Marina Riviera Nayarit

The coastline at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (just northwest of Puerto Vallarta) has changed dramatically in the past three years, with extensive landfill and development of the Marina Riviera Nayarit. The Marina hosts a restaurant, yacht club, an open-air amphitheater, a malecon (boardwalk), docks for large and small craft, and services for mariners of all stripes.

The beach for pescaderos (fishermen) and their pangas has been replaced by three docks and a large open-air Mercado del Mar, where fresh fish, shrimp, and lobsters can be purchased.






Not everyone is in accord that the changes, more of which will come in the future, are in the best interest of the pueblo and its residents. But it is clearly a piece of the "New Mexico," reflecting the influence of tourists and tourism as an important industry.

Banderas Bay Regatta

"We've got it covered, Capt'n. Nobody, but nobody, is going to get by us on our watch."

Banderas Bay Regatta

Check out the results at the Banderas Bay Regatta site.  There are also lots of photos of each day's racing.

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Banderas Bay Regatta

Good winds, good seas, racing on the Bay of Banderas is always exciting.







The Rose of Sharon dominated the races, until the misfortune of a split mainsail just before the last race!

Banderas Bay Regatta

The 2009 Banderas Bay Regatta would not have been the same without Patsy and her Talion crew. She had twelve hearty souls aboard, including Marv and Malcolm Dunn, all from Portland and all ready to defend her title from 2008.

Sayulita

University of Oregon's Ducks have a presence throughout the world...even in such far-flung places as Sayulita, Mexico, a small, tourist-filled coastal town on Mexico's Pacific coast in the state of Nayarit. The surf is up, the restaurants are open, the weather is balmy, and life is good. Ardy, Charlie and Cindy enjoy a refresco at a local palapa.

Banderas Bay Whale Watching

We saw several whales about three miles off, frolicking on the horizon. Our course under sail took us closer and closer, and they continued their antics. When we were about 30 yards away, four of them rolled, waved their pectoral flippers, spouted, raised their heads and flipped their tails. We were enthralled. It was amazing to be so close.





Then they took notice of us, altered course and swam directly toward us. I was driving, the sails were full, and we could see them coming straight at the boat...scary! When they were about 10 yards away, they turned a bit to the left (I had already changed our direction a tad) and swam alongside the boat, raised their heads to give us the "once over" and then dove deeply, slapping their tails as they went under.

Diane is a MOST appreciative "whale watcher"!!

Whale Watching

Humpback whales abound in the Bay of Banderas. Every trip we have taken in the past two weeks, we've seen a dozen of them. And fellow sailors report similar sightings. We were with our friends, Bill and Diane Savage from Portland, OR when we saw these two. You can see the slight hump along the back, merging into the dorsal fin.

Odyssey's Helicopter

Although Odyssey is not on the list of luxury or super yachts (International Superyacht Society.com), defined as a "very expensive privately owned yacht which is professionally crewed" (Wikipedia) we do have our own personal helicopter. Which we will likely share with grandson, Miles, at the first opportunity.