Bahia San Lucas

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 23 Jan 2016 19:34

Position: 22 53.31 N 109 53.98 W
At anchor Bahia San Lucas
Wind: west F2 light air
Sea: smooth Swell: negligible
Weather: sunny, warm
Day's run: 44 nm

We sailed when we could in yesterday's light winds, and motored in the calms which was more often then not, and towards sunset were approaching Bahia San Lucas. There was clearly a large settlement surrounding the bay, but not being familiar with the area and not trusting my charts I was wary of entering in the dark. I did not fancy the idea of motoring all night, largely because the engine noise renders an auditory watch impossible. Apart from not being able to here various alarms, such as the AIS, I have found that while sailing, especially in light conditions, I often hear another vessel before I see them, including when I am down below. So I decided that I would drift until we got some wind, and if we did not then I would go into Bahia San Lucas in the morning. So here we are at anchor in Bahia San Lucas, which means that it is reasonable to assume that there was no wind last night, which is of course fallacious reasoning, but to put your mind at rest, yes, there was no wind at all last night. We drifted until daylight, and come dawn motored to anchor in the broad open bay.

The township is clearly a tourist Mecca, mostly for rich Americans I would say. The beaches and hillsides are littered with hotels and apartments. Sports fishing boats scour the waters off the coast. Whale watching craft of various sizes gather in small flotillas relentlessly chasing their quarry to satisfy the demands of their cargo. Closer into shore PWCs skim back and forth, rooster tails flying high up behind them, while more sedate paddle boards paddle about. A couple of other cruising yachts are anchored nearby, and a large blue super yacht, the Attessa, complete with helicopter (one hasn't really made it unless one's yacht has a helicopter you know) is also anchored nearby. Ashore, the expansive beach is covered in deck chairs and tropical bars. What a contrast from our last stop. This is perhaps not exactly my cup of tea, but, nonetheless, I feel that it is about time I went ashore to experience the local culture, find myself a drink with one of those little umbrellas in it.

All is well.