A Whale of a Blast in Banderas Bay
The finish of the Baja Ha-Ha means the fun in Mexico is just beginning. December in Banderas Bay is when the tropical summer heat cools down to idyllic, comfortable winter temperatures and the sailing season heats up! One of the first events on the calendar is the Banderas Bay Blast Pirates for Pupils Charity Regatta put on by the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club and the Vallarta Yacht Club. This year’s event was a whale of a time.
Nineteen boats sailed across three classes during the November 11-13 event — nine in the cruising division, four in the multihull division and six in the racing division. The fleet was accompanied by numerous whales, which were frequently sighted surfacing mid-race adding new, random obstacles to the course. Charity Palmatier, racing aboard the Beneteau 390 Hey Ya, captured the shots.
The Baja Ha-Ha Grand Poobah reported on his Facebook page that $3,500 was raised between the Poobah-dog sales during the Ha-Ha, T-shirt sales, and Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club memberships during the Banderas Bay Blast.
One hundred percent of the proceeds (with the dogs and T-shirts contributed by Doña and the Poobah) goes to the children’s food program in Punta Mita. The Poobah gave a big shout-out to everyone who contributed money, as well as the many volunteers who contributed their time, notably Kat and Mike of PV Sails, who do so much to make the Blast happen.
A chunk of the money came from the $1 Lifetime Memberships to the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club. In addition to the $1 fee, new members had to endure a swat on the butt from hard-hitting Commodore Rebecca of Trouble. Some years you have to encourage people to kneel on the table in front of everyone and accept their hazing. Not this year, as prospective members lined up from the get-go! The kindergarten kids’ program on the morning of the last race was, as always, a real hit. The kids are adorable, and the Poobah reminded everyone they aren’t starting out with the advantages that most people had in their lives. The fundraiser helps give them all a boost.
The Poobah recapped the last race saying, “The third race of the Blast, the Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Run from Mita to Paradise Marina, started out with a terrific breeze. I think Profligate notched a top speed of 13.5 knots, and we thought we’d make quick work of the course. But about halfway across the bay the wind fizzled to nothing. Finally a mild southerly filled in. Who won? Everyone who participated. For real winners, check on the Vallarta YC page. About 20 boats participated in the Blast, a little under the normal number. But this is a terrific event for the participants and kids, so if you’re in the area next year, don’t miss it. We wish you’d been there with us sailing on Profligate.”
The Vallarta Yacht Club posted the results of the competition showing the Cruising Division was won by Joe Heinzmann’s S&S Nautor Swan 55 Swan Fun, the Multihull Division by the Catana 431 Maluhia Nui and the Racing Division won by the Serendipity 43 Wings. The Doug Peterson-designed Serendipity 43 is a West Coast classic that continues to perform, though many have retired from racing and are now full-time cruisers.
For cruisers planning to sail south in 2025, the Banderas Bay Blast will be on the calendar again for mid-December.
A couple of parting shots:
Good Jibes #170: Terry Castleman on the Two-Dollar Catamaran
In this episode we chat with L.A. Times reporter Terry Castleman about the ongoing adventure of his two-dollar catamaran. Terry and friends purchased the 1986 Frank Pelin Snowbird 32 Lickety Split for $1.99 on eBay and sailed it from Stockton to L.A.
Tune in as Terry chats with host Ryan Foland on how to find your boat on any budget, the buried treasure they found in the boat, the scariest part of their journey, the top three moments, and how they avoided disaster.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:
- Is there irony in the boat’s name?
- What are the top three things that came to mind facing 15-foot waves?
- How to buy a percentage of a boat
- Is Terry a first-generation boater?
- Have you seen all these $2 boats on eBay?
- At least five acronyms for B.O.A.T.
- How many people were in the boat partnership?
Learn more about Terry at Castleman.Bsky.Social, about Lickety Split on TikTok @Two_Dollar_Catamaran and Instagram, and YouTube @TwoDollarCatamaran, and about Ryan at Ryan.Online
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!
Navigate to Novamar for Your US and Mexico Yacht Insurance Needs
It’s What’s Under the Water That Can Be the Big Worry
Ahoy, fellow mariner! Imagine a time when there were no traffic jams on the bridges that surround the Bay. In fact there were no bridges at all. Folks drove around or took yachts to islands such as Alameda and Belvedere, train cars were loaded onto ferries for transport across the Bay, and that is where our story begins.
If you have ever have visited, or plan to visit, Point Potrero Reach, the entrance to all yachting activities in Point Richmond, you will pass in front of Ferry Point. This was once the terminus for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. From its construction in 1900 to its last load in 1975, this served as the hub for commercial ferry traffic around the Bay. In 1991 it was incorporated into Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline. (Why can’t they just call it a park?)
Recently a dredging company was retained to demolish what was left in the water of this once-vibrant waterfront asset. The contract requires the demolition company to remove all the pilings down to the mudline. Nearly all of them snap off at this level when pressure is applied to remove them. In this case a few were left behind; the USCG has been notified. Refer to the attached charts for a visual model.
