzo Channel with its strong currents. In the distance were Isla Cerralvo and the Cerralvo channel, all of this we had slogged through in the middle of the night to reach La Paz in early November.
Here for about five miles we had wind on the beam, from the east which provided just enough for sailing. Once we cleared the channel, the sea and wind calmed down so we continued motoring. This, the western side of Espiritu Santo consists of a series of deep bays all open to the west, each with a small sand beach. They are all great anchorages in settled and fair conditions as the bays are protected from north and east winds. However, in the summer these bays suffer from a west wind called a ‘Coromuel’ which can gust to 40 or 50 MPH from the afternoon and through the night. This is all caused by the cool Pacific Ocean air hitting the hot dry desert air of the Baja. This sets up very strong hot air uplift with the cold Pacific air rushing in from the west.
Suddenly, up ahead, we saw some bright flashes of white and silver which turned out to be Rays jumping out of the water and spinning in the air. At the distance we were from them, they had to be reaching at least six or eight feet in the air. It was quite a sight for the five three or four minute that it lasted.
With calm and warm conditions for motoring, we took a number of photographs along the way before entering the protected cove of Partida. It had taken about four hours and as we were the first to arrive we got to pick the choicest spot to anchor, which we did in about 20 feet of turquoise colored water. A little time later two other sailboats joined us in the anchorage. It was a calm sunny afternoon and we saw schools of juvenile yellow fin tuna, about 18 inches long leaving the water as groups while being chased by a large predator. The cliff above our anchorage was full of caves but they did not seem to be used by the seabirds for roosting however we did watch the Pelicans diving for a meal just feet from our boat.
It was a still night with a full moon which illuminated the entire cove and made for a very pretty night. With just a slight cool breeze; it made for a wonderful night’s sleep.
Today, Tuesday was calm until about 2:00 pm when the wind started blowing at 15-20 knots across the gap between the two islands. This lasted until about 5:00 pm when it just as suddenly stopped. Tonight there are 10 sailboats in the bay at anchor. Tomorrow we head for Isla San Francisco to sit out yet another ‘Northerner’ that is predicted to begin late Wednesday and last for three or four days. We hear there are already small craft advisories out for this storm.