Let’s get this out of the way first: Use this post and others like it for information or entertainment only, please do not use this post for navigation.
Sitting in the wide bay at Bahia Salinas one morning I confirmed my weather pull from the night before, alerting me to an oncoming southerly that would bring wind and swells from the south. Bahia Salinas is completely open to the south, so I had a clue that we probably would be moving.
Early June, 2020- As I pulled weather that morning, it did indeed show the southerly arriving that afternoon, but swells coming directly into Bahia Salinas had already started. Things took on a bit more urgency when the shrimper turned cruising yacht next to us upped anchor and hauled ass out of there, as did the other two smaller sailboats that had been in other quiet parts of the bay (Tulum tended to be the loud boat, but that’s why we always anchored a bit farther away). So we were suddenly alone in this giant bay, southerly swell starting to creep into the place. I knew we were moving, but where? Isla Coronados was a possibility but a bit farther than we wanted to move, so I cracked the same “Paul and Heather” Sea of Cortez guide I have in front of me (like….same exact book from the boat) and found what looked like a closer anchorage that would deflect most of the southerly swell and some of the wind. Up came the big anchor and the 200 foot of chain we had down….and the HelmsMistress pointed the boat east….then north. We were on the move, heading for a new anchorage we had never been to, hoping it would suffice. We were headed to Painted Cliffs….still on Isla Carmen. Here’s where it is on the island:
Out of Bahia Salinas by 10 minutes after 8, we arrived in Painted Cliffs by 10am….so just over two hours to get around the point and into the anchorage. The Shawn and Heather book specifically mentions the reef….which was underwater when we arrived, but we gave it a wide berth anyways, anchoring even farther out than the waypoint in the book, It’s a decent size cove even for 51ft Tulum, but we didn’t know the bottom so we were careful to anchor and dig in the hook. We would stay in Painted Cove for 5 days. We snorkeled with the kids, put Quincy the Great Dane ashore on the little rocky beach there and made water. There wasn’t much wrap around swell and the wind was diverted nicely, so we had a good hook here. This cove is covered on page 182 of my copy of the Shawn and Heather book, Sea of Cortez-A Cruisers Guidebook.
Here’s more info:
Ease of anchoring: We anchored over a sand in 32 feet of water.
Noise at anchor: None.
Provisioning: None.
Cellular reception at anchor: None.
Wifi in the anchorage: None
Water Clarity: We could see ok in the morning when snorkeling the reef.
Protection: Good protection from the south, west, and some from the east. No protection from the north. Occasionally we would catch some evening swell from the south (wrap-around), but nothing too bad. We sat through a two-day southerly here…and although windy because the wind comes through the flat spots, there was no fetch and the wind direction kept us off the lee shore. Although rocky with no great beach, there was also no southerly swell and little wind during southerlies.
Bugs: Nope.
Beach: Yes, there’s a small rocky beach here.
Would We Go Back: Yes, there was decent snorkeling, probably because not too many cruisers come here.
Ok, that’s my review of Painted Cliffs, just a few miles north of Bahia Salinas, still on Isla Carmen Island. Hope you’ve enjoyed it and perhaps find inspiration to go try the anchorage, just don’t use this post for navigation.
Wanna read my post about Bahia Salinas…click the link below: