Customer Reviews

Cruising Guide to the Sea of Cortez

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The book is really only a cursory treatment of a small section of the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. It implies, incorrectly, that there is no cruising area north of Mulege, and does not mention the mainland side at all. Although it doesn't say so, it is clearly designed as a basic guide for people chartering boats on short trips out of La Paz, NOT for long term cruisers coming into Mexico with their own boats. The information is incomplete, out of date and is so riddled with errors and inaccuracies as to make it pretty useless.

Here is an example of just one of the glaring oversights in this book: Mexico requires all vessels entering or leaving a port of entry to go through a very specific check-in/out process with the port captain, immigration and customs. Not following the required procedures and having the required paperwork can land you in trouble with the authorities. Yet this book not only has no description of the process, it never mentions it at all.

The book also implies that there are not decent charts available for the area, and that the sketches in the book are the best you are going to get. In fact, Gerry Cunningham's Cruising Charts publishes a multitude of detailed, highly accurate charts that cover the entire Sea of Cortez, and are far superior to what is in this book. The sketches in "The Cruising Guide" are no better than those in several other more complete guides.

In short, skip this book. You will be better served by Gerry Cunningham's guides and charts, Jack William's Boater's Guides to Baja and Charlie's Charts of the Western Coast of Mexico, all of which are more complete, up-to-date and detailed.

The book is really only a cursory treatment of a small section of the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. It implies, incorrectly, that there is no cruising area north of Mulege, and does not mention the mainland side at all. Although it doesn't say so, it is clearly designed as a basic guide for people chartering boats on short trips out of La Paz, NOT for long term cruisers coming into Mexico with their own boats. The information is incomplete, out of date and is so riddled with errors and inaccuracies as to make it pretty useless.

Here is an example of just one of the glaring oversights in this book: Mexico requires all vessels entering or leaving a port of entry to go through a very specific check-in/out process with the port captain, immigration and customs. Not following the required procedures and having the required paperwork can land you in trouble with the authorities. Yet this book not only has no description of the process, it never mentions it at all.

The book also implies that there are not decent charts available for the area, and that the sketches in the book are the best you are going to get. In fact, Gerry Cunningham's Cruising Charts publishes a multitude of detailed, highly accurate charts that cover the entire Sea of Cortez, and are far superior to what is in this book. The sketches in "The Cruising Guide" are no better than those in several other more complete guides.

In short, skip this book. You will be better served by Gerry Cunningham's guides and charts, Jack William's Boater's Guides to Baja and Charlie's Charts of the Western Coast of Mexico, all of which are more complete, up-to-date and detailed.