|
OCEANIS YACHT 54 "VICTORIA" CRUISES BAJA
Our dear friends and owners of the Oceanis Yacht 54 "Victoria" have just returned from an epic journey down to Baja and back. Here is what her crew had to say about their experience:
"Back from Baja - ‘The Bash’
On May 25th I set off from Cabo with a new crew of three friends, Dan, Mike and Mario to bring Victoria back to San Diego. Having read as much as I could and talked to as many people as possible there was an equal mix of excitement and trepidation about the trip - it couldn’t be as bad as people had said … could it? As we rounded Cabo Falso 25 knots of wind, 2 knots of current and a 5-8 foot swell at 4-6 second period all converged to welcome us to ‘the bash’. The next 24 hours were brutal as we beat in to the wind barely managing 2.5 knots VMG. Fortunately, things settled down (including our stomachs) as we came through the ‘break-out zone’ and slowly got in to a rhythm. 10 days later, via stops in Bahi Santa Maria, Bahía Asunción, Bahía Tortugas And Ensenada we returned to Victoria’s home slip in Safe Harbor Marina. Did ‘The Bash’ live up to its reputation? In parts yes - we spent most of our time navigating 20-25 knot head winds, swell and current on a close haul, adjusting out course to favored tacks that allowed us to sail close to the wind without slamming. But challenging conditions were matched with ‘champagne’ sailing - whales, dolphins and a particularly wonderful overnight sail from Ensenada with the Code Zero flying and VMG of 7 knots in 6-7 knots of wind - yes the Beneteau 54 can sail at or above TWS!
Best move of the trip? Advice from Scott Young to call Baja expert Stephen Mann who gave us confidence to head out from Turtle Bay and keep going until we had a lay line to Ensenada thereby avoiding the most challenging stretch around Cedros Island and the dreaded Sebastian Vizcaino crossing - thanks Stephen!
What would I do different next time (or maybe more importantly, will there be a next time?). I would take the plunge and per Stephens advice, head out from Cabo on a starboard tack and keep going ..l the ‘Outside’, or ‘Clipper’ route!
Thanks to Scott Young, Stephen Mann and the team at South Coast Yachts for making this all possible."
| 
