Pre-Departure Puddle Jump Fiesta

This week, the Vallarta YC is abuzz with excitement about the 22nd annual Banderas Bay Regatta, which it hosts as a not-too-serious competition for cruising sailors.

Last Friday cruisers were also the focus of the club’s activities. But in that case, the emphasis was on sailing across 3,000 miles of open ocean, rather than racing around buoys in beautiful Banderas Bay. 

With the YC (located at Nuevo Vallarta’s Paradise Village Resort) being our longtime generous cosponsor, Latitude 38 hosted its annual Pacific Puddle Jump Send-Off Party for several dozen boats that are currently staged to head west from Banderas Bay in the coming weeks. As always, we gave a multi-part presentation on making the crossing and French Polynesian legalities and customs, as well as tips on cruising the archipelagos. The YC provided a bountiful assortment of hors d’oeuvres, and Latitude pitched in for free drinks for all, plus official Pacific Puddle Jump burgees. 

For us, the only tough part of the gig is doing dozens of back-to-back interviews with the various crews. But that’s also the most fascinating part of the day, as we meet all sorts of people from all walks of life who all share similar dreams of bluewater voyaging. 

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In the coming months you can meet all the Banderas Bay Jumpers in the pages of Latitude 38. We’ll also be introducing you to many international sailors who are ‘jumping’ this year from Panama and the Galapagos — a great diversity of adventurers, all of whom had fascinating tales to share.