Isla Ballena (Isla Espíritu Santo) - BCS, Mexico

Isla Ballena is one of the larger islands around Espiritu Santo, whilst not the prettiest anchorage spot, the island itself has good snorkeling, and can be a welcome respite from northerly weather, and to a lesser degree from westerlies which pop up in the evening.

We typically bug out of the nearby bays if the westerlies make them untenable, or if we want a quick lunch stop with some snorkeling nearby.

At night the island makes a good prominent radar contact allowing you to get up nice and snug with the cliff face for maximum northerly protection, and the navigation lights make it easy to spot when heading north or south in poor conditions.

The main anchorage is on the south east side in about 20-30ft, this gives good protection from the northerly swell, and some protection from westerly wind in a corumuel, better than most of the anchorages on the west of Isla Espíritu Santo, but still not great.

Charlies charts mentions anchoring on the north side of the island, we've explored this by dinghy and there are sandy patches close enough in which would provide good southerly protection, but it is rocky close to shore, and we haven't tried this.

I have seen smaller boats anchored in the bay on the west side, but again there are a number of rocks closer in, it would make for a good lunch stop for a bit of snorkelling in calm weather, but again I have never tried this.