The east cape of the Baja Peninsula offers an incredible coastline and lots of places to sail in the Sea of Cortez. There is more than a thousand miles of coastline to be explored along the shores of the Sea of Cortez for the adventuresome windsurfer, the most popular are all accessible by paved roads. The windy season runs from November through April as winter storms and Santa Ana conditions in southern California send the north wind known as El Norte barreling down the Sea of Cortez. The farther south you travel, the more windy days you will encounter with warmer conditions and less rainfall than the north.
            
Windsurfing in the Sea of Cortez relies heavily on the El Norte winds famous in the area. Several different weather patterns can set up to produce an El Norte, a wintertime northerly wind which can blow strong winds for two weeks at a time. It is a very steady wind, building strength through the morning and holding incredibly steady in the early afternoon before dying off into the evening. This is one of the best aspects of the El Norte. Calm evenings, nights and mornings make living in a tent much more bearable, and leaves ample time to do all the other activities that don’t need wind. While El Norte provides strong reliable winds, the downfall is that it is possible to have stretches of more than 10 days with little or no wind. These days are easily filled with rest, exploring, fishing, or surfing on the pacific side. The most popular destinations along the east cape of southern Baja are Los Barriles and La Ventana. Both small towns offer great sailing and a range of accommodation and gear rental options.
            
Los Barriles was the original southern Baja hot spot.  “Discovered” in the 80’s, it has grown up considerably since. The town has all the services you could ever need. Restaurants, bars, shopping, Hotels and lots of other activities besides windsurfing. There are a number of windsurfing resorts there offering rentals, accommodations and lessons. Los Barriles is famous for its large rolling swells, sometimes reaching mast high! These are rarely pitching, breaking waves, they are more like the swells of The Gorge just salty and a whole lot bigger.
             
In recent years, La Ventana has received much of the attention. The small fishing village has come into its own as a very popular windsurfing destination. There are lots of kitesurfers there now too. La Ventana receives the same El Norte winds as other sites, but due to local topography it gets a thermal ‘boost” as well. This thermal also works on days when El Norte isn’t blowing, adding more sailable days to the calendar. La Ventana also has a number of restaurants, camping, accommodation and equipment rental options, though nowhere near as developed as Los Barriles. La Ventana is only an hours drive from the capital city of La Paz, a small, beautiful city built along the waterfront of Bahia de La Paz. There you can find anything that you can at home, but expect to pay more for popular packaged items.
            
Other windsurfing spots include but are not limited to Punta Arena, Punta Colorado, Punta Pescadero, Punta Chivato, and Cabo Pulmo. There are countless other spots to camp out and enjoy some Baja solitude, just a short drive from the popular spots are others where you can lose the crowds and sail with friends. Sailing alone in a foreign country might be considered a bad idea.
            
There really are lots of other things to do if the wind isn’t blowing. The fishing is incredible year round in the Sea of Cortez, and while helpful, a boat is not necessary to bring home dinner on a string. Sea Kayaking is another great activity when it isn't windy. Exploring the coastline or coasting over the reefs, it is a great way to be in and on the water. Walking on the beach, hiking, mountain biking, four wheeling, and general exploring is fun no matter the weather, just bring water and sunscreen. Of course, the pacific side is only a few hours away for down-the-line wave sailing and surfing.