Loreto Fest

This year we attended our first Loreto Fest and had a great time. We arrived in Puerto Escondido a few days ahead of time so we could get settled in and relax a bit before all the festivities.

Since our friend, Julie, was with us and she hadn’t seen this area we made a trip into the quaint little town of Loreto about 10 miles north of the anchorage. This is one of the somewhat undiscovered gems on the Baja peninsula. When tourists think of Mexico they mostly think of places like Cabo San Lucas, Cancun and Zihuatanejo. While there are certainly tourists who come to Loreto, it doesn’t seem to be in the hordes of the “big” destination spots and that has allowed Loreto to maintain its small pueblo feel. We spent a couple hours wandering around taking photos and then stopped at a small café for a lunch of fish tacos and cold beer while we checked our email.

The Loreto Fest is held on the grounds of the Fonatur Marina facility in Puerto Escondido. There are a number of full time residents who live on their boats here and they have started the Hidden Port Yacht Club which hosts the Loreto Fest. The yacht club has a small office area that the marina allows them to use where they house an extensive book exchange and movie lending library. Next door is a very small tienda (store) that offers a fair selection of food and drink. On any given afternoon cruisers will be hanging out in front of the HPYC office with a cold beer or soda getting acquainted, sharing sea stories, playing Mexican Train or just enjoying the view.

The festivities all began on Thursday, April 28^th and was scheduled to continue through Sunday, May 1^st. The original purpose of this gathering, 15 years ago, was to clean up the Bay and from that it has grown into a major event. Now, each year, cruisers all up and down the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast of Mexico make the trip to participate. For many, this is their last opportunity of the season to connect with friends after which they put their boats into storage and go back home for the summer months. Some will be back the following year but others are going home for good or planning trips to destinations much farther afield. The members of the HPYC, as well as local residents from the American enclave of Juncalito and the town of Loreto do a great job and put in long hours to put this event on and, in addition to the Bay clean up and the fun activities, they raise money for some of the local charities.

Bocce Ball

This year the games at the Fest included Baja Canasta, Mexican Train, Over the Line, Bocce Ball

and Horseshoes among others. One of the most popular spectator events was the Blind Dinghy Race. This is a timed contest where a dinghy must speed out and around a mark (an anchored boat), rescue a “baby” in a life jacket out of the water and safely put it into a bucket that is attached to the committee boat. The trick is that the driver is blind folded and his partner must direct him through the course and retrieve and deposit the “baby”. Many of the navigators seemed to lose concentration and began pointing and waving their arms for the blindfolded driver, which, of course, he/she couldn’t see. A commentator on board the committee boat provided a “blow by blow” of each run and kept the spectators informed of where each entrant placed at the end of their race. It was great fun to watch but Chris & I chose not to risk our relationship by participating.

Blindfolded Dinghy Races

Julie & I, along with Kristen (from “Nautilas”) and Linde (from “Rosebud”) competed in the Baja Canasta tournament and we all made it to the semi-finals before the women from town ate us alive.

The "Linen Sisters" (aka "Card Sharks")

We decided that our main problem is that we actually play cards for f-u-n and it doesn’t much matter to us whether we win or lose. The town women play cut-throat. Ouch! Kristen & Steve participated in several of the team games and Chris entered the “Spam as Art” contest and finished third with his “Asti Spamanti” piece. In addition to all the games, there was plenty of food, drink and great music and the opportunity to reconnect with many of our friends in the cruising community.

Dinghy Parking

Saturday afternoon the wind began to pick up substantially and it blew 25 knots (and gusted as high as 40) for two whole days. This is known as a “Norther” and is more common during the winter on the Baja side of the Sea. Even though the marina provided a panga to act as a water taxi (taking a dinghy to shore was a difficult and wet proposition), most people didn’t leave their boats so many of the Sunday events were cancelled. We were on a mooring buoy and were quite secure although our anti-chafe gear (a piece of heavy hose that encases the rope) chafed through by Sunday morning and we had to figure something else out. Mooring buoys in this particular bay are set up to withstand hurricane conditions and are generally well maintained but each boat is responsible for its own method of attachment. The buoys all have a heavy rope that is attached to a shackle that is attached to a large chain that is attached to a hunk of cement about the size of a Volkswagen that is on the bottom of the bay. They are generally very secure but still, the shackles on two of the buoys broke. Both boats were able to reattach without incident but much adrenaline was expended in the exercise. Try to imagine a 30,000+ pound boat that is constantly slewing around in 25+ knot winds and a couple feet of wind chop. There is a lot of strain on all the connections. During the Loreto Fest, all 117 mooring buoys were in use and quite a few boats were anchored and several of those who were anchored began dragging and had to be reset (some more than once). Hence, most of us just hunkered down and didn’t leave the boats until the weather dissipated. By Tuesday morning the wind had died and the water was once again flat and beautiful.

The quiet after the storm.

While we were in Puerto Escondido, Patty arrived and Julie flew home. We all had a good time…even with the windy conditions, and Chris & I plan to return again.