We are starting to consider moving our C34 into the Sea of Cortez. Any experiences with keeping a C34 in San Carlos would be appreciated.
We have hull #84 in San Carlos. Just bought her in Dec 2009. She has been in Mexico for at least 5 years before we got her. We are having a blast sailing her around SC. I believe that the C34 was made for sailing in the sea. A lot of wind in the 12 - 16 kts. Pretty smooth seas. But when it gets dicey out there, it is not to far to a safe harbor.
Pros
1) Nice wind. A lot better than Southern Cal.
2) Lots of destination to sail to. (mostly small remote bays) Take a look at Gerry Cunighham's web site.
3) Lots of fishing, scuba and snorkeling to be done.
4) Great weather Nov to Jun.
5)Pretty good cruising community. very will to help out.
6) A lot of people us San Carlos as a place to start and end their 6month cruise. They store their boat in Marina Seca (dry storage over the summer and go cruising in the winter)
7)Take a look at the Tucson Sailing Club web site. There is a lot of information on San Carlos there.
Cons
1) It is not the easiest place to get to
2)Not as cheap as you would think
3)Nearest West Marine is 8 hours north.
4) have not had much work done to DarBay. But I have heard that the workmanship is either Great or Horrible.
5)Very Hot Jun to Sept
6)slight chance of Hurricane.
Many thanks for the great information-much appreciated. Do you store on the hard when not there or during hurricane season?
We do not plan on Dry Storage. We live only 6 hours away and plan on using the boat in the summer. ( I hope we can handle the heat) That being said, There are more boats using dry storage than keeping the boats in the marina. For a boat like ours (C34)I think Dry Storage runs around $135 a month. They get a little dusty on the hard but other than that they fair quite well.
I've heard that their launch and recovery fee is very reasonable so that you could probably take the boat out of the water each time you're done sailing.
Dry Storage: it is pretty reasonable. If you use the boat once a month it is just about the same cost as if you kept it in a slip. The slip may be $40 more a month. Also I think it is a little hard on the boat going to and from Dry dock. Things dry up (shrink) then expand again. I understand that is why a lot of the long solid windows become cracked. It also takes time hauling it out and you have to consider the tides. You can not haul out a C34 at low tides. Some people have a local prep and supervise the haulout drop. I do not want to do this.