PUNTA DE MITA AND THE BANDERAS BAY REGATTA

March 19, 2018

I had been in Chacala when our friends, Nancy and Shoshana, arrived to visit Don the previous night.  They texted me in the morning and I walked down to Café Shule’l to meet them for breakfast.  We chatted and ate and then headed to Bucerias to get cash.

Bucerias Street Scene

We took the combi to the bank and then walked down the hill to Lazaro Cardenas Blvd.  It was Nancy and Shoshana’s first time in Bucerias and Don had never been south of the arroyo before.  We strolled down the street and Nancy and Shoshana browsed through the shops.  It was a gorgeous day and they were all impressed with how beautiful everything was.

Eventually, we came to the arroyo and walked down onto the beach.  We stopped for a drink in one of the beach bars and relaxed in the shade.  Then we walked all the way along the beach back to La Cruz.  The tide was low, so we had no trouble getting back, but there were a few spots where we had to climb over rocks.  It was late afternoon by the time we got back.  We separated at that point to rest and freshen up before dinner.

We met again at the Octopus’ Garden for an early dinner before attending a showing of Taulua, the Paper Boat, a documentary about how Wayland and Aruna (the owners of Octopus’ Garden) had built and sailed their catamaran, Taulua, from England to La Cruz.  Remarkably, they had documented the entire process of building the boat.  The boat was built completely by hand, starting with cutting down a tree for lumber.  The hull was made of layers of canvas, paper and tar.  The sail was a wing design with battens resembling a junk.  Built in the early 80s, the rig was well ahead of its time.  The boat performed well and got them from England to Mexico with many adventures along the way.  Unfortunately, it was very flammable.  When it was beached in La Cruz and being disassembled to use its materials to build the Octopus’ Garden, it caught fire and burned like a torch.

March 20, 2018

Punta de Mita Anchorage from the Blue Shrimp

Tuesday, we got a reasonably early start and sailed to Punta de Mita on Comet.  We had a nice breeze and spent a lovely day tacking up there.  Two humpback whales approached the boat and I had to change course to avoid one of them.  We arrived about 3:00 and dropped the hook fairly close in to shore on the point side of the anchorage.  It was a bit too breezy to play in the water, so we had a beer and relaxed until it was time to go to shore for dinner.

Nancy, Don, Shoshana, and Me at the Blue Shrimp

We landed the dinghy without too much trouble, although the spot we had chosen turned out to be a bit rocky and we had to watch our steps wading ashore.  We took a recommendation from some people we met on the beach and went to eat at the Blue Shrimp.  The restaurant was very high end.  Margaritas were about two-and-a-half times as much as at other places, although they were concocted with Don Julio tequila and served in hand blown glasses.  The food was equally pricey, but very delicious and beautifully presented.  We had a very leisurely and enjoyable meal, but the bill was an extravagant 3200 pesos (almost half a month’s rent for my house.)

Comet's Dinghy on Shore at Punta de Mita

Launching the dinghy through the surf was a bit of a challenge.  We had quite an audience from the restaurant.  I lost my flip flop when I jumped in, had to go back for it, and ended up sprawled across Shoshana, laughing so hard that I was helpless to right myself.  We were half way back to the boat before I regained control enough to sit upright.

March 21, 2018

Nancy on the SUP

We spent a somewhat rolly night at anchor, but still managed to get enough sleep.  I got up and decided to go for a swim.  I carefully took off my glasses, but when I dove into the water, I felt something hit my foot.  I thought it was odd, but figured it was a fish or a piece of seaweed or something.  When I got out of the water and went to get dressed, I found the chain I use to hold my glasses snagged on the back of my bathing suit.  Apparently, in the close quarters of Comet’s head, my glasses had become attached to my bathing suit.  When I dove into the water, they slipped out of their tether.  We couldn’t find them anywhere.  This was annoying because I had bought that pair only a few months before to replace another pair I had lost while white-water rafting.  Fortunately, I still had time to have another pair made before it was time to go home.

Shoshana Kayaking at Punta de Mita

Punta de Mita - Church on the Right

We spent the rest of the morning paddle boarding and kayaking.  Then we all went to shore and took a walk along the beach and through the town of Punta Mita.  Behind the fancy hotels, there was a homely little Mexican town where rooms could be had for as little as 400 pesos per night.  We had seen an odd golden dome rising from behind the town and someone had told us it was a church.  We wanted to see it up close, so we hiked up to the outskirts of town.  It was an evangelical church called the Light of the World.  I had seen other extravagant churches from this denomination, but this one took the cake.  It looked almost more like a temple to Mithras than a Christian church.  It was definitely more attractive from afar.

