(Above photo shows S/V Ubiquity, under reefed mainsail and the staysail, crashing through the punishment of Cabo Falso.)
Cabo Falso, the cape just west of Cabo San Lucas, does not look very pronounced or formidable on a chart. Compared to the massiveness of Cape Mendocino, or the prominence of Point Conception or Cape Blanco, Falso looks almost diminutive. Yet a formidable reputation follows this cape, even more than the other capes. Perhaps being at the end of such a long peninsula (the Baja) more than makes up for its lessor geographical prominence. Cabo Falso’s formidable reputation proved warranted when S/V Ubiquity sailed by it several days ago.
Many cruisers going north on the Baja Bash leave the Los Cabos area in the middle of the night in hopes of passing Cabo Falso during nighttime quiescence. Ubiquity left the Los Cabos marina about 6:00 am, on a day with too much wind forecasted for Bashers. Since we were not intending to go north past Cabo Falso, but rather head west out to sea, I did not expect a lot of trouble and was satisfied with our departure time. Plus unlike the Bashers we could turn left as needed to sail with the wind and make it easier to get away from the cape. Finally we needed wind to sail, unlike the Bashers who avoid wind so that they can motor better.
The first indicator that I had underestimated Cabo Falso was the heavy line of whitecaps ahead of us when passing Cabo San Lucas. When we got into the heavier wind and seas we saw that none of the forecasts we had examined modeled adequately the cape effect, as our winds were higher than any forecasted.
As planned we turned left to ease some the punishment to the boat and crew. In the worst conditions we bore off to a beam reach and were headed due south, so I didn’t want to bear off more. With waves hitting us about on the beam we were taking heavy spray over the bow and over the sides. With a reefed main and a staysail we sailed very fast, albeit in a very southerly direction. Gradually as we got further from the cape we could turn more west, but still southwest.
Yes, I had underestimated Cabo Falso, and she made the captain, crew, and boat pay for it. The Cape’s punishment also led to an epiphany for the captain and crew - see the upcoming blog post.
Video is on-line showing Ubiquity taking Cabo Falso’s punishment (although not showing the very worst conditions).