We intend to spend time on isla SAN MARCOS,  in front of SANTA ROSALIA. This island seems very attractive for spearfishing despite the gypse mine in the south; unfortunatly the water is nor clear enough. This make the spot very dangerous for us as the charts are still wrong and the guides are not precise enough; usually, we love these conditions, but, here we are not in Polynesia and the water is tricky: Nothing is more dangerous than believing its clear enough, when in fact its hardly 2m visibility and even at midday you see the danger too late. ALCYONE, returning from a second anchorage in the north, at 5 m only from her paws almost loose a rudder on this pinacle quite far from the shore : 27 14' 973N - 112 06'291W;  it was a questions of a few centimeters...this is the second alert after Puerto Refugio, we have no right to play like that with the cat ! Choice is simple: moving the cat to anchor at sight of the dinghy (Helena is alone) or leaving to far with the dinghy...both solutions are not suitable and we ll leave shortly... This island anyway gave us an unic isolation feeling :  we could ear all the night the shuffle of the whales, following very closed to the shore the west coast of the SAN MARCOS island.

SAN MARCOS North: ALCYONE should never anchor here with these condtions...

...The trap: you believe the water is clear...

...in fact, its only 2m visibiity...

...just enough for a dinghy tour, passing under the arch...

...to get a private beach behind...fishers leave the place clean here !

...The NE of the island, is also very attractive...

...wih a colony of "blue foot" boobies...

...the same boobies than in GALAPAGOS...

...always under placid supervision...

This what happen in the SW corner of island: Gypse mining

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..ALCYONE gliding away at 3k from SAN MARCOS...

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..no danger here, regular sand bottom,  good waypoints ...

..30mn later sea breeze catch up for a fast sailing to punta CHIVATO