Places We’ve Been: Punta Ipala (Tehuamixtle)

Let’s get this out of the way first:  Use this post for information or entertainment only, please do not use this post for navigation.

Starting with this post, I’ll start to take you through the smaller anchorages and places we’ve been….as we headed down mainland Mexico and Central America, bound for Panama.  So….here’s the first one…right out of La Cruz/Puerto Vallarta.

The anchorage at Ipala is small and it’s known as a good bailout point for boats heading north….especially if you are slow or weather for rounding Cabo Corrientes gets really nasty in the late afternoon.

(December 5th)- I noted in my logbook that we had taken on fuel early in the morning at La Cruz (0730) and headed out….but it felt a bit lonely because we were on the tail end of most cruisers heading south….most of our buddy boats were gone…already at points south.

But for us, we did the trek south through Banderas Bay from La Cruz (heading for Tenacatita)….and weather was picking up as the afternoon wore on.  After discussing things, we decided we just didn’t want to slog through confused seas all night, so we took a hard left and decided to check out Ipala.  We headed into the anchorage in the late afternoon and anchored almost on top of the Shawn and Heather waypoint for anchoring noted on pg. 115 of the “Pacific Mexico, A Cruisers Guidebook“.  We anchored in 35 feet of water with 180 feet of chain out…getting a good hook.  I noted that I could see how the book says the anchorage could be a bit rolly…it was a bit rolly and we spent the night with our flopperstopper out.  There is a bit more protection if you could get closer to shore, but as you can see in the pictures, the panga fleet has moorings out….so watch those if you want to get closer to shore for a bit more protection.

Here’s more info:

Ease of anchoring:  We anchored over a sand in 35 feet of water, with 180 feet of chain out.

Noise at anchor:  Nearly none unless you hear panga engines.  This place is like Yelapa many years ago.   

Provisioning:  None that I know of, we did not go to shore. 

Cellular reception at anchor:  None then but probably now.

Wifi in the anchorage:  None

Water Clarity:  No, it was too rolly and I did not try to dive the anchor. 

Protection:  Some protection from the north. Would certainly be an ok bailout spot or a place to hide from Cabo Corrientes if it was going off.  No protection from the east or south. 

Bugs:  No.  

Beach:  Yes, white sand beach, but with pangas on it.   

Would We Go Back:  No, I think I would just head for Chamela or Tenacatita.  But I would use this place as a bailout if heading north and things became untenable.

We cruised full time with our kids and Great Dane on a 51-ft sailboat for nearly four years….in the time of Covid.  We sold Tulum in Panama and then traveled portions of the US in a 40-ft skoolie until we found the Adventure Base we now call home.  As a family, we still travel/roadtrip/camp extensively but had to settle down a bit for school and work.   

Here’s recent posts about places we’ve been:

Places We’ve Been: Major Stops Along Mexico’s West Coast

Places We’ve Been: Heading To Lower Mexico And Central America

Best way to support this blog/website is by FOLLOWING US and telling ur friend to follow us!