Sad Day For Chartering In Baja Moorings Says Adios

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

May be there is too much killing going on in the country for many tourists to enjoy it anymore. I know of many who go elsewhere because of that.

Whether true or not don't matter, it's the perception that matters......and if folks in the US look at US media then likely they think that in Mexico 1 in 3 tourists are killed and the others are held hostage - by drug crazed Mexican Muslim Liberals .

[settingsun]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

May be there is too much killing going on in the country for many tourists to enjoy it anymore. I know of many who go elsewhere because of that.

You are right that it skews people's perceptions... I have been arguing this with a thoughtful, well-traveled and intelligent friend of mine for a week now and I've gotten nowhere. He can't get past the 35k people killed, never mind where in Mexico they were or who they were...

We've been in Mexico 3.5 years and haven't seen any killing. It's ironic that this comes up here as I just posted my thoughts on this subject a few days ago (because of my argument with my friend):

Is Mexico Safe?

We've also seen a lot more wealth among Mexicans than we are accustomed to seeing in the US. There is huge wealth here, and chartering a 100' motor-yacht seems to be nothing of consequence for many families here. We have been anchored next to these monsters -- been surrounded by a dozen a at a time!

However, these are captained charters with full crew. The bareboat chartering market among Mexicans is probably nonexistent.

[John A]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Whether true or not don't matter, it's the perception that matters......and if folks in the US look at US media then likely they think that in Mexico 1 in 3 tourists are killed and the others are held hostage - by drug crazed Mexican Muslim Liberals .

In 2010, the last year of such figures, in the safe and sane US there were 30,480 firearm related deaths.
Of those 19,392 were suicide, half of the remainder were killed by someone they knew.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by az_r2d1

This is very true. Non-Mexicans can not own real estate on the coast either. There is a way around it with bank-trusts but you end up paying a lot of money for it.

Because Americans can buy section of beach and make them private in the US, it is assumed that people in other countries can do the same.

The rule preventing non-Mexicans from doing that in Mexico applies to Mexicans as well. Nobody can legally kick you off of a beach in Mexico (although some hotels in Baja have intimidated Mexicans and non Mexicans off of "their" beaches). They all belong to the public.

[settingsun]

Originally Posted by John A

In 2010, the last year of such figures, in the safe and sane US there were 30,480 firearm related deaths.
Of those 19,392 were suicide, half of the remainder were killed by someone they knew.

Great statistic!! Where is it from?

There are other great ones I quoted in my post, like on certain streets in Atlanta, Nashville and Tulsa 1 in 12 to 14 people is a victim of a violent crime. And of course, don't go to Cleveland or you might end up in a plastic bag.

If you read the current US travel advisory to Mexico it basically says it's a great place to go.

Originally Posted by Minggat

Because Americans can buy section of beach and make them private in the US, it is assumed that people in other countries can do the same.

The rule preventing non-Mexicans from doing that in Mexico applies to Mexicans as well. Nobody can legally kick you off of a beach in Mexico (although some hotels in Baja have intimidated Mexicans and non Mexicans off of "their" beaches). They all belong to the public.

That has sadly changed with the new president. A law is in the process of being passed that allows private ownership of the coast by Mexicans and non-Mexicans.

It is already being enforced in some places. I drove with a Mexican along the Costalegre and we found gates at many of the beaches she had had access to not long ago. The guards turned us away because the property along the road to the beach was privately held and the owners had gated the road.

She explained to me that this is happening everywhere on the coast.

This was confirmed by several different gringo friends of mine who own beachfront property via the old method. They are ecstatic that they will soon have full ownership of their properties, because they expect property values to go up.

[John A]

Originally Posted by settingsun

Great statistic!! Where is it from?

I don't want to start another gun thread!!

But go to Google or Bing and search on "gun deaths in the US", then pick from thousands of articles.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Chessner

How is demand for sailing charters in Baja suppose to increase if they discontinue that option. Is some strange market going to show up out of nowhere and demand that Moorings again provide bareboats out of La Paz. The strength of the Moorings/Sunsail operation is the network of diverse sailing locations. Some locations make more money, some make less, some loose money. A large factor in long-term Moorings customer loyalty is based on the variety and number of locations offered. Closing down bases, especially one as unique as La Paz will have an eroding affect on the loyalty of long-term Moorings charterers and in my opinion is short sighted.

Clearly you have run a global sail charter business and have enough experience to make this pronouncement without even so much as a spreadsheet showing their sales projections and costs, demand pipeline, repeat business preferences, etc. They should hire you.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Minggat

Because Americans can buy section of beach and make them private in the US, it is assumed that people in other countries can do the same.

Really good article on the state-by-state tolerance of private beaches in the US:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/op...he-public.html

[John A]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Really good article on the state-by-state tolerance of private beaches in the US:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/op...he-public.html

Undeveloped land along the coastal waters of Oregon and California that is not public land or State Parks are in the process of being purchased by organizations and declared off-limits to developers. Most of the Washington coast is Indian Reservations.
BTW Clint Eastwood has devoted enormous amounts of time and energy to preserving California's Central coast.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Whether true or not don't matter, it's the perception that matters......and if folks in the US look at US media then likely they think that in Mexico 1 in 3 tourists are killed and the others are held hostage - by drug crazed Mexican Muslim Liberals .

The "news" here doesn't cover such things. We only know about crazy celebrities.

[rebel heart]

Update:

I got a bit more info on this. I was walking past the Moorings charter fleet in La Paz yesterday over at Marina Costa Baja. The boats are still sitting there, some of them looking like they were used quite recently (empty water bottles in the cockpit, sails sloppily placed in the stackpack, etc.

Apparently the government (I think the state of Baja Sur) is changing the rules for charters. The person chartering pays the state government, and then the state government pays the charter company, who in turn pays the fuel bill, crew, and whatever else.

Anyone who's dealt with getting money from the Mexican government can imagine the results. I'm not sure when the rule was supposed to go into effect, but apparently Moorings pulled out in advance.

I got this info cobbled together from a few different sources, and I'll try to get more info soon.

[Kenomac]

We got robbed at knife point while camping 30 years ago down in San Filipe.... My goodness... Has it gotten worse?

I'm surprised anyone still vacations down there. If you want to go someplace where Spanish is spoken... head over here to Spain, it's much more beautiful and civilized. Old world instead of turd world.

[Lucky Larry]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Whether true or not don't matter, it's the perception that matters......and if folks in the US look at US media then likely they think that in Mexico 1 in 3 tourists are killed and the others are held hostage - by drug crazed Mexican Muslim Liberals .

We don't watch the main-stream media. We know it's the Mexicans, Muslims, and Liberals here that are killing and holding us hostage.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We got robbed at knife point while camping 30 years ago down in San Filipe.... My goodness... Has it gotten worse?

I'm surprised anyone still vacations down there. If you want to go someplace where Spanish is spoken... head over here to Spain, it's much more beautiful and civilized. Old world instead of turd world.

People get robbed at knife point in Spain too. And San Diego, and Boston.

[John A]

Originally Posted by Lucky Larry

We don't watch the main-stream media. We know it's the Mexicans, Muslims, and Liberals here that are killing and holding us hostage.

If you don't watch main-stream media how do you know what's going on???
The fringe crowd??