S/V Mandolin 3/16/99 to 3/27/99

La Cruz to Nuevo Vallarta: 3/16/99

We later made our way to Paradise Village Resort in Nuevo Vallarta. This is where the Banderas Bay Regatta is held and seemed like a great place to have Dad come visit us. A day before the Regatta started, Ellen and I took the Amateur Radio test. We both passed our General written exams and Ellen got her 5 words per minute Morse Code making her a Technician Plus radio operator. We are hoping to pass the 13 WPM requirement in La Paz later this spring so we can both be General operators.

The regatta consists of three days of racing in Banderas Bay with its perfect sailing conditions. Snacks, entertainment and a wonderful dinner/awards ceremony are also included for $55 US per person. We had a terrific time sailing with Buzz trimming the main sail, friends Doug and Jennifer from Freya, Doug from Endless Summer, and Jean from Truckee on jib trim (not all of them on the same day), Todd as tactician, and Ellen helming all three races. We also had Carolina, a Mexican student, aboard from the local maritime technical high school. She had a lot of new experiences including steering Mandolin to the course one day. We got to practice our Spanish while she worked on her English.

Buzz went deep sea fishing the day after the regatta and came back with a delicious Yellowfin Tuna. We explored Puerto Vallarta for a day then spent some time in Yelapa a quaint town to the South. It was great to have Dad down for a visit.

Nuevo Vallarta to Puerto Vallarta: 3/27/99

With the regatta over we moved to the Entrada anchorage at Puerto Vallarta proper to spend some time with our friends: Freya, Ustupu, Endless Summer, Illusion, Tahirih, and Bodhisattva before they take off for the Marquesas or Hawaii. One of the sadder parts of cruising is watching your close friends sail over the horizon. Our hope is that we will share anchorages with them in the future.

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