Hi, we spent a couple of seasons along the coast there and we have friends down there now. And, we hope to go back on our
new boat soon.
I am glad you are out of Cabo since it is probably the worst place to find someone to hook up with of any place on that side of
Mexico. Not to say impossible but most sailboaters leave there as soon as they can for other more "desirable" places.
The farther south you go the more likely you are to find other
boats going farther south. In any place though it will take some serendipity to run in to the "right" other boat. Mazatlan is probably good but farther down would be even better. Certainly
Puerto Vallarta probably has the biggest collection of boaters that might be going farther south and Zihuatenejo would have an even higher percentage of people going farther south. They both have local
radio nets so you could get on those every morning to check in and ask. I'm sure you already know about the Sonrisa net (and another I can't remember the name of) that are
SSB radio nets. The PV one is
VHF local, like most of the local hangouts. The radio would be your friend in this case. You might run into someone at a bar or store or party too but the radio lets you contact far more
boats. The
SSB nets are very good too.
Buddy
boating has its pluses and minuses. We were/are very reluctant buddy boaters. Everyone wants to go on their own schedule, stay for X amount of time at various places, and that may not agree with yours. We got in to situations where we had to wait for friends for a variety of reasons and missed out on things we wanted to do. And arranging to meet up with people on a schedule can lead to many hard feelings.
Having said that we participated in the BahaHaHa going down. We also were (loosely) part of the
Pacific Puddle Jump. The BHH has a pretty set schedule with scheduled stops and layovers so you keep up with people easily. The PPJ was completely different. We did have lots of weekly meetings to compare notes and when we left we took off sorta kinda at the same time as two other boats who we kept track of by SSB every day for
security blanket reasons. We each got to the
Marquesas at different times. And we sometimes went other places together and sometimes not after that between destinations. Loose was best for us and them.
You might find a small group of like minded souls who would like to set up a similar deal. Part of it is "chemistry" between you and the others. Some people may be going the same way but will not agree to buddy at all. Some will not even share plans with others. It's nothing personal, just a style thing. Some people cling to others out of fear of the unknown. That's okay for some and not okay for others.
I wish you the best on your adventures. You might consider spending the entire season in Mexico though like 90% (guess) of the boaters down there do. Some stay on their boats in the
Sea of Cortez for the summer, some put their boats in
marinas or
on the hard and spend the hot season elsewhere. We easily did two seasons there and enjoyed all of it. And then we took off west. By then we learned a lot about everything and built much more confidence in ourselves and the boat. Lots of sailors who leave quick say they wished they had spent more time there. But not everyone. And it depends on your overall plans and life schedule. There are certainly no rules - which is a big part of the fun of it all!!!
Oh well sounds like you had a good time anyway. We are now in Mazatlan and really enjoying it. Anyone want to meet up with us just give me a shout.
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