some photos will appear soon to break up this text…
One popular cruising method is to spend winter months along the mainland coast, then start cruising up the sea in April or so as the temps rise and the winter “norther” winds abate. So far we have done two winters on mainland, and two winters based out of La Paz on the southern Baja peninsula.
For us, the swimming temps in the sea get nice about late May and last into November, but maybe we are pussies! I grew up in Florida so prefer the warmer water…we left our dry (wet) suits home in California.
The water is definitely warmer on the mainland in wintertime but we rarely swam when there, no clarity compared to many places in the sea, red tide more likely to appear on the mainland.
Here are some sea temps for our approximate three-month 2014 trip into the sea, we were at anchor throughout the trip except for one week in Marina Fonatur, Santa Rosalia.
We replaced our Raymarine transducer last year, plus we drop in one of our darkroom thermometers into the water frequently, so we feel these temps are pretty accurate.
july 9-15, ensenada grande at isla partida, 86
july 7, san evaristo, 86
july 5, candeleros/ligui, 86
june 30-july 4, puerto balandra, isla carmen, 86
june 26, la ramada/san juanico, 85
june 25, santo domingo, 86 (at that time we were hearing of water temps inside bahia concepcion of 92…at that point it starts to feel like you are in a soup pot!)
june 22-23, sweet pea cove, isla san marcos, 83
june 11, la ramada/san juanico, 77
june 7-10, isla coronados, 79
may 29-31, puerto balanda, isla carmen (one of our favorites…9 miles east of loreto with cellular/broadband signal!), 83
may 22, isla coronados, 79
may 17, candeleros/ligui, 79
may 12, puerto escondido, 80
may 4, puerto balandra, isla carmen, 77
april 24, agua verde, 74
april 22, ensenada grande, isla partida, 77
here are a few temps from last winter/fall
feb 4, san gabriel, isla espiritu santo, 65 (kayak and beach walking weather!)
feb 2, isla san francisco, 64
jan 31, agua verde, 64
nov 10, san evaristo, 78
nov 9, agua verde, 79
oct 25, puerto balandra, isla carmen, 81