Anchorage· Baja California Pacific coast (Ensenada to Cabo Falso)· Mexico

Bahía Tortugas (Turtle Bay) Anchorage

27° 41.0′ N · 114° 53.9′ W · approximate

'Turtle Bay is Half Way': a nearly enclosed 2.5 nm bay with a dusty fishing village, the only reliable all-round overnight anchorage on the 740 nm outside of Baja, and the Baja Ha-Ha's first stop.

Practical

Coordinate is approximate: placed about 1 km off the town waterfront (GeoNames town 27.691 N 114.895 W) in the north-east part of the bay where The Log says to anchor around the tall fuel pier; anchor by eye. Entrance: from about 27 38.5' N 114 54.0' W, favor the left (west) side of the 1 nm gap between Punta Sargazo and Roca Entrada and head about 1.5 nm north-east (The Log). Good shelter in almost all weather but not a hurricane hole - only the south corner, El Rincón, has land shelter from the south, and seasonal aquaculture may occupy the shoal parts. Strong NNW winds raise chop. Dinghy: leave it well off to the side of the pier's rickety stairs, or land on the small beach west of the pier (dinghy wheels help). The 1923 cannery ruins and an abalone nursery are behind the pier. Clinic, schools, small tiendas and restaurants ashore; cell coverage partial.

Best for

The only reliable all-weather stop halfway down Baja

Season

Year-round shelter except direct southerly storms

Nearby