The Sea of Cortez rewards patience. Once you've motor-sailed past the dusty outskirts of La Paz and dropped the hook in a cove where a dozen sea lions are already occupying the swim platform, you understand why Cousteau couldn't leave. The water is impossibly clear, the desert mountains tumble straight to the shoreline, and on a calm evening the anchorages feel like the edge of the known world.
Wind behaviour here is nuanced. From October through May the dominant pattern is light northwesterlies and the notorious coromuel — a strong evening thermal that funnels up from the Pacific and can clock to 25 knots before midnight, even in settled weather. Keep an eye on the barometer and leave buffer in your anchor chain.
Summer brings the chubascos, violent squalls that build fast over the mountains, which is reason enough to be north of La Paz or well out of the Sea by June. Day sailing is the norm; passages between islands — Espíritu Santo, Isla San Francisco, Partida — run 15 to 30 miles, manageable before the afternoon wind builds.
La Paz is your natural base. Charter operators there offer decent bareboat fleets, though the selection is smaller than the Caribbean and booking six months ahead is sensible. Provisioning in La Paz is genuinely good — a proper mercado, decent diesel, and reliable ice. Loreto to the north has a small marina and makes a worthy destination if you're sailing a one-way itinerary with a provisioned passage up the coast.
Whale sharks congregate near La Paz from late autumn onward; a dinghy and a snorkel are all you need.
October through March is the window — experienced crews comfortable with variable thermals and occasional mechanical self-sufficiency will get the most from it.