Vallarta Yacht Club Exceeds Job-Saving Fundraiser Goals
When Vallarta Yacht Club in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, was forced to close its doors in March due to COVID-19, the members embarked upon a mission to help their employees. Their subsequent fundraising campaign, S.O.S. (Save Our Staff), exceeded expectations and returned more than enough money to keep paying their nine permanent staff through the remainder of 2020.
Previous Staff Commodore Dick Locke said, “We calculated we needed to raise $45,000 USD to meet that goal. Our members met that goal within two weeks of the fundraising program and kept on donating.”
Aside from the satisfaction of knowing their efforts were for a good cause, members who donated were named on a plaque that was to be hung on the wall. “It’s a small club with about 160 members, and a survey told us that staff are what everyone likes most,” Locke said.
In light of health regulations and the club’s scattered membership, fundraising was done strictly by email. “We sent out five or six emails and passed $45,000 in the first two weeks. We were going to follow up the emails with personal calls, but we didn’t need to.” And with the realization that the pandemic-driven difficulties would likely last well into 2021, it was decided to keep the campaign rolling. “We wound up with $71,000.”
Support has also come from the club’s landlord, Paradise Village Hotel, which has forgiven four months of rent — an additional $14,000 worth of assistance, which Dick said has been “a big help!”
Just this week the Vallarta Yacht Club board voted to reopen the club as of August 1. Outside dining and takeout are permitted under local law.
As well as a seven-day-a-week restaurant, the club operates a sailing school for local children and offers scholarships to those who can’t afford the fees. One of the club’s best-known features is its small-boat regattas. They host an annual WesMex International Small Boat Regatta — considered one of the most important regattas in the Mexican Circuit — and in 2021 the club will host the Optimist North American Championships. The club also hosts cruising regattas such as the Banderas Bay Regatta, which is on the Baja Ha-Ha calendar.
You can learn more about Vallarta Yacht Club here.
Find Your Back Issues of Latitude 38 to Win a Latitude 38 Hat
Just over a week ago we posted this Latitude 38 archive photo on our Facebook page stating, “We often hear from readers who say, ‘I’ve got a copy of every issue of Latitude 38 stored in my house.'” So we’re offering a test for those who say they have a complete set of the magazines.
This shot is one of our favorite covers. We’ll select a winner of a Latitude 38 hat from those who can tell us which issue had this photo on the cover — and since you’re pulling out the old magazine, include the event, boat, photographer and sailors too.
“Amazing,” commented Sutter Schumaker when Rob Tryon got most of the answer correct without the help of a back issue in hand. But before we reveal his ‘best guess’ posted on Facebook, we’ll give you a chance to post the complete answer in the comments below.
And we agree with Ronnie Simpson’s comment, “Every time a Cal 40 surfs past Diamond Head Light an angel gets its wings.”
Brickyard Cove Marina Has Slips to Rent
Our location provides boaters with ideal access to the Bay.
To Lease or Own: A Question on Marina Slips
With the abundance of boats in the Bay Area, we wanted to understand more about the merits of leasing or renting a slip versus owning a slip. Just last year our Latitude-friend Eric Sanford sold his Morgan Heritage, along with the marina slip he’d owned for years. And while the concept of slip ownership is not entirely new, it is something that many of us had not previously considered.
Overnight and long-term berthing both come with a price. And as with most things that have a dollar value, that price invariably increases in accordance with supply and demand, and with general inflation.
Some Bay Area marinas offer boat owners an option to own their marina slip or dock space, just as they can own a condominium. Only in boating terms, boaters have the option to own a ‘dockominium’ — permanent and perpetual ownership of a dock space or slip.
As more and more people take to the water it’s possible that existing marina vacancies will decrease. Add to that a lack of new marina developments and the battle to maintain existing slips, and the prospects of finding a slip for one’s boat could well be diminishing. Plus of course there’s the almost-guaranteed factor of rising rents.
Could ownership be an alternative to slip rental?
Exploring Northern California’s Inland Delta Cruising Grounds
What are you doing with your ‘pod’ this summer? The Bay is often visited by pods of whales, and now, due to health concerns, it’s suggested we all travel with just our family pod. We’re hearing from more sailors who are expanding their local sailing explorations of the Bay Area, which includes our warm, sunny, close-to-home Delta cruising grounds.
With this in mind, we invited Don Durant of Club Nautique to share his insights on cruising the Delta in our current July issue: “Let’s begin by eliminating the misconception that the Delta is too shallow for sailboats. We’ve been cruising in the Delta for decades, and Eureka!, our Jeanneau 49DS, draws more than 7 feet. So, with that myth set aside, let’s plan a cruise! I had fond but fuzzy memories of Delta cruises when I was a kid in the ’50s aboard my parents’ Stephens cabin cruiser, so when I had a family of my own and our own sailboat, my wife Judy and I planned our first Delta cruise. My childhood experience was distant and I didn’t know whom to ask for advice, but I was an experienced sailor and former submarine navigator so I figured, “How hard can it be?” It turned out not to be hard at all, but, as with any cruise, planning improves performance. What follows is a guide for an introductory cruise based on my experience and mistakes (yes, I’ve made plenty)…”
It’s not far away and there’s plenty for your pod to explore. You can do it on your own, with friends, and as part of the 12th annual Delta Doo Dah. Read the full story in the July World of Chartering.