Having Fun Doing Good

Last Friday was the final day of the three-day Banderas Bay Blast, which attracted 32 cruising boats, many of them catamarans, for ‘nothing serious’ racing. As is the case with almost all ‘nothing serious’ cruising events in Mexico, it was a fundraiser. In this instance it was sponsored by the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club, the Vallarta YC, Latitude 38, P.V. Sailing, and Marina Paradise and Nayarit Riviera Marina, the latter two of which provided free berthing to participants.

Thanks to the efforts of the likes of Tammy Davis of Paso Robles — who had to step in at the last minute for Lisa Zittel to become Commodore of the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club — a total of just under $2,500 was raised for education and environmental efforts on Banderas Bay. Part of Ms. Davis’s responsibilities was to whack new club members on the ass with a carbon fiber initiation paddle to help loosen their wallets before they received their membership cards. She apparently did an excellent job, because several new members tried to join multiple times. Who says grandmothers like Tammy can’t swing with authority?

The day after the Blast was the Vallarta YC’s Chili Cookoff, their big fundraiser of the year. It attracted a very large crowd for an extremely worthy cause — the Children of the City Dump. While extreme poverty isn’t obvious in the tourist areas of Mexico, some kids indeed have to battle just to survive by living in and off what they can find in the dumps. The amount of money raised has yet to be announced, but it was substantial. A big thanks to all the chili vendors, chili testers, volunteers, musicians and the Paradise Marina.

There was also an unofficial third fundraiser as a result of a cruiser tragedy during the Blast. The fundraiser was for Jim and Kent Milski, the much-loved owners of the Colorado and Northern California based Schionning 49 Sea Level. Shortly after winning the first Blast race and having a great time socializing with fellow sailors while eating street tacos in La Cruz, Jim and Kent received the worst news any parent can get. Alex, their daughter and a vet of the ’09 Ha-Ha, had died in a hiking accident in Costa Rica. Steve May of the Gualala-based Farrier 41 Endless Summer, who had been sailing with the Milskis, immediately took over care of their boat and began to raise funds to help cover sudden expenses. More than $2,000 was raised among the Blast fleet. If you’re a friend of the Milskis and would like to contribute, contact Doña de Mallorca.