Bahia Santa Maria

We were thankful that the distance for the next leg to Bahia Santa Maria was only 240 nautical miles compared to 360 in the first leg.  Considering the distance and our average boat speed, it was likely that we would be anchoring in the dark.  Before setting out in September, Trisha and I agreed that we would never enter a strange port at night.  This is a dangerous practice because most landmarks are not visible and the lights, if any, can play tricks on you, especially when you’re tired.  We made an exception for the Baja Ha-Ha rally stops because both have large entrances, few obstructions, and we had the waypoints from our cruising guide.  We entered Bahia Santa Maria a little after midnight.  Trisha and Chuck were tired and I was exhausted with only a couple hours sleep over two days.  Entering the bay was no problem, finding a place to anchor was another story.

So happy to be here!

We crept into the huge anchorage at just under two knots.  The moon had set and most of the light was coming from the forty or so boats already at anchor.  As we got closer, we could see red and green lights ahead that seemed to be some kind of marina entrance.  We steered away.  There were a handful of smaller boats zipping around in the distance as if searching for something.  We were amazed at the variety of boats at anchor.  There were sports fishers, commercial boats, pangas, and a few sailboats.  We finally found a place to anchor between a tugboat and a fishing boat.  It was great to finally be tucked in for the night.

We woke up the next morning to find ourselves anchored in a bay with sailboats.  No marina, no tug, no fishing boats, nothing but sailboats.  We now had a first-hand experience with the tricks lights can play.

Bahia Santa Maria was even more remote than Turtle Bay.  There was no village, just a small fishing camp consisting of six or so little structures up on a bluff.  Trisha and I launched the dinghy and explored the beach.  We’ve been told that it is not unusual for boats to leave the rally in Bahia Santa Maria to take more time exploring the area.  We could totally see why.  Walking an untouched white sand beach with a warm breeze it was clear that we had found the Mexico we hade been waiting for.

Trisha found this whale vertebrae on the beach

Beach party at Bahia Santa Maria