Cabo San Lucas, Outer Anchorage
Looking from outer anchorage to the "Arches", the most southern part of Baja, California.
Around those rocks in the foreground begins the most difficult passage between Cabo and San Diego. In this regard the authors suggests Charlie's suggestions be followed, in particular to the coast route, in seven trips up this coast the author was only once able to go direct to Tosco, this passage began on a south/southwest wind and a lowering overcast, hot and humid weather and the boat was under sail not long after rounding Cabo Falso, Tosco direct. Obviously, there was a front lurking about, it started raining in the afternoon and culminating in a heavy rain and wind storm with wind shifting to the northwest about 1:00 A.M. The author spent the rest of the night and all the next day tacking up the beach line to Tosco to be greeted by the cheerful lights of an American fishing boat, anchored and fishing. This particular storm had washed out the roads leading to Turtle Bay so they ran out of diesel and the bay was full of boats of all types waiting for diesel when the author arrived.
Otherwise, the author has followed the coast route, getting to Punta Marquis at about dark but instead of the wind decreasing, the wind has usually increased after sundown so the tacking routine up the coast would start, sometimes under reduced sail. However, in three to four hours the wind would back around to a more northerly direction and due to the easting an almost direct sail to Tosco was accomplished, getting there an hour or so after sunup. The author is of the opinion that this routine is better than rounding Cabo Falso, running up the engine to full bore and bashing to Mag Bay, sometimes at a knot a two per hour. This routine can best be left to the delivery crews.
As indicated above, this is a difficult passage, the distance betwen CSL and Tosco is about 140 miles with no useable anchorages in between and the prevailing weather right in the teeth. There are other ways, while discussing this passage with another boat owner at the marina in San Pedro, he indicated that he had sailed southwest from Cabo San Lucas to a rock protruding from the water at a distance of about 80 miles, came about and sailed to San Diego. At about 500 to 600 miles off shore, the prevailing northwest Japanese current changes to the easterly trades and the author has heard that more and more boats are sailing southwest to the trades and then beam reaching up the coast to the latitude of San Diego and then beam reaching in. One case was that a Canadian had single handed a 60ft ketch in this manner all the way to Vancouver. It may also be mentioned that the clipper ships of the 19th century rounded the Horn from the east coast of the U.S., put in to Acapulco for R&R, afterwards, "went outbound until the wind changed" and then beam reached up the coast to the latitude of San Francisco and then beam reached in. In the classic sailing yarn "Two Years before the Mast", The author Richard Henry Dana indicated that after rounding the Horn, the boat watered at the Robinson Crusoe island of San Juan Fernandez which is located about 300 miles West of Chile. Thereafter, the vessel proceeded, keeping well offshore in the southeast trades until they reached the northeast trades and then continued until the latitude of Point Conception on the California coast was reached. At this time the boat came about and beam reached in to a few miles offshore and then ran down the coast to Santa Barbara.
For another narrative concerning the passage in question, please refer to the FFA links page and to the link entitled "The Clipper Bash".
On another occassion, the author leaped out of the sack at about 2:00 A. M. in an effort to get under way before the wind piped up, but after reaching a point about 15 miles north of Cabo Falso, a vertable wall of wind was encountered stopping practically all forward progress so it was decided to take the "Clipper Bash" described above. The author had already decided to take this routine in the event of mechanical problems inasmuch as the author had already turned back due to weather once. After getting the boat stabilized outbound, it was found that a heading of about 30 degrees less than the direct course to the Tosco/Mag Bay area cound be maintained so the author disposed of all thoughts of spending a week or so at sea and proceeded. During the mid afternood the wind piped down at a distance of about 50 miles or so from Tosco so the vessel motored in and arrived at about 10:00 P.M. for one of the quickest trips ever up that passage.
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