SAN FRANCISCO, Nayarit, Mexico - Just a few kilometers north of the famous surfing (and now very touristy and congested) city of Sayulita is pueblo San Pancho, a little Mexican town that gives visitors a glimpse of what Sayulita was probably like before it was discovered in the last, oh, I guess 10 years or so.
San Pancho sunbather, almost alone on the beach
San Pancho is being discovered slowly, but instead of fighting traffic to drive in, struggling to get parking, or fending off Rastafarians trying to sell beads, Admiral Fox and I parked 100 yards from the water and ate a late lunch at a small seafood restaurant.
Very civilized.
The Sunday crowd at the beach and in town was split evenly between Mexican families (enjoying the one day per week when they don't have to work) and gringos out to enjoy the day.
San Pancho isn't a good place to surf, but a dozen or so local kids enjoyed the waves on boogie boards, anyway...
The afternoon visit to San Pancho was a prelude to what will likely be a fast-paced week of fun, with a lot of sailboat racing in the middle.
Captain Clarence is expected to bring the good ship Lotus into Paradise Village Marina Monday to do final race preparations for our three races.
Tuesday the Banderas Bay Regatta starts with - of course - a late afternoon party. Then Wednesday, the captains all meet to go over the course and argue why their boats should have bigger handicaps. Thursday the racing starts, but is preceded by a parade in which all the participating boats put on some kind of show as they motor out past a reviewing standing.
Last year, Admiral Fox played her violin while Laura Warner and I danced some kind of weird jig on the foredeck. No word yet on what we will do this year, but I am tuning my ukulele just in case...
NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarity, Mexico - Since coming back from Arroyo Seco late last week, Adm. Fox and I have been on a Mexican roller coaster (now that is a scary thought...) of fun and not-always-fun.
Actually, 90 percent has been fun. Make that 95 percent.
Saturday night, son Dustin hosted a party and the guests (and Adm. Fox) did the cooking. Fresh tuna, chorizo, a rice dish that I am lobbying for again, and, of course, industrial strength margaritas were all served. It was a great fiesta all around though the small kitchen area was put to the test with all the platters of food and drink.
Mike and Karen Schamel
Among the folks attending were Mike and Karen Schamel, our amigos from Hector, New York, here in Mexico for a few weeks to escape the near-Artic weather that has been choking the northeastern U.S.
About the same time as the party was going on, an email was making its way through the chronosynclasticinfindibulum (apologies to Kurt Vonnegut) with the frosty news that a pipe had burst in a house we have an interest in New York.
Coincidence? Perhaps. We're still waiting to see how much damage was done, but it seems, well, sort of distant. And it's an issue for insurance companies.
The day after the tuna soiree, we piled aboard a sailboat named Cupcake for a daysail in Banderas Bay. The boat was formerly known as Tomatillo and last year was a force to be reckoned with in the Banderas Bay Regatta. The new owner, Captain David, said he is unsure if he will be racing or not. He took the batch of us out for the afternoon and got back in time for us to watch some French acrobats put on a show in Paradise Village Marina.
Admiral Fox, Laura Warner and I have already signed up for a return engagement in the Banderas Bay Regatta aboard Lotus for this year's race. No acrobatics there, we hope.
Here is a brief video of our Sunday sailing adventures with some footage of the acrobats at the end.
BANDERAS BAY, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - After a five-year layoff from taking the helm of any large racing sailboat, I grabbed the chance to skipper a 43-foot Taswell sloop in this year's Banderas Bay Regatta.
The chance came about thanks to Clarence and Sharon Harvey, owners of the La Cruz, Mexico-based Taswell 43 Lotus, a fine crusing ship and - after three days a racing - a boat that turned out to be a credible racing yacht, too.
Lotus (61) in background, dueling with Justice (67) in race two
Captain Clarence hadn't done much racing and asked me if I would be willing to captain his vessel in the three-race series, an annual yachting affair that drew more than 60 boats this year. We were put in a racing class with 11 other vessels, ending up 8th over in that division.
We would have preferred No. 1, of course, but after three days of hard competition, we were happy with that - for this year. Captain Clarence is already building his case for a better Performance Handicap Racing Fleet rating (PHRF) because it seemed obvious we were rated incorrectly for this year's regatta. One boat that weighed less - and with a longer waterline - was rated as slower than Lotus. It took first place in the division. Que sorpresa!
Captain Michael directs crew in race three - 'Steady, steady - Ready About!'
The amazing part of the races was how quickly the crew came together to work as a team.
The first two days of racing, Admiral Fox and Laura Warner crewed while Captain Clarence watched to make sure the sails were trimmed correctly and jumped in when necessary to work the winches. My job was to steer a true course and direct the action. We had three good starts (a major part of doing well in a sailing race) and only one near collision when the captain of another boat in the regatta failed to give the right-of-way and then seemed to lose control of his vessel.
We made it without a scratch (or bump) though I believe the captain of the other vessel had to change his shorts right after the incident. I hope he had spare BVDs aboard.
And through that scary episode - and the entire race - Sharon videotaped, catching every great move (OK, and the occasional mistake) on film.
Sharon at her perch on the aft, filming everything
Ten minutes earlier, we almost collided with this boat
On the third day of racing, Julien,our surfer-dude amigo from Arroyo Seco, came aboard along with Clarence and Sharon's friend Jim (also a surfer who lives north Puerto Vallarta), both of whom were put to work grinding winches. There must be something about surfing that gives you upper body strength because both could pull the sails in very fast - almost as fast as Laura. Almost.
The third day was our best racing performance, and included a wild start when a boat from an earlier division lost wind and bobbed helplessly at the start line, making it very difficult for any of the boats starting the race to get through the line safely.
We did make it past without crunching any fiberglass - thanks to some fancy sail handling by the crew and a lucky break with a puff of wind.
I almost needed to change my shorts on that one.
Here are some photos from the three days.
Admiral Fox and Laura on the bow before the first race
Some whales watch the race - up close and personal
Captain Clarence and Laura
Laura enjoys a post-race beverage
Lotus - ready for next year's Banderas Bay Regatta
And here is a short video with a few scenes from the race:
Michael J. Fitzgerald has been a journalist for five decades, working as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines and web publications. In 2014 he published his first novel, "The Fracking War," followed in 2015 with "Fracking Justice." In 2018, he published "The Devil's Pipeline." He has written a weekly column, "Write On" for the daily 'Finger Lakes Times' newspaper in Geneva, NY for 14 years, He contributes stories to the Contra Costa Pulse newspaper in Richmond, CA. He also writes essays on Substack under the title Write On and On.
Tuesday the Banderas Bay Regatta starts with - of course - a late afternoon party. Then Wednesday, the captains all meet to go over the course and argue why their boats should have bigger handicaps. Thursday the racing starts, but is preceded by a parade in which all the participating boats put on some kind of show as they motor out past a reviewing standing.
