The Cabo Shake Down

[Rearsteer]

A group of four yachts pulled into Cabo San Lucas Bay way down from the harbor and droped the hook. About an hour later a boat pulls up and tells us we will have to pay $11.00 US to anchor here and gives us a paper that looks like a home made xerox copy. It ask us to go to the Fonatur Operadora Portuaria S. A. DE C. V. offices and pay the fee. We also need to bring with us our safety certicate, weight and length and ID of the Capt. BUT for our convienance they will glady take our $11.00 right now and we will not have to show any papers or go to there office to pay the fee. Safty certicate, what safty cert. I have all of the paper work from our check in from Ensanada and a safty cert is not one of them. One capt. from our group asked the four in the boat who is your boss and where is the free anchorge. They tell us the boss is not around and there is no free anchorge in the bay. Not wanting the hassel I pull anchor and leave. The other capt goes ashore to the office and the 130 paso fee is now 120. No one in the office can tell him by whos athority they are making this charge. I think this guys nuts for pushing it but we all feel its a shake down. They dident pay the fee and nothing more was said or asked of them. The fee they are tring to chargh looks like a exit fee for clearing out or Mexico. Cabo is not cruiser friendy and I will try to bypass it from now on.