Baja's Coromuel Winds are Blowin'

Every evening the wind blows from the SSW durning the spring and early summer
Coromuel winds area a welcome phenomenon of the La Paz area. These south-to-south west winds begin in the late spring and continue for most of the summer months. They generally begin to blow an hour or so before sunset and continue through the night till mid morning. These winds are created by the cool marine air from the Pacific side of the peninsula being drawn over the desert to the relatively warmer side of the Sea of Cortez.

These cooler winds bring great relief to those residents of the La Paz area except for during the hottest months of September and August when the relative temperature difference between the two sides of the peninsula is not that great. The winds on the average do not blow that hard, maybe up to 30 mph at the fastest.

The name of these winds has an interesting history. There are many stories of how this consistent wind was used by the English pirate Cromwell. He and his crew supposedly used these consistent winds to attack passing ships from the Bay of La Paz. Another version is that the pirates used these winds to escape the Bay with the stolen pearls from the resident Indians that lived around the bay (yes, La Paz had real pearls but that is another story). There is yet another version was that Cromwell escaped the Spanish land forces that were attacking him in the Bay of La Paz.

In any case most of the stories include the English pirate Cromwell even though when researching this subject many claim he was never in these waters. Whatever is the truth concerning the naming of these winds maybe augured they definitely exist and are very consistent and regular.

If you are a sailor and plan your trip to the islands right you can sail downwind to the islands in the early morning or late evening hours and return with a north-northwest wind at your back in the mid day! One of the tricks I have learned over the years is to keep an eye on the land behind La Paz if you are sailing in, in the late afternoon. Many times you will see a substantial dust cloud behind the city in the desert which is a sign the winds are coming in the next half hour to hour and that not only will the direction change but the speed will increase dramatically.

Happy sailing and stay cool thanks to the Coromuels, James Glover

James Glover is the owner of Velas de Baja, sail making shop that has serviced the sea for the last 10 years. He has also traveled Mexico and the Baja extensively for the last 15 years.