We didn’t have much wind for the trip home and, without my glasses, I couldn’t see to drive.  We motored straight back to La Cruz and didn’t see any wind until it came time to dock.  We ate chips and guacamole all the way back, so none of us really wanted dinner.  I went home to practice the guitar and crashed early.

March 22, 2018

Blair on the Foredeck of Scout

While I was in Punta Mita, I received an invitation to race the Banderas Bay Regatta aboard Scout, a Jeanneau 52.  Thursday was the first day of racing.  I met some of the other crew at the bus stop and we took a combi to Nuevo Vallarta where Scout was docked.  While I had seen Scout from afar, I had never been aboard before.  She was a beauty, spacious, with two wheels and teak decks.  The foredeck was vast.

We left the dock about noon and headed out towards the starting line off the beach in Nuevo Vallarta.  There were some thirty boats divided into seven classes.  The Banderas Bay Regatta is billed as a cruisers' regatta, but there were also classes for pure race boats and a separate class for multihulls.  We were in class E, a class for heavy cruisers who still intended to fly spinnakers.  Our crew consisted of the owner, Greg, his crew Tom and Sally (from Australia and England, respectively), my friend Blair, Mike and Ed (also from La Cruz), and myself.  Blair, Mike, and sometimes Ed were the foredeck crew.  Greg mostly drove.  Tom trimmed the main.  Sally and I manned the jib and/or spinnaker sheets with part time help from Ed.  I was the timekeeper and eventually the navigator, as we had some trouble remembering the course until I finally wrote it all down and took responsibility for getting us around the marks. 

Greg and Sally in the Cockpit of Scout

We had never sailed together as a team before and the first day saw some confusion.  The course involved lots of raising and dousing the spinnaker and we had some trouble coordinating that with furling and unfurling the jib, which took three people when it was full of wind.  Fortunately, there were electric winches.  They were slow but made it possible to trim the sail without immense strength.  I had never raced on a boat with roller furling before, so it had never occurred to me how much of a pain it would be to furl the headsail on a 52 foot boat when it was under load.  Once, we put the spinnaker in the water.  We had a lot of trouble with the sock sticking and failing to douse the spinnaker when we needed to do so.  We made three messy mark roundings and, though we recovered well, that cost us time.

There were four boats registered in our class, but one failed to receive needed parts in time and never made it to the racecourse.  Greg had been battling the other two boats, Hey Ya and Talion for years and was convinced that the ratings were rigged against him.  He was disappointed, but not surprised, when we came in third.  We were first to finish, but owed Talion almost a minute a mile and Hey Ya not much less.  They beat us handily.

Mike and Blair at El Coleguita

Despite losing, we were all in high spirits upon our return.  It had been a fun day of sailing and Greg had an easygoing style of skippering.  I had suggested we go to El Coleguita for dinner, so we put the boat away, cleaned up, and piled in a taxi for the short ride over there.  None of the crew was familiar with El Coleguita and they were all impressed with the good food, generous portions, giant margaritas, and low prices.  Some of the crew took advantage of the free shots of tequila provided with each meal.  There was live music and a party atmosphere.  We were the only gringos in the restaurant.  After dinner, Blair, Mike, and I walked a few blocks to the other side of the highway and caught a combi back to La Cruz.

March 23, 2018

Spinnaker with Sock Hung out to Dry

I met Blair, Mike, and Ed at the bus stop at 10 AM and we took a combi to the Sam’s Club in Nuevo Vallarta and then transferred to another one to get to Paradise Village where the boat was docked.  The combis headed for Paradise Village were crowded with hotel employees going to work and we didn’t all fit on one.  Mike got separated and his bus must have gone the long way because it took him forever to arrive.

The Foredeck Crew - Ed, Mike, and Blair

Once again, we left the dock about noon.  There was a bit more wind than the day before and everyone now knew his or her job.  We had mastered the spinnaker sock (pulling down on the middle of the foot prevented it from bunching up and jamming) and perfected the outside gybe.  We got off to a good start and stayed out in front the whole way.  With the additional wind, Scout’s weight became an advantage, as we could carry full sail without rounding up.  We sailed a clean race and beat Hey Ya handily.  Talion beat us by a few minutes, but not by nearly as much as the day before.  We started to suspect that maybe the ratings weren’t as rigged as Greg thought they were.

