{"id":368,"date":"2007-01-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=368"},"modified":"2009-04-15T08:56:48","modified_gmt":"2009-04-15T13:56:48","slug":"s_logs-dashew-dashew332","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/s_logs-dashew-dashew332\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Time to Go: Off to Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
Off to Mexico! Clear-in procedures at Marina Coral, just north of Ensenada.<\/div>\n

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It is often hard to know when to go. There are so many things to do, lists which never end, continuing obligations. When we first started cruising it would take weeks to get ourselves to the point where we would cut loose from familiar surroundings. Gradually we discovered that the best approach was to set a date and just go. After all, it really takes just a quick check of the boat and a trip or two to the grocery store to really be ready. <\/p>\n

However, we seem to be regressing a bit. We came back to Wind Horse<\/em> with a half of day’s worth of to-do’s. And yet ten days later we were debating whether we were ready to leave. It is not boat stuff these days, but land ties and family commitments which make it more difficult. Maybe there’s a lesson here?<\/p>\n

In any event, the photo at the top of the page was taken on the dock at the California Yacht Club, in Marina del Rey, California, where we were spending a last couple of days. That white stuff? It is ICE! Time to go indeed.<\/p>\n

We’ve heard tell that there is a new system for foreign yachts in Mexico. In theory, clear in once, and that’s it. No more checking in with the Port Captain, Immigration, and Customs in every port (with offices spread across town).<\/p>\n

Word on the dock was that Marina Coral, just north of Ensenada, was a good place to buy fuel. They told us we could lie on their fuel dock while we cleared, and they’d furnish a driver and help with the forms.<\/p>\n

We did not have a chart of Marina Coral, and there are some shallow spots inside of the harbor, so this would be a good test of our SONAR.<\/p>\n

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That satellite view is from Google Earth, a great navigational service. It gives us a feel for the layout and we can even measure distances (the entrance is just 50 feet\/15m wide).<\/p>\n

We worked our way slowly towards the entrance, using the SONAR to watch for shoals. Once off the entrance we used it again to survey the shape of the breakwater and our path into the harbor. This was at close to high tide – we never saw less than 9 feet (2.8m) of water, and twice this at the entrance.<\/p>\n

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The facilities are modern, clean, and well staffed.<\/p>\n

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This gentlemen topped off our tanks and did not spill as much as a single drop – better than we do ourselves.<\/p>\n

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All of the paperwork is taken care of in this one building.<\/p>\n

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This even includes the bank at which fees are paid. Part of the process involves a ten-year importation permit for the boat. Next time we come into Mexico with Wind Horse,<\/em> the process will be easier and faster – just the Port Captain and Immigration.<\/p>\n

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This signal light-looking device was positioned just outside of the Customs office. We could not figure out what it was for. At the end of our paperwork the Customs officer told us to push the button. A green light came on. We thought this was some sort of a joke.<\/p>\n

The next boat that cleared pushed the button and the light turned red. Oops! They got a pair of Custom’s agents to check their boat. Maybe the US Homeland Security department could use some of these at airports?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Off to Mexico! Clear-in procedures at Marina Coral, just north of Ensenada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashew-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}