charts for mexico pacific coast

[Dawn Brooks]

Ahoy, I will be cruising Mexicos pacific coast and want to download charts to my Samsung Galaxy 2. Any recommendations? The plan is from Banderas bay cruising south.

[jeremiason]

Dawn

We left Mexico last March after cruising there for 17 months. Just remember that unless you are are commercial traffic areas that ALL electronic charts will be off by as much as a half mile.

We overlayed our radar on the charts and were able to see when they were off, which mitigated the problem. Just doublke checking everything.

We really enjoyed our time in Mexico and miss it now that we are in Central America. You will find cheap food, fuel and wonderful cruising grounds.

I highly recommend cruising the Sea of Cortez, it is something you will never forget!

[neophytecruiser]

While not in digital format, another option is to buy Mexican charts for the Pacific Coast. They have recently (2010-11) been updated by the Mexican Navy and are accurate. Sourcing these may be a problem. I know you can order them through Mike, Shelly or Cindy at La Paz Yachts (http://www.lapazyachts), located in Marina de La Paz in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

I'd have to ditto the comment made by Tom Jeremiason (above). The Sea of Cortez provides some of the best cruising along the west coast of Mexico. While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug for one of the best current cruising guides to the Sea of Cortez, and that's the second edition of Sea of Cortez - A Cruiser's Guide by Shawn Breeding and Heather Brasmer. These two have also published a cruiser's guide to the west coast of Mexico, which is bound to be a winner to add to your boat's bookshelf.

While in Bahia Banderas, by all means spend some time exploring La Cruz de Huanacaxtle for good music and great food. There's also a fairly new marina there with an anchorage just outside the entrance, located on the northern reaches of the bay east of Punta Mita.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise!