Buchanan of Total Boat Work Resurfaces

"Bob Buchanan is alive and well, and has been in Hilo, Hawaii for a couple of weeks following an uneventful singlehanded passage from Mazatlan to the Big Island aboard his Acapulco 42 Bolias Dream," report John and Linda Gratton of the Redwood City-based Hans Christian 33 Nakia. "He’s planning on returning home to Canada before too long."

Latitude readers will remember that Buchanan arrived in Mazatlan in 2000, and began working on boats. For the last bunch of years he had overseen the development of Total Boat Works into one of the most popular and respected engine and boat repair yards in Mexico. That all ended in mid-January, when Buchanan apparently fled to Hawaii with his boat. Depending on whom you believe, Buchanan was either one of the most honest and responsible boat service providers in Mexico — who was unjustly being threatened by the Mexican court system if not also physically — or he was a crook who screwed over former employees. 

On another note, the much-traveled Grattons had some interesting comments about cruising in Mexico versus cruising in Hawaii. "We’ve seen a lot of comments in Latitude about people thinking of sailing to Hawaii instead of going to Mexico, because of the AGACE thing. Frankly, we can’t imagine dealing with AGACE in Mexico could be any worse that dealing with DOBOR/DLNR (Department of Boating Ocean Recreation/Department of Land and Natural Resources) here in Hawaii." Read the details in the Letters section of the April Latitude 38 magazine. (As always, downloadable free.)