//WL2K Circumnavigation of Isla San Marcos

What can I say? Wow! I love this island. It has been all of the things that we came to the Sea of Cortez for and has been the perfect final adventure before shooting across to San Carlos to store Stormy for the summer.

Our plan is to spend our last days on the Baja side circumnavigating Isla San Marcos. The weather has been perfect for it, with sunny days and light winds forecast for the next 2-3 days, we can anchor on any and every side of the island in comfort.

It’s working great so far. There’s a gypsum mine here, and the guidebook doesn’t really talk up the island, so it’s not such a hot destination. Let’s hope nobody else reads this blog and the secret stays with us!

We have had the anchorages around the island to ourselves, and it’s the first time since we rounded Cabo that we have anchored somewhere where the best and most protected spots weren’t already taken by other boats. We have had beautiful snorkeling with perfect visibility, great spear-fishing, fun hiking, colorful sunsets (again, with no other boats!), sea caves!, and today we had an entire DAY of dolphins and porpoises—some so big that I thought they were orcas at first.

Fishing Report: we caught a skipjack on the handline yesterday, and this morning I caught a nice triggerfish with the speargun that we enjoyed breaded in riceflour as a taco lunch. They really do taste like lobster. We kept in touch with Mandolina via the SSB radio as they crossed over to Guaymas, and they radiod last night that they landed a 6ft. sailfish on a handline! Then they had mahimahi swimming in their bow wake throughout the night.

I have stockpiled a bit of fresh squid we found while snorkeling to use as bait for our crossing. I’m not sure I want to catch an enormous billfish, but a nice dorado would be awesome. That being said, I would love to see a billfish up close.

Position Report: you can pin us on the map right here—

Lat: 27°15.061’N
Lon: 112°05.985’W

All is well on board.

DB & HJ