November, 2009
We’re just tryin’ to keep the summer alive.
It’s official: My Winter World Headquarters have been open through the first month. My first weekend, I volunteered for a day of race committee work the Vallarta Yacht Club. It was fun and turned out to be a three day affair. That was good, as it kept me from working on boat projects for a while.
And, most of our time has been consumed with massive amounts of procrastination. Still, my “to do” list has been reduced considerably – enough that has allowed Younger Girl to slip out for her first “cruise” and “race”. This past Wednesday, we raced in Turkey Tune-up: Six miles from Paradise Village to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (Marina Riviera Nayarit). We (my new pickup crew Chuck, and a young family of five: Troy (dad), Brady (Mum), Samantha, Ashley, and Emily.) finished 2nd, but sailed very slowly in this 2-boat fleet. The following day, we all attended a Thanksgiving potluck at Philo’s. It was a good one with lots of cerveza and live rock and roll. It was great. We were joined there by SWYC friends, Tom and Mary Ellen. Traditional, if that’s your tradition.
Friday, Chuck and I sailed the 11 miles to an anchorage at Punta Mita. Chuck surfed a bit, and I sat on surfboard watching the waves brake. On Sunday, we sailed back “home” to Paradise. Nice!
In the next few days, we’ll do it all again, only this time it’ll be a charity regatta: The Banderas Bay Blast/Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Run. Should be fun. Then, back to Paradise for a rest. About Christmastime, I’ll have Sleepin’ Joe, his mate Ellie, and their two adult children, as well as my friend (Younger Girl vet) Jan onboard. But, I’ve got nothing booked for the rest of the season. Get a hold of me and start making plans; it’s too cold to stay home!
I was going to write much more, telling you what Mexico is like right now, then I realized that instead I could plagiarize: Here’s what Latitude 38’s publisher had to say just last week:
Mexico After the Ha-Ha
November 16, 2009 – The Sea of Cortez and the Mainland
Sometimes we're asked why we don't schedule the Baja Ha-Ha for mid-November or later. The answer is because the early November weather along coastal Mexico is spectacular!
Ever since we left Cabo for Banderas Bay on November 9, we've had 90% clear blue skies. The daytime temperatures have been warm, but not uncomfortable, and it's been 'no sheet' sleeping at night. As for the ocean temperature, the local dive shop says it's been 88 degrees. We don't doubt it, as it's like stepping into a bathtub. Consequently, people are swimming and surfing from first light until after sunset. But the most fantastic thing about early November is that the jungle is as wild as it will get all year. Take a 10-mile ride from Punta Mita up to Sayulita, and you'll see the thickest jungle you can imagine, with colorful flowers, huge butterflies and all kinds of wild bugs and insects. It's gorgeous.
The only downside so far has been the pervasive light winds and small surf. But hey, after the ultra-active Ha-Ha, muy tranquilo is just fine for awhile.
The most troubling thing about Mexico is the totally whacked out perception most of the mainstream media in the United States — and therefore most Americans — have about life down here. If you were to believe the media, every other person in Mexico is getting their head chopped off by a drug thug stepping out of a black Escalade, people are dropping like flies from swine flu, nobody has work because of fewer tourists, and the hurricanes wrecked all of Baja.
What a bunch of rubbish! Yes, there are drug turf wars in Mexico, most of them inland between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, at border towns, and in certain areas away from tourists. Why away from tourists? Because drug lords are said to try to launder much of their money in tourist hotels and other services, and therefore don't want those areas messed with. Worrying about getting killed in a drug turf war while cruising in Mexico is like worrying that some drug turf warriors in San Francisco's Bayview District will kill you outside the San Francisco YC in Belvedere. We don't know of any American who has been down here for more than a few months who doesn't feel as safe, if not safer than, as in the States.
According to the press, tens of millions of people have gotten swine flu in the United States, and almost every school in San Diego had cases when we left on the Ha-Ha. We're sure there must be some swine flu along coastal Mexico, but it hasn't been a topic of conversation or concern, and the only people we've seen coughing and sneezing are tourists. Coastal Mexico is not a swine flu hotspot. And by the way, when we flew to La Paz last June, every deplaning passenger was checked for fever by a nurse with high tech forehead thermometers. We never saw that in the States.
As for the Mexican economy, it's hurting like those of every other country. On the other hand, you just don't feel the gloom like you do in the States. One reason is that Mexicans live simple lives and therefore don't have mortgages and car loans. Plus, they are family-oriented and resilient, and used to being happy with little.
Nonetheless, we were surprised at the improvements we saw in Cabo. They finally redid the main road into town, dramatically improved the traffic patterns, and generally gave the place a good cleaning up. And the service people were super-friendly. Cabo may be living the 'new normal', but when tourism comes back, they will be ready to provide a really big bang for the buck in a great environment.
During a drive along the Vallarta Coast from P.V. to Sayulita, everything seemed lively except for the once booming real estate sector. There were not just new businesses opening up, but whole new areas. Folks with boats in Nuevo Vallarta, for example, can now shop at the spanking new Wal-Mart in Bucerias. In one disgusting development, somebody opened a Subway on the plaza in La Cruz. We normally wish that everyone's business will succeed, but this is an exception. And for what it's worth, some European just paid $55 million for a 17-mile stretch of coast at Cabo Corrientes, believing that in 20 years it will be the next Punta Mita.
As for the hurricanes in Baja, they clobbered the small town of Mulege and hit San Carlos/Guaymas on the mainland. But all things considered, the damage was relatively minor, as no big cities were hit. The only effect of the hurricanes on current cruising is that the desert is unusually green.
The bottom line is that both the Mexicans and cruisers seem pretty damn happy down here, and there's joie de vive that been absent in the States for too long. So for all of you feeling pity for people in Mexico, please save it for where it's needed more. And if somebody invites you down to join them on their boat; it should be a no-brainer.