Christmas in Banderas Bay

Regan visits at Christmas

John, Ger, Elizabeth and David

We were delighted to have Regan, our daughter, and friends, David and Elizabeth join us over the Christmas Holiday period. Regan, who loves being on the boat but has a tendency towards sea sickness was excited but a little apprehensive about our proposed 3-day mini-cruise. The plan was to sail to Punta Mita for an overnight on the anchor, followed by a day of snorkeling at the Marietas and a trip back to the anchorage at La Cruz before returning to the dock at Paradise Village Marina.
We left Neuvo Vallarta on December 26th and headed out under very light winds towards Punta Mita.
It wasn't long before the slow rolly motion had Regan feeling a little 'off.' I provided her with my first step remedy which is to suck a ginger flavored gravol. That had some effect but we could see that she was just hanging in there. Elizabeth, who now swears by a scopolamine patch after a particularly awful trip she had with us on the Juan de Fuca two summers ago, was quick to provide Regan with same.
This of course would take another hour to kick in. However, distraction is a great ally in the fight against sea sickness and several whales came to our rescue with some spectacular breaches which had us all entranced. Regan went from semi-prone in the cockpit to active camera woman on the foredeck as the whales swam close to the boat. It truly was a gift to have more than half a dozen of these wonderful creatures share our voyage over several miles enroute to Punta Mita.

That night at anchor, we had a caroling and music session on board Sea Reach. We were joined by Breeda and Bruce from Sojourn and Brenda and Bill from Tahnoo. Another gift under a starlit sky.
We created quite a soul stirring anthem with our combination of instruments - flute, guitar, drums and bag-pipes!  Nine of us in the cockpit with a coleman lamp shedding just enough light to provide that camping-out feeling but not enough to read either words or music accurately. What fun we had. It will be a Christmas I will not forget.

Next day we headed off to the Marietas as planned. We were able to sail there but by the time we arrived the anchorage was quite crowded. Nevertheless, we managed to snug ourselves into a spot between one of the charter boats and another sailing vessel. We decided to have someone stay on board for anchor watch given the close quarters. John volunteered and the rest of us went in the dinghy to the snorkeling area. Regan and I ventured a little too far to the north and found ourselves in a very strong current which would have caused us serious problems if we didn't have fins on. I was quite tired by the time we got back to the dinghy. Even Regan who is a very strong swimmer was concerned (probably for  me).

The wind came up as we left the anchorage and we had a terrific sail back to La Cruz. We decided to go into the Marina so that all could have showers. We went out to dinner that evening at 'Frascati's, an excellent Italian restaurant. Gotta love La Cruz. Definitely one of our favourite spots in Mexico. Everything is a walk from the marina along cobbled streets. The port Captains Office, the Chandlery, a good grocery store and several small restaurants with wifi available at most of them.  John even got a haircut -- for 50 pesos!

Bill, John, Ger and Brenda at the Vallarta Yacht Club