May 15-18, 2013, Manzanillo to Barra de Navidad


We set out from Manzanillo about 1:00 in the morning and arrived at the entrance to Barra de Navidad lagoon just before sunrise.  As soon as it was light we headed for the entrance.  The charts show this as a very narrow entrance with, of all things, an underwater breakwater followed by a long channel leading to a wide, shallow lagoon.  Shallow is the operative word here.  After our experience getting stuck in San Blas, I am very nervous about shallow places.  I took up my traditional place by the depth gauge and called off the soundings to Alan as he steered us into the lagoon.  We navigated successfully into the entrance and up the channel past the hotels.  Gradually an enormous lagoon spread out before us, with a few boats anchored out in the middle.  How on earth were we supposed to know where to go?  There were no channel markers of any sort.  Following the charts as best he could, Alan set off across the lagoon.  The water was extremely shallow, just over one fathom, even though we had timed our entrance for high tide.  Little by little we crept along.  Then the depth dropped to under a fathom.  Any minute now we were going to be stuck.  Still we crept along.  Maybe we will make it.  It must be deeper right over there where all of the boats are anchored.  And then we hit bottom, very gently but firmly.  Alan tried reverse and we came free but we stuck again a few minutes later.  Where the heck is the channel?  Several more tries gave the same results.  At least we are in  a wide open lagoon with not much traffic, just a few pongas over by the shore.  I finally got on the radio and put out a call for help.  We were answered almost immediately by several boats and shortly a dingy showed up to help.  After some discussion about what to do, we gave him our hand held depth gauge.  He held it over the side of his dingy and found a channel for us.   With repeated backing and forthing of the engine, Alan managed to wiggle us loose and we followed our guide over to the anchorage.  We had only been off by a few feet but it made all the difference.  Even here the depth was barely 2 fathoms and this was high tide.  It was just time for the morning radio net and of course we were the main topic of conversation.  It is a very friendly group of 8-10 boats, most of whom seem to have been here for a long time. 

Barra de Navidad.  The Hotel Sands welcomes cruisers.  Tie up to the crumbling cement wall and climb ashore.  Ahead is a lush garden path leading to the bar.  A circular palm roofed structure with a long haired, tattooed bartender from Southern California stands ready to serve drinks and dispense helpful advice.  Seated on the stools around the bar are a cast of characters straight out of Hemingway.  Only noon and already so drunk that when we meet again the next day they don’t remember us.  Just beyond the bar is the pool, blue tile, rust stained and chipped.  Water warmed by the sun.  Geckos hang upside down from the ceiling of the restaurant.

The town itself is charming; small shops selling sandals, sunglasses and swimsuits, restaurants, hotels, markets.  A middle class Mexican resort town.  Very few Americans.  On our second night we join other cruisers for a performance at the Drunken Doughnut.  One of our fellow cruisers makes money as a fire eater.  His performance is surprisingly captivating.  The highlight is flaming poi balls, adapted from a Maori folk art.  The lights are dim and the balls of fire are on the end of long ropes which he spins in a mesmerizing series of twists and curls.  The fire leaves light shadows behind.  I am reminded of the Olympic ribbon gymnastics but more haunting.

First order of business this morning is to contact the sailmaker and make arrangements to get our sail to him.   We agreed to meet him at the dingy dock in town in about an hour and set about taking the main sail off and packing it into the dingy.  We also took an extra piece of tanbark fabric so the patch will match the sail.  After hitting ground twice in the dingy on the way into town (I said is was shallow here), we finally tied up at a crumbling cement wall and climbed ashore.  We load the sail into his rusty old toyota and after the 25 cent tour of the town arrive at his home/office on the outskirts.  For the next couple of hours we watch and help as he stitches and patches and talks about the old days.  He had worked for various sail making companies in San Francisco, coming to Mexico on vacation.  Like so many others, he just finally stopped going back.  He married a young Mexican woman and stayed here, doing occasional sail mending jobs and generally living the good life. 

One more  adventure before we go.  The next morning’s radio net included a plea for someone who spoke Spanish.  Since no one else answered, I offered to do what I could.  Shortly a dingy showed up beside us.  Stepping aboard, I was quickly delivered to one of the long term boats in the bay.  On board was a young mexican man huddled in a blanket,  He had apparently ben found swimming in the water in the middle of the night.  Hauled aboard, he refused to talk to anyone.  The going theory was that he was running, either from drug dealers or immigration.  The owner of the boat was a single woman and while she felt sorry for him, she also wanted him off of her boat.  My Spanish was, in fact, better that any one else’s but I still could not get anything out of him except that he was “practicando.”  Eventually I gave up.   He assured me that it was safe for him to go ashore and one of the other sailors fired up his dingy and took him off to the shore.  I heard later that they went straight to the bar and after several beers he said that his brother had been shot by drug dealers and he was hiding.  Not sure I believe it.  There was some kind of scam going on and a lot of beer involved.

They say this is a safe harbor in hurricane season.  It would be easy to stay here and spend our days in the bar but Alan is eager to head south so we are heading out on the evening tide.  The next stop is Zihuatenago, about a 4 day sail south.