New Mexico Cruising Guide

Cruising guide authors are a rare breed. Oh sure, it’s tough to feel too sorry for them — they get paid to go cruising, after all — but if you stop to think about all the work that goes into those books, not just the initial printing but the updating as well, you’ll realize that the authors are really paid a pittance for the valuable information they deliver. Check any cruising boat’s library and you’ll find guides to where they’ve been, where they’re going, and places they only dream of reaching.

The latest book to add to your library — whether it’s just for dreaming or real-life planning — is Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer’s Pacific Mexico: A Cruiser’s Guidebook, following up their vibrant and informative Sea of Cortez: A Cruiser’s Guidebook from a couple years ago.

Some other cruising guides that should be on every wanna-be cruiser’s shelf include:

• Gerry Cunningham’s Complete Guide to the Sea of Cortez, which includes all three guides to the Lower Gulf, Middle Gulf and San Carlos.
• The newly updated Mexico Boating Guide by Capt. Pat Rains, which covers both sides of Baja, the entire Sea of Cortez, and all of mainland Pacific Mexico from Mazatlan to the Guatemala border
•  Charlie and Margo Woods’ updated classic Charlie’s Charts to the Western Coast of Mexico Including Baja, now in its 12th edition.

If you’re in San Diego this Sunday, you can chat with Gerry’s granddaughter Heather — Gerry passed away in May — about their guides at the Baja Ha-Ha Kickoff Party in the West Marine parking lot.