I have been asked by lots of people what's it like to spend the summer in Mexico............Hot and sweaty. As Robin Williams said in Welcome to Vietnam "hot and sweaty is good if your with a woman but not good if it's the weather.
Whilst the temps inside the boat can top 100 and outside 120 , there are ways of coping with it. However it's the humidity which is the real killer. You spend a great deal of time drenched in sweat, just breathing makes you sweat.Thank god for A/C..............and fans. I use two A/C units, one a 5000BTU window unit which sits in the campanion way and blows into the saloon. Coupled with a fan and the sun shade , the saloon temp is a comfortable 70+ . Clothing is still optional. Mind you , it makes the cockpit unbearably hot because of the exhaust heat. At night I use a 9000 btu unit which is free standing and points into the aft cabin and is ducted out though a hatch via and large diameter pipe. This can really drag the temp down to chilly !!!
To cope with the humidity, towels are strategically placed to stop me sticking to the furniture, especially when reading. Ventures outside are accompanied by a very large brimmed straw hat and a sweat clothe. Boat projects are limited to before 11.00am or after 5.00pm and completing anything is considered an victory. The remainder of the day is mostly taken up by visits to shopping malls, large supermarkets or coffee shops which have A/C. It's amazing the amount of time you can spend aimlessly wondering around a mall ( if the A/C is good). 3 hour coffee breaks , no worries. There are some positives............you lose weight, it's too hot to eat and no way is the stove being switched on to cook anything. You sweat out salt and toxins ......good for the blood pressure and you drink lots of icey cold water...not pepsi. Plus you get to shower a lot during the day, normally straight from the hose on the dock....so you are cleaner than perhaps you would normally be. Downside, you use lots of underarm sprays and you have to wash your hats frequently. So a well planned day will allow you to miss the brunt of the humidity and heat, unless of course you are at anchor and then your life is hell . Actually there are 100's of boats who spend the summer in the Sea of Cortez on anchor and deal with the weather in their own ways. Crew and wives may be on the verge of mutiny, so I am told by my friends on Ponderosa who are currently up in the Sea, but they find ways of getting through it. Most socialising between boats appears to happen at "floaters" around 4.00pm. People grab anything that floats and jump in.
Probably the biggest concern of anyone staying the summer in this area of mexico is the possibility of Hurricanes, whether you are up in the Sea of Cortez or in a marina on the mainland or Baha side. We have a rather powerful hurricane 450 miles south of us at the moment, Hurricane Hilary, already a cat 4 so a dangerous one. It sat still for a few days and some predications thought it may come on the mainland or go up into the Sea. It appears from tonights position it is headed WNW, away from us. Although this could easily change and it could head this way. There are a few hurricane holes up in the Sea but if a cat 4 or 5 hit the marina, it would destroy the place completely. From previous statistics the later in the season June-Oct, the more chance of hurricanes heading into the Sea. Hilary is certainly the most powerful one this year so far and 450 mile is not that far . I guess we will get some of the weather from it over the next 3-4 days. We all follow the hurricanes via a couple of websites, www.stormpulse.com and www.eebmike.com, morning ritual check hurricanes and then drink coffee in peace !
So with the thunder, lightening, heat, humidity and hurricanes why do people stay here in the summer. Two main reasons, the Sea of Cortez is unique, isolated and stunning with fantastic wild life, the second reason....it avoids the Baha Bash, the northerly trip back up the outside to the States against wind, sea and current. This gets you out of the hurricane zone but you are faced with a nasty trip back to the USA. Some even virtually sail to Hawaii before tacking back towards the US Coast.
Soon this years contingent of boats will leave San Diego in the 2011 Baha Ha Ha, around the 23 rd Oct, over 200 boats will head south taking about a week to get here. Cruising season has begun from that point onwards !!!
And the best bit, only and few more weeks and the humidity will disappear and winter temperatures will prevail, a nice 70 degrees