Lovely Bahia Santa Maria

A Beautiful Sunrise At Sea

The Fleet at Bahia Santa Maria

Lovely Bahia Santa Maria

Panga Crossing the River Bar

Our Turn to Cross the Bar

Bloom of Green

Dinner Party - Bahia Santa Maria

We slipped out quietly on the morning of November 3^rd so as not to disturb our sailing buddies anchored nearby and made our 3:30am departure as planned.  It was a lovely morning with no wind and calm seas, just what power boaters like, not so much for sailboats who prefer the wind.  We arrived at our chosen anchorage behind Punta Abreojos at 4:30pm.  We were expecting a small village, but to our surprise discovered that Punta Abreojos is a fairly large town by Baja standards.  Just before dusk, the winds had kicked up, wouldn’t you know!  Despite rocking through the night and the loud music heard from shore, we managed to fall asleep.  The following day was our 20-hour cruise to Bahia Santa Maria, departing at 10:30am so as to arrive by daylight the next morning; most of our Ha Ha friends and crew would already be there, having sailed directly from Turtle Bay.  As the day turned to night the pitch black enveloped us, stars pierced the black canvass overhead; the moon had withheld its face until 11pm.  We could see other boats at sea on our Radar and AIS tracking, including fishing boats, a cruise ship, and several sailboats.  As we neared Bahia Santa Maria, boats began to converge toward shore, chatter on the radio could be heard and we identified several sailboats that belonged to the Ha Ha Fleet.  We motored into the bay and set anchor just as it was beginning to turn light once again.  We stayed awake long enough to listen to the Ha Ha announcements that are given on the radio each morning and then “hit the sack.”  It was rest day for the Fleet; party time would have to wait until tomorrow.  Bahia Santa Maria is a lovely spot, a few small fishing huts dot the shoreline backed by beautiful mountains and meadows which had turned green thanks to a tropical storm that had passed through earlier.  A small river empties into the bay exposing sand bars frequented by birds; sand dunes stretch along the shoreline creating a blend of contrasting colors.  Folks from the local village of Lopez Mateos (located 40 miles away) organized a nice dinner and beach party for the Ha Ha Fleet, $15/plate complete with a lively band for entertainment – another financial benefit for a local community.  Once again, pangas brought guests to shore or boaters brought their dinghy over the river bar and up on the beach.  We managed to safely ride the surf, where the ocean swell met the shallow river bar; our dinghy wheels touched the bar briefly protecting our outboard motor and then the wave carried us into shore.  The landscape is rugged, treeless, and remote; we looked for what little shade there was to enjoy our seafood dinner near the shelter of tents which were provided; several boaters went swimming in the 75 degree water to cool themselves off!  After a bit of hiking, we headed back to the boat with our dinghy and made ready for our longest cruise yet to come – 24 hours to Cabo San Lucas.






River Delta and Fishing Hut




River with Dunes in Background

A Lovely Sunset at Bahia Santa Maria