La Patrona in Her New Costume

I had plans to meet Don, Nancy, and Shoshana for dinner at La Cava, so I left shortly after we finished putting away the boat.  I took combis back to La Cruz and had just enough time to change clothes and get down to the restaurant in time for the La Patrona show.  The show had evolved quite a bit from the previous year.  While Marisa’s husband (guitar) and brother-in-law(?) son(?) (accordion and keyboard) used to just stand in the back and play, they were now much more animated and involved.  Her husband even sang a couple of songs and the younger man strolled through the audience with his accordion.  At the break, Marisa changed from her Mariachi style costume to one of the long, flowing dresses used in Mexican folk dances.  She didn’t have enough room to dance much in the restaurant, but we got the idea.  Nancy and Shoshana enjoyed the show and their dinners.

Soul Trip was playing at Ana Banana’s, so we ambled over there after dinner and enjoyed the second half of their show.  It was late by the time I got home and I had been working hard for two days.  I slept like a rock.

March 24, 2018

Scout at Paradise Village

We got away from the dock earlier on Saturday and sailed about near the starting line, estimating the wind direction and time to reach the line.  Once again, we got off to a good start, pulled away from the other boats, and stayed clear ahead. We were three minutes ahead at the first mark and six minutes ahead at the second.  The wind was strong and Hey Ya kept rounding up.  We sailed another clean race and, at the fourth mark, we were so far ahead that we couldn’t really tell which boat was rounding the mark when, but we were sure that we had beat Hey Ya and began to hope that we might beat Talion, too, although we owed them almost fifteen minutes.  We would have to wait for the race committee to post results to be sure.

The Scout Crew Minus Ed

What we could be sure of, however, was that we had beaten Hey Ya and secured second place for the regatta overall.  Greg was pleased and there was a happy atmosphere on Scout as we returned to Paradise Village.  We had a celebratory beer, put the boat away, and headed off to the showers.  Paradise Village had granted the racers access to their hospitality suite.  The guys raved about the amenities there, so I tagged along.  The women’s side is usually much emptier at sailing events, but I found the women’s showers dirty and devoid of shampoo, etc.  I would have been better off staying at the yacht club.  Still, I managed to get cleaned up and put on my new race shirt so that our crew (except Blair) could all match for our photos.

Sally, Blair, Mike, and Tom at the Beach Party

There was a party on the beach to award trophies.  The view was exceptional as the sun set.  There was a lavish buffet with an Italian theme and mountains of pastries for dessert.  We ate and greeted friends from other boats, cheering when they received awards.  Greg received a nice bamboo cutting board etched with the race information as a trophy.  Gypsy Rumba was playing, but the only member of the band I recognized was Cheko.  We danced a little, but all were eager to return to the boat to check the race results and see if we had beat Talion in the last race.

We returned to Scout and Greg went below to check his laptop for the results.  He was solemn when he came topside and announced that there had been a difference of only 2 minutes and 43 seconds in our times … in our favor!  We all went wild.  We broke out a bottle of Damiano and toasted our win.  Poor Greg had to admit that he no longer had a case for adjusting his rating.  He had finally beaten Talion.

March 25, 2018

Sunday was Nancy and Shoshana’s last day.  While I really didn’t feel like doing anything at all, I got up and met them at the market for breakfast.  Nancy and Shoshana had empanadas for breakfast and browsed through the craft stalls.  Shoshana debated whether or not to buy a Frida Kahlo collar for her dog, Sadie.  It was cooler than usual, so I didn’t get my usual cucumber juice.  Don got a sausage sandwich and we sat on the wall, listening to the band.  I chatted with some friends who were returning to Canada.  The end of March was always a sad time in La Cruz as many friends returned home at that time and left those of us who remained feeling bereft and deserted.  Bands broke up for the summer and the remaining players struggled to fill positions and soldier on for another month or so until no one was left to listen and the restaurants returned to summer hours or closed entirely.  La Cruz hibernated during the summer when even many permanent residents fled to cooler climes.

We left the main market and checked out the stalls in the plaza before returning to the boat to collect Nancy and Shoshana’s luggage.  Their taxi arrived about noon and we put them aboard and waved goodbye.  Don and I looked at each other and agreed that it was time to go home and take naps.  We had had a busy week.  I briefly considered stopping at the Green Tomate but didn’t think I could stay awake long enough to finish a drink.  I went home and spent a very quiet evening playing solitaire and texting with friends.  I didn’t even have enough energy to play the guitar.