Mexico

[Churchill]

As a newcomer trying to gather info on Mexico and trying to decipher between good advice from bulls..t htis would be a tremendous forum. For example, I was told by a Mazatlan boat salesman that A) No one carries anything but liability insurance in Mexico and B) San Carlos would be the worst place to buy and store a boat because of its climate and C) don't worry about hurricanes in Mazatlan because the boats are so well protected. I agree that Mexico is a chosen destination but half truths and bad press are making folks give it a second thought. I am VERY thankful that the members of this cruising forum have been so helpful.

[Jmolan]

Good info on the insurance. Do you have a website suggestion for where I can find more info? $60 definitely sounds better than $300.



This was for the temporary import papers. It is something you have to optain that is good for 10 years. It can be a bit of a run around, and it is good you only have to do it once.

No sorry I do not know of a web site....... I would guess there is no such thing. I have heard if boats coming in California getting it done for free in Ensenada.
Someone can correct me if I am wrong (as always) But I understand it is a clearance you get from the Aduana or customs. You have to list all the equipment on your boat, Engine, Dinghy, solar panels etc. This way they will say you came into there country with all this equipment, and they would question you if you left without it. It is to keep people from selling off there boat part by part, and not giving the govt. a cut.
I am sure every port town is differn't as to where the office is located, how many agents, if they want to see the boat or not (mine did not). I would like to hear from someone who came into Ensenada and how it went for them.

When you are looking around the web for info. Remember some of it can be dated. We have enjoyed two big regulations (and hassles) dropping off in the pst two years. No more auto registration. If you are driving no farther than San Carlos you do not need to have anything for your car except proof of Mexican Insurance. You can obtain it online ahead of your trip.
And for us sailors this is a great one. I will paste it here:

Domestic Clearing Is Over in Mexico! Reports Tere Grossman

April 19 - Mexico City, Mexico

DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!
DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!
DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!

"Incredible but true," writes Tere Grossman, "but today the Mexican government published a notice in the official newspaper that says, as of today, mariners will only be required to check in with a port captain when they are coming from or going to an international port. This means that 'domestic clearance' - clearing in and out every time you enter a new port captain district inside Mexico - is history! They [boatowners] will now only have to let a marina know when they arrive, and the marina only has to have a record of who comes and goes."

"I have been working on this for almost 30 years, and am very excited!" says Grossman, who once told President Vicente Fox that the clearing process was like having to go through the 'stations of the cross'. Tere Grossman is the President of the Mexican Marina Owners Association, and her family owns Marina San Carlos and other marine interests.

We're breaking out the champagne here at the Latitude 38 office, for this is something we've worked on for decades with Tere and others, bending the ear of every Mexican official and journalist we could find. When a Mexico City newspaper recently interviewed us about how to make boat tourism in Mexico more attractive, we told them: 1. Get rid of domestic clearance, 2. Get rid of domestic clearance, 3. Get rid of domestic clearance.

Assuming Tere has interpreted the notice correctly, we can't emphasize how huge this is for cruisers, and how much more attractive it makes Mexico. For it means that when coming from California, you only need to check in with the port captain and immigration at your first port of entry. After that, you only need to check out when you are leaving the country. Presumably, however, you'd have to keep your tourist card current.

In a typical Mexico cruise of the past, you'd have to check in and out of Cabo, La Paz, Puerto Escondido, San Carlos, Mazatlan, San Blas, La Cruz, Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, Barra de Navidad, and on and on. And things were never the same, for in some places you had to pay a ship's agent exorbitant fees - $35 one day and $40 the next day - to check in and out of a single port. That was on top of the real fees, which were about $20 extra for both in and out. In addition, the varying hours of port captains, banks, immigration, and aduana - all of whom had to be visited - meant it could often take more than a day, and could not be done on weekends.

The net affect, assuming Tere has read the notice correctly, is that a cruise in Mexico will cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars less each season, but more importantly, countless hours won't be wasted standing around filling out forms that were just tossed in a corner anyway. Lastly, it means that cruisers can move about whenever they want, not just when port captain and immigration office hours allowed it.

