MUST HAVE'S FOR CRUISING TO MEXICO
WHEN STORAGE SPACE IS LIMITTED...
MUST HAVE'S FOR CRUISING TO MEXICO
FOOD
First off, a love of tacos will serve every traveler to Mexico well.ย Tacos throughout Mexico are tasty, available everywhere every day of the week, affordable, and generally delicious!
Second, know that most markets big and small are very well stocked in Mexico.
Third, some items will be beautifully presented in bulk in covered market spaces.
Over the years more and more people are cruising to Mexico from the north and the south and finding that provisioning in Mexico is overall excellent particularly in larger towns.ย In most larger coastal towns like Ensenada, Cabo, La Paz, Loreto, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, etc... there are multiple large competing supermarkets (like Chedraui, Soriana, Walmart, Sam's Club, La Comer...etc), plus many smaller, local markets, and produce stands.ย In fact, excluding certain specialty foods that you may love in a certain brand (i.e. Jiffy Peanut Butter), most larger towns now have broad specialty provisioning possibilities.ย That said, as one visits smaller and smaller communities the selection may lessen and in an eye opening way so it is wise to provision well in large communities.
Nonetheless, one can depend on finding food provisions easily throughout Mexico and does not need to arrive in Mexico with their vessel stocked to the gills with a full pantry.ย Nowadays, some people are filling their hard to reach storage spots with special treats that bring them joy or could be fun gifts to bring others the taste of their homeport.ย ย For example, a buddy boat from the Pacific Northwest packed several cases of homepacked salmon to enjoy and give away.ย With this in mind, people are finding that they are fine to fill their stores with enough food for their passage to their next big port (plus a little) whether it is Ensenada or Chiapas, and save the rest of their storage for other items less easily acquired in Mexico.
BOAT SPARES AND PARTS
Often boats and boat owners are pretty brand and/or quality specific.ย These types of items may or may not be found easily and locally in Mexico.ย Often specialty and/or brand specific marine parts need to be ordered in which adds cost and time.ย For example, our boat has a fair bit of brightwork which we choose to keep up on.ย That being said, while we have tried many different varnishes and techniques over the years we always load up on the particular material we are using when and where we can because we stick to one product at a time.ย Mind you, there is Varnish for sale in Mexico, it just may not be the brand you (or we) are loyal to and, if imported, it may be twice as much.ย For this reason, many people load their vessel up with spares and boat maintenance materials that they are particularly loyal to.
Additionally, many people head to Mexico with boat projects in mind as labor and yard costs are more affordable in Mexico than in the neighboring USA.ย For this reason, some people will sail to Mexico with parts they plan to use in a project.ย Use Storage Space for these specialty parts and products that would otherwise need to be imported.ย Additionally, as engines and generators are very part specific, many people fill their stores with basic spares and filters for your engine and/or generator.
Equally important to note: Mexico is the land of 'Fix it' not 'Replace it'.ย To this day I wish I took a picture of a plastic chair we found on an empty beach under the shade of a beautiful tree.ย The chair was old, battered, AND laced together with fishing twine continuing to serve its purpose to any and all who pass by.ย Similarly, things like alternators and starter motors are often torn down, rebuilt, and reimstalled rather than torn out, thrown away, and replaced.ย The key to success here is a willingness to ask locals and look for the local specialist for whatever repair one needs.ย Mexico is full of smart, resourceful, and talented people that make and fix things.ย Understanding and speaking Spanish, and at the very least trying ones best, is a very important tool in ones toolbox when travelling in Mexico.
PERSONAL/HEALTH CARE
Pharmacies are well stocked and widely distributed in Mexico.ย Many medicines that are controlled in the USA can be bought without prescription in Mexico.ย Our first aid kit has been easily maintained and readily built up in Mexico.
SAILORS HAVE BEEN USING THE GULF STREAM FOR CENTURIES
The Gulf Stream is part of a global conveyor belt of ocean current that mixes global ocean waters (salinity density and temperature) around the globe.ย Like creatures of the sea, sailors have been using different currents in this conveyor belt for centuries.ย A very important current in the Atlantic Ocean is the Gulf Stream. Basically, SE trade winds blow and drive warm surface water from the mid/south Atlantic between Western Africa and Northeastern South America northwest through the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico.ย The turning of the earth and the west winds then drive this current north east up eastern North America.ย As the gulf stream gets more north it splits in a few different directions towards Europe and the North Atlantic.
The Gulf Stream is very important for the European climate as it brings warm air to the continent that would otherwise be quite cool.ย The Gulf Stream is 10,000 km long and moves at 2m/sec making it the largest and fastest of all the ocean currents on earth.ย Some people liken it to a river of water in the ocean.ย The Gulf Stream was discovered by early Spanish explorers over 500 years ago and was used to both colonize the West and bring wealth and fortune back to Spain.ย For this reason the Gulf Stream has had a huge impact on the history and culture of the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe.
Consider Christopher Columbusโs final transatlantic voyage, when conquistadors carved out a vast and wealthy overseas empire for Spain, first in the Caribbean as far north as what is now Florida and then on the mainlands of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru: these early ships used the Gulf Stream.ย Products of these tropical and mountainous territories brought high prices on the Continent, and Spanish galleons sailed home laden with exotic dyes, sugar, tobacco, chocolate, pearls, hardwoods, and silver and gold. These so-called โtreasure fleetsโ made Spain the most powerful and envied nation in Renaissance Europe. Thanks to the travels of Ponce de Leon in 1513, Spanish navigators knew that the best return route from Spainโs rich Caribbean possessions was along the Gulf Stream, through the Bahama Channel, and past the shores of Florida. The Spanish knew they must defend this peninsula to prevent enemies from using its harbors as havens from which to raid the passing treasure fleets.ย The Spanish built Forts to defend their positions in the New World.ย One such Fort was built on the East Coast of modern day Florida:
ย CASTILLO SAN MARCOS, St Augustine Florida
Seeย https://oceanposse.com/castillo-san-marcos/ to learn more about the Spanish Must See Fort along the Ocean Posse route in San Augustine, Florida.
For Ocean Posse vessels looking to cross the Atlantic Ocean the Gulf Stream has been and continues to be very important voyage planning consideration.ย Two big challenges are the higher amount of large vessel traffic in the Gulf Stream and the warmer water in the Gulf Stream which translates to thunderstorms or worse. For these two reasons many mariners cross the Gulf Stream as quickly as possible relative to their destination.