Topolobampo Information. Information for other cruisers
We entered the main shipping channel into Topolobampo at dusk and did a moonless night-time entry. It took a little over 2 hours from entering the channel to reaching Marina Palmira on an ebb tide. This is not my favorite exercise as I usually stand-off for an unfamiliar port.
The Navtec GPS chart we were using in our plotter was out of date for the channel and buoys. It showed a long curve for the entry into the main shipping channel. This no longer exists; it is a straight-in channel from the outer buoys. The Claude Rains cruising guide does show the channel direction correctly. After entering the main portion of the channel, the Navtec GPS depth contours were OK and useful. Some navigation buoy lights were out.
The following GPS coordinates for the secondary channel (NE) to Marina Palmira are provided courtesy of S/V Magic Carpet and were checked by us as good but as always, use them only as a guide not as a gurantee. However, the secondary channel is marked with 24 hour buoys. We entered at low water and registered a minimum of 6-8′ depth at the shallowest portion of this secondary channel.
(Caution, when leaving, they were dredging in this channel with long booms that may not be clearly visible. A lot of port improvements are in progress so care needs to be taken near the docks if work is in progress.)
The secondary channel brings you close to the docks and piers. On approaching Marina Palmeira keep to the dock and pier area on your starboard side for the deepest water. The last GPS coordinate is a slip in the Marina, it is the second Marina. A small concrete jetty sticks out a short distance to starboard just before the marina and is poorly lit at night.
25-34′.337N 109-04′.342W
25-34′ 715N 109-04′.183W
25-35′ 078N 109-04′.034W
25-35′ 544N 109-03′.810W
25-35′ 990N 109-03′.501W (Marina Slip)
Marina Palmira is all new, it has a bathroom, no showers, a small store and a fine restaurant. There is good security. No English is spoken. The small store doubles as the office. People here are friendly and helpful, it is somewhat of a backwater so be prepared for the real Mexico.
The town of Topolobampo is a short walk with a good grocery store. The laundry is part of the car wash as is the Internet Cafe which is down the first street on the left before you get to the bus station.
The town has a great Barber, a small pharmacy, a hardware store, and an Ice Cream Parlor. There are a couple of local eateries. The bus into Los Mochis is 17 Pesos and the bus stop is just across from the Marina. Coming back you get off at the bus terminal in town. Internet is available at the Marina but you have to sit near the store or the restaurant to get decent coverage; there is none out to the slips.
Diesel can be ferried by cans using a dock cart from the Pemex station a short distance from the Marina. Wash boats daily as the local power plant can leave orange specs on the fiberglass. The only thing we found to remove these spots if missed was “Soft Scrub” with Bleach Cleaner. We were only one of two sailboats at the Marina and the only ones living aboard, all the others are sport fishing boats.