CHANGES

With preparations nearly complete — "Are boat projects ever truly done?" — the couple left the Bay on October 13 for the run down the coast to San Diego. "And magical it was — whales, dolphins, sea otters, dreamy overnight sails. . . ."

"Participating in the 28th Ha-Ha was a great way to break into the cruising life. Surrounded by experienced cruisers, the fleet offers support of all kinds. And we're especially grateful for the lifelong friends we've met." Since leaving Cabo in early November, Salt Whistle has been buddy boating with dear friends Tim and Gretchen on the San Diego-based Catalina 42 Felicita up for the 25th edition of the Pacific Puddle Jump rally, which takes off from pretty much any port on the west coast of the Americas, and ends, for most boats, three to four weeks later in French Polynesia. There is no set start date — participants take off anytime between January and July, with most departing from Panama or Banderas Bay. As of mid-March, just three boats had departed and only two had made landfall: Sam Whitmore's Los Angeles-based Transpac 49 Havili, which departed from Ventura on February 4 (luckily just before the state got pounded by a series of storms); and Marc and Andy Johnson's Rhode Island-based St. Francis 50 Side Two, which left Ecuador on January 15. The majority of the fleet should be underway, or close to it, by the time this issue hits the streets. (www. pacificpuddlejump.com) bered in California for record rain, flooding and snowfall. But thanks to hundreds of cruisers on dozens of cruising boats, down Mexico way, February is long anticipated and celebrated in two communities for the sun, fun — and fundraising — that helps local kids and schools.

"We write this from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, a charming town on Banderas Bay offering a lively music scene. Our journey here has taken us from Cabo to La Paz, where we briefly explored Islas Partida and Espiritu Santo. Sailing across the Sea of Cortez for 26 hours on a sporty beam reach landed us in Mazatlán for 10 days. Then south to Chacala, a quaint beach village offering great jungle hikes and a picture-postcard anchorage."

From La Cruz, Salt Whistle will make its way south to Barra de Navidad before turning north to fully explore the Sea of Cortez as the waters warm and northers fade in late spring.

"Joining the Ha-Ha put a stake in the ground for us to make the journey sooner than we might have, a decision we haven't once questioned. The Mexican people are welcoming and helpful; the food fresh, delicious, and plentiful; provisioning easy and reasonably priced. Joining the Ha-Ha and cruising these waters has been the ideal way to make our retirement dream a reality."

Both the Zihuatanejo SailFest, now in its 21st year, and Cruise-In Week at Barra de Navidad, celebrating its sixth anniversary, feature a week or more of fun activities for cruisers and local communities, with proceeds going to help local schools. Here's a quick look at how it went at each event this year.

— Zihuatanejo SailFest is the abuelo ("grandaddy") of the two events, dating back to 2002 when Latitude 38 founder Richard Spindler urged a few boats to get together to raise some money "for a woman who taught Indian kids Spanish under a tree in town." The event has since taken on a life of its own. Run since 2005 by the nonprofit Por Los Ninos, this year's SailFest ran from February 12-26 and was once again a rousing success, a ton of fun, and a banner year of fundraising for local schools and schoolchildren.

While several events take place ashore (including a chili cook-off, auctions, concerts and a 5K walk/run), the "sail" part of the program includes the Parade of Sail, the Rally Round the Rock, and ongoing rides throughout the festival where cruising boats take local folks out for day cruises, sunset cruises and even special music cruises with performing musicians aboard. This year, 29 boats took part in the Parade and Rally, giving rides to more than 750 mostly local folks. Special mention was given to the 50-ft cat Ziva, Glen Howell's Atlantic 55 Rocketeer and Kirk and Char Wagner's Sausalito-based Beneteau 393 Freedom Kirkland, for sailing with the most guests and bringing in the most money for that portion of the event.

When all was said and done, the 2023 event raised 3.7 million pesos — around $207,000.

According to Por Los Ninos, the millions of pesos raised over the lifetime of the event have been put to good use. "Since 2005, we have built 14 new schools; added hundreds of classrooms, bathrooms and kitchens to existing schools; bought textbooks and other supplies; and founded a nutrition program that feeds more than 100 kids from low-income families." They also note that about 100 students from the early years are proudly attending