In our opinion, the clearing process has always been the one and only major knock on cruising Mexico, which is a great place to cruise.

Great God Almighty, we cruisers have been released! Viva Mexico!

I just enjoyed a 6 week cruise on the Baja side and back and never had to present my papers or check in with anyone. Very nice....:-)

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Jmolan

<snip>

Domestic Clearing Is Over in Mexico! Reports Tere Grossman

April 19 - Mexico City, Mexico

DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!
DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!
DOMESTIC CLEARING IS OVER IN MEXICO!

"Incredible but true," writes Tere Grossman, "but today the Mexican government published a notice in the official newspaper that says, as of today, mariners will only be required to check in with a port captain when they are coming from or going to an international port. This means that 'domestic clearance' - clearing in and out every time you enter a new port captain district inside Mexico - is history! They [boatowners] will now only have to let a marina know when they arrive, and the marina only has to have a record of who comes and goes." <snip>

True, but it's worth nothing that the date of the above was April 19, 2005.

See: http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicL...r19/Apr19.html

TaoJones

[Jmolan]

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Insurance Online

Has a lot of info.

You can check this site for insurance options

Lewis and Lewis - The Best Mexican Auto Insurance

I used Lewis and Lewis for 4 years on my cars and house, but I am slowly switching over to Mapfre in a local office. A world wide insurer and a great agent locally. We are looking to switch to Mexica medical insurance. About $650 a year for my wife and me.
Quick story. Doctors do not get sued here. So they do not have such high costs, pure and simple. I take my daughter to the Doctor (Bailor university trained) He looks in her throat and sez " she has strep" I ask him if he needs to run a test....and he smiles. "I know what it is, I can see it, and before the test comes back I will already have her this medication. Do you know why they test in the US? Liabilty......so....do you wnat to spen d the money I can have her tested?"......:-)
We get 30 minutes with the Doc every time. That is how the scedual us. If he is done in 5 minutes, we spend the rest of the time talking, he drags out manual and shows my parts that are hurting, or he asks about the family. Oh by the way, the 30 minutes cost US $40
I feel much more "cared for" here than I ever did in the US. And this is not a unique opinion here. Just one of those things that lies under the media radar.

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

True, but it's worth nothing that the date of the above was April 19, 2005.

See: April 19, 2005

TaoJones

That is why I warned people to be aware of info on the web. So many sites are not updated and will lead into thinking this stuff still exsists, when it has fallen off.
In fact I just read a traler sailing site that had all the old regulations for an auto still posted.......one of those things

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by Churchill

As a newcomer trying to gather info on Mexico and trying to decipher between good advice from bulls..t htis would be a tremendous forum. For example, I was told by a Mazatlan boat salesman that A) No one carries anything but liability insurance in Mexico and B) San Carlos would be the worst place to buy and store a boat because of its climate and C) don't worry about hurricanes in Mazatlan because the boats are so well protected. I agree that Mexico is a chosen destination but half truths and bad press are making folks give it a second thought. I am VERY thankful that the members of this cruising forum have been so helpful.

Well just for fun I will answer the lousy weather claim with shots from this December. You can see sweatshirts for sailing or after the sun goes down. The bow shot of my wife we a ghosting along at 4 or 5 kts. I am biased because after 30 years on the Oregon coast, living in a place that never rains and the sun shines 350 days a year is good weather to me! Many cruiser go south to the mainland in Dec. Jan. for good reasons. Storing a boat is is Ideal I think. The desert climate works very well for my plywood epoxy boat. Anything but a wood plank I would think.
Hurricanes....everyone worries about hurricanes. San Carlos is officially north of the hurricane belt. For insurance reasons many people come here as their insurancewill cover them during hurricane season, if they get north of the line.
I know people who live in Mazatlan and absolutely love it. Same for folks we know who are based of Puerto Vayarta and La Paz. Much of it kinda depends on where you land in your ventures.
One thing I have learned. Down here everyone is from somewhere else. If I had chose to move to dinkwater Idaho for a quieter life, I can bet there are 5 generations of folks living there. They are there and never thought if they want to be there.....I would never crack the local code and be considered a local there. I have seen it. You are always from the outside. In Mexico (and other places like it) You know everyone is from somewhere else, and they all want to be here. so it is very easy to make friends. Just ask them what they did in there other life!...:-)

[canimlake_rudy]

I'm looking forward to a Mexican forum. I just got a boat in Mazatlan and look forward to sail the sea of cortez for a wile. I sure have problems to find digital maps for my Mac book. I found some for my garmin gps, but was shocked how empty those maps are.
I'm looking forward to any good advice!
I will be in Mazatlan from the 22nd of May on for a week. If somebody is down there please contact me!

