14 SEAMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2017MEXICOREPORT
BY CAPT. PAT RAINS
HOW TO PLAN
A BETTER BASH
WHILE THE CONDITIONS FOR THE BAJA BASH ARE
INEVITABLE, FACING THEM DOESN’T HAVE TO BE.T
HE ANNUAL MIGRATION of boaters in and out of Mexico is controlled by hurricane
season. Most boaters head south in early November, when hurricanes have just
ended, and return north in May before the tropical storms begin again in June. But
is May the best time to head home? Boaters who go then are pushing against the strong
prevailing northwesterlies, which give the northbound trip its name: the Baja Bash. If not
then, when is the best time to come home?
The surprising answer is that May is often the toughest month with the strongest north-
westerlies. November, just when most boaters are headed south, is when the northwester-
lies are lightest and, therefore, would be the easiest time to head north on the Baja coast.SPRING
By May the cold fronts, which are a
feature of winter and early spring, have
mostly stopped invading California and
Baja California waters. The Pacific High,
which lasts nearly until November, is
settling into its quasi-stationary position
between Hawaii and California. The U.S.
interior deserts are heating up and the
hot air rising out of them creates what is
known as the Yuma Low. The clockwise
rotation of air around the Pacific High
feeds into this low and creates strong
northwesterlies along the Baja peninsula.
Such winds often blow 20 knots or more
and can last for days — hence, the Baja
Bash for boaters returning from Mexico.
May and June typically have the strongest
winds, which gradually slack off in the
summer months. April is a transition
month and not a bad time to give it a try.WINTER
By November the deserts are cooling
off and the Pacific High is breaking
down, which allows cold fronts to make
their first weak forays into these waters.
Consequently, winds are light along the
Baja coast, so it’s a great time to be headed
north. As winter progresses, more cold
fronts invade and block the building of the
high and its subsequent northwest winds.
When a low-pressure system approaches
the coast of California, winds can be light
along the Baja coast. The strongest of
these fronts will on rare occasions reach
all the way to Cabo San Lucas and must
be watched out for. But overall, winter is a
good time to be returning from Mexico.
In planning a Mexico trip, use this
information to your advantage. For a year-
long trip, leave in November and return
in November. For the typical one-season
cruising itinerary — traditionally, leave
in November, come back in May — think
about coming back in April instead. It cuts
the trip short by a month, but the return
will be drastically easier. Alternatively,
return from Cabo San Lucas as late as
July 15. It won’t be as good as a November
return, but the northwesterlies will have
died down from their May peak. Even
though a small risk of hurricanes exists,