BajaNomad - Water temps/Shell Island or Gonzaga

Water temps/Shell Island or Gonzaga

Bajaboy - 3-14-2013 at 09:52 PM

Stoked to take my kids to Baja on Sunday. I think we'll head down via San Felipe and camp at Shell Island or maybe Gonzaga Bay. Any ideas on water temps?

From there we'll likely head to Scammon's to catch the whales and then to our place in Bahia Asuncion or vice versus depending on the weather.

Thanks for any input.

Zac

David K - 3-14-2013 at 10:45 PM

Hi Zac,
The northern Cortez is still cold or should I say too cold (to Baja Angel and I) until May or June through October... Do you remember little Christopher and Sarah running into the water when you first went to Shell Island in February, 2001? Little kids don't seem to mind it as much! I do remember taking short swims at Shell Island when I was younger, camping there in April (Easter Vacation). Let us know how it was for you guys. It will seem colder if the wind is blowing, by-the-way!

micah202 - 3-14-2013 at 11:07 PM

I was in gonzaga mid feb,,,sailing a pretty 'swimmy' boat,,,
.....didn't really add any layers to basic wetsuit/rashguard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o...

woody with a view - 3-15-2013 at 07:01 AM

have fun.

Skipjack Joe - 3-15-2013 at 07:52 AM

Water temperatures should be pretty close at both places. However, the Papa Fernandez area provides pretty good wind protection so I would go to Gonzaga.

P.S. - some good basketball there as well.

[Edited on 3-15-2013 by Skipjack Joe]

desertcpl - 3-15-2013 at 08:22 AM

you can get a general idea with this

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/sst/latest_sst.gif

rts551 - 3-15-2013 at 09:36 AM

or for Baja weather and water temps in general

Here

http://eebmike.com/

mcfez - 3-15-2013 at 09:50 AM

Gonzaga Bay by all means. Lot's of outdoor stuff to do......including swimming, hiking, surf fishing ........catching coyotes.

Good shelter from the winds......

I think that Shell Beach may not have that.

http://www.papafernandez.com/
For current weather.....and more info.

David K - 3-15-2013 at 09:53 AM

Nice link Ralph:

When the Cortez looks the same color as the Pacific to the south of it, then it is good for swimming!

shari - 3-15-2013 at 09:54 AM

HOla Zac...we will be at Scammon's (Ojo de Liebre) on Sun/Mon/Tues maybe see ya there! The water was playable at the lagoon last week for the kids.

David K - 3-15-2013 at 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Gonzaga Bay by all means. Lot's of outdoor stuff to do......including swimming, hiking, surf fishing ........catching coyotes.

Good shelter from the winds......

I think that Shell Beach may not have that.

http://www.papafernandez.com/
For current weather.....and more info.

Shell Island has no shelter from strong winds, and I have been blown off that beach more than once... but for every windy trip there are 10 perfect weather ones! Not sure about Shell Beach (which is by Punta Chivato), but most of the photos Russ posts from there look great!

My last time on Shell Island, a perfect as it could be (July, 2012):

Bajaboy - 3-15-2013 at 02:53 PM

Right on...think I'll go with my original plan and head down to Papa's and maybe have lunch at Shell Beach if the tides are aligned. Appreciate the input.

Shari, we might just cross paths. I'm not sure if we'll catch the whales on the way down or on our return.

Main priority for this trip is spending time with my kids.

Shell Island, BC, Mexico in 2001

David K - 3-15-2013 at 05:03 PM

Shell Island (and the sulfur Mine) with Bajaboy (Zac) and other amigos in 2001:

Four Toyota Tacomas and one Subaru Brat made up Saturday's caravan. The sky was overcast, but the excitement was bright!

The group today included Jeans, Amo Pescar, Mike Humfreville, Dave McFarland, Zac, El Camote, Mexray, David K and his two children (Christopher and Sarah).

Here's Mike Humfreville, possibly dreaming up a novel about the life of a sulfur miner?

Jeans always has a smile and a desire for adventure!

Amo Pescar (left) and Dave McFarland.

El Camote exploring the sulfur mine.

Shell Island with its deep bottomless sand beach. With tires properly deflated, driving was a breeze.

It wasn't long before my kids got in the water, and the others began finding shells.

As the tide continued going out, new goodies appeared, awaiting discovery.

Sarah loves Shell Island!

We continued to the north point for some more beach driving, then back to the roadhead. Returning to El Camote's place we would find Westy and Baja Beach Barbie along with El Gato Loco and Baja Barb. Both couples driving down on this day for tomorrow's big Matomi adventure!

The trip report continues: http://vivabaja.com/matomi/index.html

brewer - 3-17-2013 at 03:17 PM

Just got back from Gonzaga on Fri. The weather was perfect, no wind. It was pretty warm for this time of year and the water was too. About 66-67F Felt just perfect with the heat.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajaboy
Stoked to take my kids to Baja on Sunday. I think we'll head down via San Felipe and camp at Shell Island or maybe Gonzaga Bay. Any ideas on water temps?

From there we'll likely head to Scammon's to catch the whales and then to our place in Bahia Asuncion or vice versus depending on the weather.

Thanks for any input.

Zac

Bajaboy - 3-19-2013 at 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by brewer
Just got back from Gonzaga on Fri. The weather was perfect, no wind. It was pretty warm for this time of year and the water was too. About 66-67F Felt just perfect with the heat.

Quote:

Absolute spot on...camped at Papa's on Sunday...water temps mid to upper 60s...very comfortable to swim in...air temps upper 70s to mid 80s. Plan on camping there on our return trip on Friday.

[img]

Zac

mcfez - 3-20-2013 at 07:36 AM

Where's the pictures?

Now you really need to visit Shell Island too. David wrote about this place so much...that my eyes fell out of their sockets !

So I went there a few years back........it's a wow factor. Sort of reminded me of the old Huntington Beach back in the early 60's

Glad you had a good time at one of my favorite spots in Baja.

tripledigitken - 3-20-2013 at 07:55 AM

Now that there is only 40 miles of unpaved road, we will return from BCS through Gonzaga on our way home.

Either overnighting in San Felipe or Gonzaga. It has brought a whole new aspect to our trips to Baja.

Gonzaga Bay sunrise

mcfez - 3-20-2013 at 08:31 AM

tripledigitken

You must had have gone to a Photography school. This shot above is so rich with clarity and colours. Just a wow factor.

tripledigitken - 3-20-2013 at 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
tripledigitken

You must had have gone to a Photography school. This shot above is so rich with clarity and colours. Just a wow factor.

Thanks, but no degree in Photography. I did dream about attending the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara when I was a kid, but it was way beyond my financial resources. I take seminars from time to time and spend a lot of time in Youtube with their photo tutorials. Like anything else, the more you learn the more you realize you don't know chit. This really applies to photography.

Ken

Bajaboy - 3-20-2013 at 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Where's the pictures?

Started to post a few but realized I hadn't uploaded them yet....soon

[Edited on 3-20-2013 by Bajaboy]

[Edited on 3-20-2013 by Bajaboy]

[Edited on 3-20-2013 by Bajaboy]

David K - 3-20-2013 at 09:39 AM

Nice photo of the children... Good you can enjoy them so much, as they grow up fast!