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Anchoring In Mexico

3K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  156680 
#1 ·
So, the Prairie Rose is off to Mexico for the fall, no snow or rain this winter! I do have a question and I am not looking to start WWIII but I have a question of an anchoralogical nature. My current set up is 280' of chain and a 60 lb Bruce as my primary and a 35 CQR with 50 feet of chain and 250' of rhode. I also carry a 25lb danforth on my stern and stored rhode of 250'. Now the question. Is a bruce any good down there? I know it will be primarily sand in the baja, and I am wondering if a fortress would be a better option as a primary, demote the bruce to secondary and let someone decorate their garden with my CQR, any advice? Please, despite it being an anchoring thread, lets keep it civil.
 
#2 ·
Can't answer your question nor do I like the thought of getting involved in anchor discussions but this sounds like a great trip. I take it you'll be hanging out in the Sea of Cortes for a while. Take lot's of suntan lotion, I'm not far behind you.
 
#4 ·
Early October should be OK to leave. When I say right behind you, I mean it's still just a plan but maybe next fall and then on to Panama.

Are you going down in one shot or are you ducking in here and there? It would be great if you keep us updated on everything. Sequitur did a nice post about his run down south.
 
#5 ·
I think most who leave from this area try to get away by mid August, esp if planning to do the coastal hopping/waiting for weather route. Sequiter left closer to the end of September, IIRC, but took a more direct path south.

We had two sets of friends head that way a few years back, both left early/mid August and I think they were around Cabo by Christmas - taking their time, obviously.

One has since returned this spring - after 3 good seasons there - via Dockwise.
 
#6 ·
Just spoke to our friends recently returned.. They used a Delta-like plow with good success between San Carlos and Manzinillo - plenty of scope and seriously set (1500 rpm).. this on a Passport 40. Not sure the anchor weight.

He also said they encountered all types of bottom conditions but that sand was the predominant one.

He thought your large Bruce would serve you well too most places.

btw what boat are you on?
 
#7 ·
I don’t think you mentioned the boat length / tonnage?

I haven’t been to Mexico, but I have used a 60# Bruce with all chain rode for 10 years now and have had good luck in all sorts of bottom conditions. If you’re thinking of investing in a Fortress, one option might be to get a really big one to use in the event of a big storm. Nice thing about the Fortress anchors is that they fit in tight spaces when dis-assembled. I’d invest in the storage bag if you get one.
 
#8 ·
I know that mid-august would be best, but my girlfriend has commitments that cannot be broken, it will have to be a straight run off the shelf to San Diego to reprovision and wait out the rest of the hurricane season. The boat is an MC39, a heavy cutter built here in Canada. We are anxious to get going. Thanks Faster for speaking with your friends, I appreciate that very much. Billy, I posed this question because there is one for sale in my area, oversized for my boat and half of retail. It would be real nice to get this CQR off my bow too, I stub my toe on it all the time!
 
#9 ·
On a slightly different topic, be sure to be aware once you get into Mexican waters that your plotter will lie to you.. we were always showing anchored some distance inland.

I'd say night time landfalls without radar are a no-go...
 
#13 ·
Good advice, this. Most paper & e-charts of Mexico's west coast (Pacific side & Sea of Cortez) are based on scant US Navy & British Admiralty surveys, some of which date back to the 1880s! Bathymetry is limited, many hazards are uncharted or misplaced, and the entire swath from Ensenada to Bandaras Bay has chart datum errors exceeding 2nm. Here's an excerpt from the (sole) NOAA chart of the northern Sea -- a vast area, generally shallow, with lots of hazards & a huge tidal range:

cortezmap

Note the excess of detail.;) Anyone wanting more tools can supplement their charts with the chartlets from Gerry Cunningham, and/or Heather Bansmer.

Per anchoring, I gathered from books and blogs that holding is generally good, with packed sand being the most common bottom (suggesting a plow-type). A heavy enuf claw should work, too. Estuaries can be silty, where the claw would be preferred, and there are anchorages with plenty rock & kelp, which may make anything short of a 200# fisherman's tricky to set. Fluke-type anchors make good lunch hooks in the sandy areas, but the large tidal currents (or nighttime katabatics) in most of the Sea can trip them when you aren't looking. We're planning a ~35# Rocna, Manson, or Mantus, on the theory it can best handle the range of bottoms & will reset quickly if tripped.

Thanks Zeehag for the 'lots of chain' advice.
 
#11 ·
I am repeatedly amazed at skippers asking questions about anchors that are at least 20 years old or more in design, and asking if they will continue to work.

1. If they worked before they should continue to work.

2. The country that they are employed in is immaterial. :)

3. New gen anchors are far superior to older designs.

What's so hard?
 
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#12 · (Edited)
i am here in mexico on southwest coast.
i usuallyanchor and use a marina in summer when storms come.
i have a friend here who also spent summer--he was anchored out in mangroves.
what you will use here is
your bruce. this is `perfect bottom for bruce--rocky sand and rocky mud.
GET MORE CHAIN.
you want to anchor here with up to 200 ft of chain with your bruce.
all the boats i have seen anchored for any duration with mixed rode have suffered severe FAIL of rope part of rode chafing 5 ft from end of chain. this happens fast.
i have suffered loss of galvo on my chain--it still works, so it gets used.
most places so far that i have anchored i have been fine with my 30kg bruce and 194 ft of 5/16 chain. i keep 160 ft on bottom. even here where depth is only 10 ft--definitely use 160 ft on bottom. it is ifffy holding and works best with chain down. i have had no problem here even in winds to just under 40 kts.

my friend has a steelie of about 39 ft length and uses 180 ft chain with a 45 pound cqr. no problem anywhere he has anchored since his mixed rode parted and he lost his 30 kg bruce and 50 ft chain. .

questions???? just ask.....



oh yes.i watched as a rocna failed to set in zihuatenejo, and 2 deltas dragged in barra. and mixed rode failed in la cruz de huanacaxtle, and my own 45 pound cqr failed in mazatlan once the chain slid over a ledge into the puma channel...oh yes and the undersized toy danforth with its 10 ft chain on a hunter 26 run alll over barra lagoon....and....
 
#15 · (Edited)
it is really quite nice here once you get past the desert areas.. this is tropical and lovely. not as hot as desert mexico.

i have seen rocnas fail here. you WANT a bruce and lots of chain,. that is perfect set up here with rocky sand or rocky muck or mud and rocks bottoms, which what mexico is. lots more rocks in sea of cortez, but i never anchored there as i went there in a car. generally speaking, what you see on land, mexico has under water. except the trees
 
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