CHANGES
COURTESY WORLDWIND
With reports this month from Worldwind on the graciousness of a Mexican port captain; from Aita Pe'ape'a on one of the real budget cruises across the South Pacific; from Cadence on a gunfire ridden Christmas haulout in the Philippines; from Azure II on starting a second cruise, this time with two kids and two hulls; from Java on ferocious Papagayo winds at San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; and Cruise Notes.
Worldwind — Westsail 32 Jim and Julia Focha The Generosity of Mexicans (Stockton Sailing Club) Many times in Latitude we've read about the friendliness and generosity of the Mexican people. But it has to experienced to really be appreciated. In two years of cruising Mexico, we didn't have a single negative experience. Nonetheless, the assistance and hospitality afforded us by Gregorio, the Port Captain at Man O’ War Cove, Mag Bay, during Gregorio, Mag Bay our Baja Bash was Port Captain, embod- far beyond anything ies the spirit of the we could have imagpeople of Mexico. ined. We’d left Cabo in light winds, but by the time we reached the south end of Mag Bay, it was blowing a steady 30 knots on the nose. We refueled in Man O' War Cove, then continued on to Bahia Santa Maria to wait for better weather. While at beautiful BSM, I crunched the numbers, and discovered that because of the adverse weather we'd used much more fuel than I'd expected. And there was no way that we’d have enough money to buy the fuel we’d need once we got to Turtle Bay. Yes, Julia had told me to get more money while we were in La Paz. But yes, I’m a tightwad, so I insisted that we had enough.
COURTESY WORLDWIND
Julia and Jim Focha, recipients of the kindness of strangers they'll never forget. Jim will also never forget to carry enough cash.
We checked on the Ham and SSB nets, but nobody knew if there was a bank or ATM machine in Turtle Bay. [Editor’s note: There is neither.] So we backtracked to Man O’ War Cove in order to go to the ATM in San Carlos. But once there, we were informed that somebody had "liberated” the machine and that it hadn’t been replaced. The next morning we decided we should backtrack to Cabo and regroup. It was enough to make us cry, as we dreaded the thought of having to pound 150 miles from Cabo to Mag Bay a second time. I called Gregorio, the port captain, to see if we had to check in again. When he learned of our plight, he said it didn’t make sense for us to backtrack to Cabo. He told us that he’d come out to our boat and discuss the situation with us. He indeed came right out, and told us that he would take us to San Carlos! Once there, we could take a bus 40 miles inland to Constitución, a large enough city to have several banks. We told him that would be fantastic, but what if our bank locked our account — as they’d done three times during our trip — and we ended up with no money at all? Gregorio said no problema, he would take us all the way to Constitución! When we asked how much it would cost, he said, nada, meaning 'nothing' — or at least 'not very much'. Normally, we would have insisted on a firm price, but how could we not trust Gregorio? When we got to San Carlos, a city of about 6,000, Gregorio’s wife was waiting on the beach with their truck and trailer. They always haul their panga out in case there is a change in weather. We then went to their house, which is a very nice two-story home overlooking the bay. We sat in the patio and talked with his youngest son until Gregorio and his wife were ready to go. Fortunately, the road to Constitución had finally been paved, so it was a pleasant trip. Gregorio and his wife dropped us off at the bank, where we withdrew the daily amount allowed. It wasn't as much as we would have preferred, but it was enough. The couple returned to pick us up an hour later, and drove us to a BBQ
chicken place such as they have all over Mexico. Gregorio and his wife even wanted to pay for our lunch! We had to insist that we pick up the tab. Besides, it was only $12 for four people. Once back in San Carlos, Gregorio informed us he had to go to his office until about 7 p.m. — probably because he’d spent all day taking us to Constitucion and back. This gave us a chance to explore the town until about 4:30 p.m., at which time we returned to their house. We knocked on the door to let Gregorio’s wife know that we would be waiting in the patio for him. But she insisted that we come inside, and we spent the afternoon watching Rachel Ray and the National Geographic channel in Spanish. Gregorio returned home at about 7 p.m., at which point his wife fixed us some machaca burritos. Once back on the boat, I asked Gregorio how much we owed him. “Nada," he said. I may be a tightwad, but I’m not a cheapskate. I forced him to accept $50 U.S. The next day Gregorio was back at
