MEXICO REPORT
By CAPT. PAT RAINS
This enclosed yacht basin of Marina Isla de Navidad is shielded by two outer lagoons and massive Punta Graham, so it has been a reliable hurricane hideout.
HURRICANE HIDEOUTS FOR SUMMER 2021 LAST YEAR’S HURRICANE SEASON didn’t stop for our global pandemic. No, those warm tropical waters didn’t sequester themselves down south near the Equator. Likewise, all those hungry black, blue and striped marlins; sailfish; dorado; yellowfin tuna – they migrated northward with the sun and warm sea temps.
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Now, because so many of last summer’s sportfishing events were cancelled due to the pandemic, pent-up demand is huge. Many of the popular tournaments were rescheduled and are back on – from Acapulco up to Ensenada. And more cruising boats are heading south too. So, this month I’ll start by detailing two
hurricane hideouts down in the warmer latitudes, before moving up the coast to the Sea of Cortez. BARRA DE NAVIDAD, JALISCO: Farthest south, Marina Isla de Navidad’s man-made yacht basin (210 slips) is a well enclosed interior bay at the foot of the picturesque Grand Bay resort. For 20 years boats inside this marina have been shielded from tropical-storm fury by (1.) Punta Graham’s massive 4,620’ bulk, (2.) the enclosed Laguna Navidad out front and (3.) a quarter-mile long reinforced sandspit upon which the town of Barra was built. Yes, torrential rains might pummel your decks, but dangerous storm runoff that scoured the lagoon anchorages has always bypassed the yacht basin. BANDERAS BAY, JALISCO: Two natural blockades (the bold Cabo Corrientes headland and the Sierra del Cuale (8,858’) above Banderas Bay’s south shores) have long
