Sailing Along the Mexican Coast

[kenny chaos]

Originally Posted by mtbandrdrider

Thanks, Dan. Appreciate the support. Where could I find information on currents, winds, and weather for the Pacific and Gulf side of Mexico?

Your friend, the accomplished sailor, will know.
Do you guys talk at all?

[pablothesailor]

You may find some training videos on you tube that will help you!

[mtbandrdrider]

My friend and I talk quite a bit. He is just not so interested in the exact details right now. To a greater degree than him, I have to do some training before we go. Thanks for the suggestions guys, though taking a plane is a ridiculous suggestion. No adventure on a commercial jet.

[boatman61]

What you want is one of these... perfect for your trip and so tough one has done a circumnavigation... whats more you can build one yourselves in a coupla months...
The dodger is a must have coz once they get going they fly and the bow waves spray hits you in the face....
Kali could hit 13kts in 15kts of wind.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3bzpuVstv4

[foamcore]

Hobie made a cat called the Sport Cruiser. It's 21 feet long, fast, and beachable. I bet you could find one for less than $5,000.

[boatman61]

Hobies are toys...
get a Wharram Tiki 21...
loadsa good dry storage space for your gear...
floats in 10 inches of water and easy to beach...
the hulls can even be slept in..
try that on a hobie cat...
could you honestly compare this toy for a long journey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIqAhV_ZEHA

[foamcore]

This guy is talking about beaching at night and sleeping on the beach.

[mtbandrdrider]

But, having the option to sleep on the boat is a good thing. As long as it doesn't cost a fortune.

[foamcore]

You didn't talk about a budget

[boatman61]

you can beach these tiki's....
I've beached mine solo... mind I was younger and tougher then...
also I think he'll find a few hundred miles with no viable beaches along the way... what then... keep sailing... no deck space or hull to sleep in.. they wouldn't last a week..
how dya anchor a hobie when theres barely enough room for their food, tent, sleeping bags and other gear.... where's the anchor and rode kept.
Theres a guy here with the plans for $200...
http://wharrambuilders.ning.com/foru...-tiki-21-plans

[foamcore]

You never slept on a trampoline before? For $200. these guys get to become boatbuilders? They want to discard the boat in some way when they get there and continue on. I think a hobie would be easier to sell, or if neads be give away when that time comes.

[mtbandrdrider]

Check out the original post, mate. A budget is mentioned. One issue is what to do with the boat. We may have a friend who would pick it up. In a deal that he picks up the boat, and he can take a holiday sailing on it.

[nhschneider]

This post reminds me of young people in the 60's who want to go live off the land. The number who were successful at it is statistically impossible to measure. Not that it couldn't be done but it took a significant amount of experience in order not to fail. Sailing anything to a foreign country requires paying attention to thousands of details and the skipper who chooses to ignore those details endangers his own life and those of his crew.

I tend to be one of the most encouraging supporters of cruising that I know but I would be reluctant recommend a passage of the type that's being described here except by either a knowledgeable skipper or a fool.

The first time I cruised in Mexico was in 1972. Since then, I have cruised here extensively and have yet to meet anyone who has any first- or second-hand knowledge of piracy.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by mtbandrdrider

My good friend and I wish to sail along the Mexican coast on a trip that will eventually take us to Patagonia. My friend is a good sailor, but I am new to it. To sail close to shore, and camping on the beach, how large of a boat is needed? How much experience would be required? Which side should we sail down, The Gulf or Pacific? We do not have a boat now and wish to spend as little money as possible on one. Also, I have heard that there are pirates, are they a threat?

Okay. Let me explain why you are getting such a negative reaction. Based on the questions you are asking, it's apparent that you haven't yet got enough experience/wisdom even to ask the right questions. You want to bicycle to Patagonia, but you don't know which coast of Mexico you should sail. Answer: Go to the library, and ask where they keep the globe.

Now, look at the west coast of Mexico. If you're beach camping, from the border you'll have to go 900 miles south to Los Cabos, the tip of Baja, and then head 800 miles north back up to San Pedro. At that point, after having traveled closed to 2,000 miles, you'll be about 200 miles from where you started. You will have been able to have hiked there more quickly. Now, look at what's going to happen when you travel the east coast. Same stuff. The Yucatan Peninsula is going to treat you just as badly as the Baja peninsula.

Reality time: If you're worried about pirates in Mexico, it's only because you've never heard of Nicaragua. Or malaria. Or Central America in general. Pirates in Mexico, if they actually exist, are the least of your worries. You may want to spend a bit of time on Wikipedia reading about what you might encounter on bicycles between Mexico and Patagonia.

So now you want to transport two bicycles on a boat that you can beach camp, so that once you reach the point where it no longer matters which coast you took, a place otherwise known as "Panama," you can start to pedal. Whew. Cruisers on this forum with 40' sailboats costing hundreds of thousands of dollars are constantly wondering how to store bikes on board. And you want to do this on a beach cat, upon which you're also storing enough food and water to survive either coast of Mexico. Hmmmmm. That's not going to happen.

Bottom line? You need to get a huge dose of reality. If you want a significant challenge that you might actually survive, imagine trying to beach-camp in a beach catamaran down the entire east coast of the Baja peninsula. This would be a major accomplishment, and might actually teach you something about mounting a major expedition, assuming you survive the expedition. Once you've accomplished something on this scale, get back here on CF and ask a few intelligent questions about Patagonia.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Bash

Okay. Let me explain why you are getting such a negative reaction. Based on the questions you are asking, it's apparent that you haven't yet got enough experience/wisdom even to ask the right questions. You want to bicycle to Patagonia, but you don't know which coast of Mexico you should sail. Answer: Go to the library, and ask where they keep the globe.

Now, look at the west coast of Mexico. If you're beach camping, from the border you'll have to go 900 miles south to Los Cabos, the tip of Baja, and then head 800 miles north back up to San Pedro. At that point, after having traveled closed to 2,000 miles, you'll be about 200 miles from where you started. You will have been able to have hiked there more quickly. Now, look at what's going to happen when you travel the east coast. Same stuff. The Yucatan Peninsula is going to treat you just as badly as the Baja peninsula.

Reality time: If you're worried about pirates in Mexico, it's only because you've never heard of Nicaragua. Or malaria. Or Central America in general. Pirates in Mexico, if they actually exist, are the least of your worries. You may want to spend a bit of time on Wikipedia reading about what you might encounter on bicycles between Mexico and Patagonia.

So now you want to transport two bicycles on a boat that you can beach camp, so that once you reach the point where it no longer matters which coast you took, a place otherwise known as "Panama," you can start to pedal. Whew. Cruisers on this forum with 40' sailboats costing hundreds of thousands of dollars are constantly wondering how to store bikes on board. And you want to do this on a beach cat, upon which you're also storing enough food and water to survive either coast of Mexico. Hmmmmm. That's not going to happen.

Bottom line? You need to get a huge dose of reality. If you want a significant challenge that you might actually survive, imagine trying to beach-camp in a beach catamaran down the entire east coast of the Baja peninsula. This would be a major accomplishment, and might actually teach you something about mounting a major expedition, assuming you survive the expedition. Once you've accomplished something on this scale, get back here on CF and ask a few intelligent questions about Patagonia.

Somebody had to do it! Thanks Bash, I hope that these chaps pay attention and do so before they become a sad statistic.

So, listen up OP... this guy is trying to save you from some big errors in your inexperienced judgement.

Cheers,

Jim