[Cheechako]

As I remember it , the Charts are all from the 1800's and are off.... not the GPS!

[Jmolan]

The charts are right on, on Lattitude. They are off on Logitude. Makes sense if they were using older fix methods when they made the chart. Between one and two mles off east or west. I found it to be no big deal, as the area has good visibility 99.9% of the time. With the new guidbooks and their GPS waypoints you can plug those in and go in at night if you choose. We usually do not find ourselves coming in at night so we did not do this. Those same charts are not detailed enough to show you the small reef and rocks anyhow. You need a guidbook.
I talked to one cruiser who said they motored 80% of the time last year. They figured out they were setting their goals too far away to make a decent day of sailing possible. They always had to motor to make it too their desired anchorage. Now they go much shorter distances, and are able to make it under sail. Pretty simple but made a world of differnce to their enjoyment of the sailboat I think.

[dana-tenacity]

We cruised all over the west coast and Baja, did way less motoring than most (hardly any in fact).

1) have a boat that sails well
2) don't overload it with unnecessary stuff
3) no sailboat should have a fixed three bladed prop
4) travel when there is wind, stay put when there is not (our best sailing was at night, there are significant land breezes in most of Baja)
5) learn to enjoy sailing at 2-3 kn.

[Liam Wald]

I would love to see a Mexico Forum. That would be very helpful as I am planning a year in the Sea of Cortez. Thanks, Liam.

[Catalysis]

This thread has been very valuable to us already.
Our Cat "Indigo" will be based out of La Paz from mid June 2009 onwards and ae looking for good chart, cruisiing guides - we have "Charlie's charts" and based on the thread advice we will buy Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer Crusiing guidebook also.
Does anyone have experience with picking up Sirius Weather / Radio service in the La Paz area?
Paul and Maureen.

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

This thread has been very valuable to us already.
Our Cat "Indigo" will be based out of La Paz from mid June 2009 onwards and ae looking for good chart, cruisiing guides - we have "Charlie's charts" and based on the thread advice we will buy Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer Crusiing guidebook also.
Does anyone have experience with picking up Sirius Weather / Radio service in the La Paz area?
Paul and Maureen.

Good move basing out of La Paz, there is a good group of folks on moorings/anchor, as well as in the marina's. VHF Channel 22 is the working frequency there and they have a morning NET at 0800.

I have a friend who uses Sirius with good luck down there. I use XM in San Carlos no problem.

For weather I got a short wave radio. Dual Conversion Shortwave radio with side Band, SSB Radio, Kaito KA1103

You can get it cheaper, I just googled this pic for this site. This radio worked really well after I figured out how to use it. There are a number of SSB nets that you can pick up that has excellent weather service run by sailors for sailors. The radio did not work near a city due to interference, but you do not need it when you get weather on the VHF in town. I want to get an antennae extension run up the backstay next time around.
You can also get a free program to pick up weather fax's. I have not done it yet, but I will when I go offshore.
For the Sea of Cortez, just listen for the big picture, like warnings and general flow etc. then just deal with the local stuff as it comes.

[Jmolan]

You just made me think of something.......Sirus radio has a weather data service I think I saw at a boat show. I wonder if they have any data for Mexico? I never thought of using it, but it just dawned on me that you get a signal there, maybe they have the weather coverage too! I will investigate....thanks!

[rcmpegasus]

I have Sirius on my boat in Puerto Vallarta and it works great. You do have to point the antenna toward the horizon about 45 deg and in a rough northerly direction. It worked fine all the way south down Baja.

I have a portable unit, boom box type with the remote antenna.