Sailor Spash 2012

12/12/12

 

Yesterday we decided to participate in the annual Sailor Splash.  This is an event to promote the Vallarta Yacht Club and the marinas in the area.  It was sponsored by Latitude 38 magazine, the club, marinas, and the state tourism board.  Best of all it was free.  Since we did not want to hassle with getting our boat away from the dock, we hopped a ride to Puerto Vallarta on Latitude 38's big 62 foot catamaran with about a dozen other cruisers.

 

Yes, the boat is big!

 

We had a nice motor across the bay to a free brunch at the Vallarta Yacht Club.  We also took the opportunity to tour the resort there.  We plan to spend at least a couple of weeks in Paradise Village eventually, so this was a good chance to check out the facilities. 

 

 

Our lunch stop.

 

 

The croc is a water slide!

 

If you stay in the marina, you have full use of the resort facilities, including the crocodile slide.  This is a great place to go on vacation if you want to pretend you are not really in Mexico.  There is an air conditioned mall on the property as well as a private beach with several hundred private cabanas for your use. 

 

 

Yes, there are two Bengal Tigers on the property.  Why? It's Mexico!

 

We stopped at the grocery store at the mall because we are always on the lookout for hard to find items.  Yippee, they had real maple syrup. (we later found out that the resort was built by Canadians) So we picked up a few things and a couple of beers for the sail back to our marina on the other side of Banderas Bay.  It as supposed to be a race back to the marina, but we were on the fastest boat.  We left a half an hour after everyone else did, and still passed them in the middle of the bay!  We passed them while Cathy was steering the boat.

 

 

Yes, you can steer a 62 foot cat with a beer in one hand!

 

Richard Spindler the editor of the magazine, and owner of the boat, gave Cathy some lessons on sailing a giant asymmetric spinnaker. 

 

 

We arrived back at the docks just in time for the party that was taking place at the Sky Bar next to our boat.  Sponsored by the same folks, and part of the same event, the party featured live music, free beer, free tequila (oh no!), and food from two local restaurants.  We also received free tee shirts and hats from the event.  Not bad for a day of riding around on someone elses boat!