It is not clear when these barnacle-encrusted bottom punchers will be cleared, and they are joined by another navigational hazard in Keller Cove. Keller Cove is often the site for dinghy regattas hosted by RYC, and most of the salty bilge rats in these small rocket ships know where this wreck is. If ye be new in town, be sure to find out.
Finally, a pair of missing daymarks round out this cheery holiday story. Red #8 daymark in Potrero Reach was recently removed by an errant mariner, and the red daymark just off Spinnaker Restaurant that marks the entrance to Sausalito was carried away by a sneaky green powerboat.
Thanks go to retired tugboat cabin and Richmond Harbor Committee chair Mark Vanderburg and fellow sailing enthusiast Robin Van Vleit for this hazardous news. Finally, next time you’re sitting in traffic wondering where all those ferries are that once so proudly served the Bay, consider a charter to the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea just north of Seattle, where a few of them are still plowing up the salt chuck.
Submitted by Andy Schwenk, SAMS-accredited yacht surveyor and 100 GT USCG Master with 55 1/2 trips to Hawaii and back under his keel.
There’s Always Something Interesting in the Classy Classifieds
Sometimes the right Christmas present arrives serendipitously when you sit down to relax with a copy of Latitude 38. You’ll find all kinds of things in the Classy Classifieds in the back of the magazine, and more online, where items under $1,000 are posted for free. There are even a few boats under that price.
One gift for yourself might be a crew position on a new racing boat on the Bay. The Xp 44 eXpresso has just arrived on the Bay and says they are seeking highly experienced Corinthian racers for an ocean and Bay racing program. The 48-footer includes a carbon rig, extended sprit, deep rudder, B&G instruments w/H5000, 11 racing sails, and twin helms, and has a busy season planned. Contact Jim Lussier.
It’s under $1,000 but won’t fit under your tree — at least not indoors.This present could change your whole year (and life) ahead: a great small family boat with which to learn and enjoy the basics of sailing. It’s the same model Larry Ellison sailed to start his sailing life. In the ad everything sounds great. You could be sailing it by New Year’s. To put it under the tree this year check it out here.
This might be hard to wrap but it could potentially fit under a Christmas tree. The 22lb Bruce anchor comes shackled to 100 feet of 1/4-inch chain, spliced to 200 feet of 1/2-inch three-strand nylon line. It looks pretty good to us. You can drop them a line here.
The storied Wyle 28 Animal Farm is in the classifieds now and looking for a new owner. It even comes with an electric motor for auxiliary power. You can read more about the boat in the Letters section of our October 2010 issue here. Contact for more information.
Thought you missed the ’24–’25 Mexico cruising season? It’s not too late. This Spencer 51 is currently cruising Baja and is for sale. The ad says Feel Free is presently cruising Baja and has been maintained and cruised by the owners for 30 years, including a 13-year circumnavigation. Kudos to these owners for providing multiple photos (included with Classy ads) in their posting. You can have a good look at the boat by clicking here, and then go cruise Mexico this season.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re into online and home shopping, the Latitude 38 classifieds may be just the place to do it. Right now there are about 100 sailboats for sale on the West Coast, and numerous other items available. Have a look at it all here.
Hawaii to Alaska — Selling Everything and Going Sailing
It’s the classic story of selling everything we owned to begin our adventure. My wife and I purchased SV ‘Iwa, a ’99 Beneteau 47, through Atomic Tuna in spring 2021 in Sausalito. We moved aboard and spent a month prepping the boat in Emery Cove Marina. We pushed off the dock to begin our trip south to set up for a trade-wind passage to our home in Hawaii. Once back home, we would continue to work and fit our bare-bones boat to a liveaboard full-time cruising bluewater boat.
The trip down the coast was a classic coastal hop including lots of firsts for both my wife, Heid, and me. She had minimal sailing experience, learning to sail on Lasers and Toppers just months earlier. I had a bit more, having sailed and owned smaller sailboats for the past 20 years and made a couple of deliveries as crew from Hawaii to L.A. Our first passage took 17 days with just the two of us from San Diego to Hilo, Hawaii. We spent the following two years sailing and exploring the Hawaiian Islands from Hilo to Hanalei and back. All the while we were learning our boat and constantly improving her as we got prepared to finally leave our home and set off over the horizon most of us dream about.
We had our sights set on summer 2023 to point the bow north. The comfortable cruising season in Alaska is short: June to August/September is when you make most of your miles before the wind starts to bite a little deeper and the gloves get a little thicker. We intended to follow the classic route of making our way due north to the Gulf of Alaska and the Inside Passage, where we would winter over in Juneau. Early the next season, we’d get a jump on the Inside Passage, making our way south to Mexico.
The passage north is more complicated than any other that I have done before. It involves multiple weather patterns and, of course, the cold. Even in the summer, the Gulf of Alaska can get chilly, and coming from the tropical warm waters of Hawaii to the cold gray seas of Alaska is a drastic change.
Westwind Yacht Management — Washing, Waxing and Varnishing
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