In the fall of 2020 we started down the Baja Peninsula to get to La Paz, BCS as Tulum-5 needed to get re-rigged and we had not been able to do it in the spring because of Covid.
On this particular run, we took off from Agua Verde to tackle the 45 mile run from there to San Evaristo. This would be an all day slog, as wind was coming down the chute from south to north, creating swells and windy condition in the afternoon. By the time we reached San Evaristo, we were spent. We knew that we would need to tuck into the bay to get some protection from the wind and waves. But inside the bay we till found wind and swells and couldn’t tuck in like we wanted because of panga bouys put out for them to anchor on. So there was wind, swell and our heavy 50-ft sailboat couldn’t get too far into the bay. It was time for Plan-B, which happened to be right around the corner. Using the same book that’s on the table in front of me (Sea of Cortez, A Cruisers Guidebook by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer), we took off around the corner to find a better, calmer anchorage at San Evaristo (North). Not too many cruisers used this anchorage, it’s definitely not as well known as San Evaristo, so we had no info except what was in the book.
So we took off around the point in the stiff afternoon wind and heavy seas. When we got into the anchorage as seen on page 114 of the Shawn and Heather book at BCS 223, we found wind coming across the low piece of land but nearly flat water, good enough for us. We dropped the hook over sand in 18 feet of water with our usual 120 feet of chain out, nicely being blown off shore. Like some Baja anchorages, this one seems to have a downward slope away from the beach, so we were careful to put out a good amount of chain and get a good pull on the hook as we anchored. We stayed in San Evaristo North for several days, making a point to hike across to the English School run by an ex-cruiser in San Evaristo and bring backpacks of English books and textbooks and visited the local market and taco stands.
Here’s more info:
Ease of anchoring: We anchored in 18 feet of water over sand. We put out 120-130 foot of chain. * Probable downward slope away from the beach, may impact anchoring. So, we just put out more chain before we dug in the anchor.
Noise at anchor: None.
Provisioning: If you walk into San Evaristo, we did find one small mercado with hardly anything in it, but that was during the height of Covid.
Cellular reception at anchor: None.
Wifi in the anchorage: None.
Water Clarity: Water was clean but not clear.
Protection: Some protection from the South and West. No protection from the North and East- both wind and swells. Might have wrap-around swells from the south.
Bugs: None.
Beach: Sand/rock shoreline.
Would We Go Back: We did, several times.
Ok, my usual warning when I write these stories about places we went on Tulum-5. While we were mostly safe and conservative navigators, YOU should not use these articles for navigational purposes, ever. These post ARE meant for informational purposes, to give you more awareness of places out there to take a boat.