2010 Baja Report

2010 Baja Report
by Dave and Shawn

All—
Just back from a week in Los Barriles and thought I would give a synopsis and possibly rub your noses in it!!

Arrived last Saturday afternoon to light winds and a short bike ride before margaritas.

Sunday—Wind up early but only topped out at a 6.7 on a 112l board—tried smaller board but failed. The afternoon dropped so it was off on a short trail ride—Monument to Scotties trail. It was a good start to the week as we had not sailed since early October and an hour on the water was a good warm up.

Monday—Wind teased in the morning but we ended up on a longer bike ride- up and then down Scotties this time. They only had 26” hardtail Stumpjumpers this year instead of the 26/29 mix they had last year. A couple of guys went out on the SUPs with sails and sailed around with some dolphins.

Tuesday—Blowing 20+ at 9AM with monster 10-12 foot faces on the shore break which promptly took about 15 feet off the beach. Actually made the point more prominent and helped with the launching. Morning was a mix of frontal showers so the wind would blow to 25 and back off to 15 so it was best to wait it out. About 11am the fronts passed over and the wind decided to just blow hard. Started out on a 5.4/86 and dropped to 4.7 then 4.2 by the afternoon and should have dropped to a 80l or less. Shawn was on a 68l board much of the day and more dialed into the wind and water than I was—OK, she just plain out sailed me! At the end of the day, she was on the 68 with the 4.2 I was sailing great. Meanwhile, I was worn out on the beach.

Wednesday—Classic Baja day with blue skies and blue water. At 9am we got a show from the Humpback whales who were breaching and slapping their tails for about an hour and a half. The wind came in early again and we were on the water before 11am—86l and a 5.8 all day. Nice rolling swell for some great turns inside and outside.

Thursday—no wind forecast but it started to come up early. Got on the water by 1030 for a 45 minute session on 94l and 5.8 before it backed off. About 130p it jumped up again and back on the water on same equipment for 30 minutes before it backed down again. If you missed the two peaks, you just missed it and luckily I jumped on it while Shawn was reading.

Friday—good forecast and it ended up another classic Baja day. Two Grey Whales came by about 150 yard off the beach for the only marine life of the day.
We were on the water by 10am and I sailed for 3 ½ hours on a 94 and 5.8 while Shawn was on an 80 liter and 5.4. Just wore my ass out as the forecast for Saturday was for no wind. Some of the pros–Wyatt, Tyson and Brian— from La Ventana came over on their quads and put on a freestyle show for us. They didn’t think it would blow so they went for alternative activities. They borrowed the Vela equip and harnesses and did their magic.

Saturday—they were right so we went for a Kayak paddle and watch the rays jump around us before leaving around 1230p for the airport.

Overall, a good week sailing 5 out of the 7 days of mostly small equipment. Only rode on the trails two days because we were sailing the rest of the time.

It was a very good year for whale watching and dolphin watching. We also saw two turtles and a lot of rays and flying fish. All the boards were brand new JP and Starboard and the sails are new Neil Pryde. Selection was great, especially since most of the other guests tend to use larger boards than we do for some strange reason. We got lucky because it did not blow for most of the week before we got down there and the forecast for this week is pretty bleak. This makes about 3 years in a row for hitting a good wind week! The water and air was warm enough that I wore shorts most of the time with parts of two days in a shorty. Shawn wore here shorty all week.

You guys just have to join us down there! It is great…ask Cliff and Janice as they just got back.

Dave and Shawn.