DICK MARKIE,
Harbor Master, Paradise Village Marina & Yacht Club

American-born Harbor Master DICK MARKIE represents the Paradise Village Marina & Yacht Club of Nuevo Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta, MX) and has been helping South Pacific-bound sailors since 1995 when he served as the Harbor Master at Marina Mazatlán. He moved further south to PV’s famous Banderas Bay where many cruisers congregated in its hurricane-protected waters; most cruisers here now as then are preparing for their “Puddle Jump” crossing to the South Pacific and beyond.  By 2000 Dick had joined Paradise Village Marina/YC where he set up seminars intended to educate cruisers in all the needs of the “Puddle Jumper”.

This intense program provides valuable information for medical emergencies, mechanical issues of boat and equipment, navigation & weather, communication, as well as providing local-PV knowledge and assistance to cruisers for provisioning and personal services.  The Vallarta Yacht Club very soon after became the renowned home of the Puddle Jump Seminar Series staffed by a fleet of experts and the Latitude 38 Puddle Jump Kick-Off Party. Check back later this year on our Downwind Marine website LINKS-page for more on these events, plus the Banderas Bay Regatta, all scheduled again early next year from January through March!    You can also visit:  http://www.vallartayachtclub.org/

But enough about that, our great fortune is that ex-pat Dick, with great help from his wife Gina, will present an entertaining free seminar at Downwind again this year to introduce all cruisers to the superb cruising area of Banderas Bay, Mexico…  and with their special promise to answer all the questions and concerns a cruiser might have about Mexico.

You will want to participate in this fun presentation and discussion regarding current cruising in Mexico…   and expect some evening surprises from Dick and Gina as usual too – plus get a preview of the Vallarta Puddle Jump’s comprehensive seminar program from its originator!    Yep – Dick will have the answers to all your questions.

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CAPT. ANN KINNER,
Owner, Seabreeze Books and Charts

Capt. Ann Kinner owns and manages Seabreeze Books and Charts in San Diego, California, which provides navigation tools and publications to all sectors of the maritime community, as well as charts provided by hydrographic services from Canada, Mexico, France, the British Admiralty, NOAA, and NGA, and is familiar with digital navigation products for use on a variety of on-board systems and personal computers. In addition to instructing boaters in the operations and systems of sail and power vessels, she worked with TowBoat/US as the primary watch-stander and rescue boat driver in San Diego.

Her nearly 15 years with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and more than three decades of teaching all things boating give her a broad perspective on the needs, curiosities, and varied interests of the recreational and professional boating communities. She was appointed to the San Diego Harbor Safety Committee and has served as the Chair since July 2016.  Additionally she was appointed a member of NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel from 2019 through 2022 and continues to provide input to NOAA on needed chart services.

Frequently called upon to speak to boating associations, she assisted with navigational guidance for the CUBAR powerboat rally from San Diego to La Paz, Baja California, and was a speaker and instructor for the annual Women’s Sailing Convention in Newport Beach.  Capt. Kinner grew up sailing in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.  She has a lifetime love of the ocean, is a live-aboard boater, experienced on sail and power boats – both simple and high-tech, and is familiar with harbors from Ensenada to Santa Barbara.

Depend on Seabreeze to carry the most accurate and detailed charts of the world’s finest hydrographic services, including NOAA and NGA charts that will cover your passage to most cruising regions as well as the most updated charts from France for the South Seas and French Territorial waters, and the most updated charts for Mexico from Mexico. Visit Ann’s store or website at: http://www.seabreezenauticalbooks.com/  for further information – and attend her seminar!

Ann is a professional navigator and readily shares her knowledge on important navigation preparation that enables a cruiser to succeed in passage making – she also has access to vast educational and literary resources and works to gather and make them available to cruisers.   There is much to learn in this informative seminar.

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TIM GAUB,
Sailmaker and Loft Owner, Doyle Sails in San Diego

Sailmaker TIM GAUB knows what it takes to be a successful sailor. He began his life around boats as a commercial fisherman in his late teens and early 20’s. Since then, he has sailed thousands of miles offshore. He has been sailing for 30 years and living on his sailboat for 15 years. Tim’s passion for sailing is unparalleled. He has cruised and delivered boats from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta, sailing a variety of boats ranging in size from 24-ft to 80-ft. up and down the West Coast of Mexico and the United States.

Tim is also an avid racer and has crewed in all the leading regattas on the West Coast. For the last 8 years he has sailed in major San Diego race events including Hot Rum Series, Puerto Vallarta, Lipton Cup, and Long Beach Race Week; he recently competed in the Transpac 2023 aboard ‘Spin Doctor’ where they won 2^nd in class. Some of Tim’s proudest regatta wins are the Lipton Cup and 6-meter Nationals as well as multiple NOOD and offshore class regattas; he scored 2^nd overall in the most recent Newport to Ensenada Race. He is currently preparing for Beneteau Cup and the next Lipton Cup. He has his own way of serving, and as a veteran sailor he always strives for excellence. Tim is also always happy to share his expertise and knowledge within the sailing community.

He founded SailM8.com and took over the local Doyle Sails loft with the mission of providing sailors with the equipment and supplies they require. With Tim’s experience, he has developed a deep knowledge of sail tactics, gear, and performance sails useful to sailors of all skill levels, helping them to improve their sailing experience. 

He’s on board with us too, with another evening seminar at Downwind Marine to encourage best performance in downwind sailing or sailing wherever your blue water adventure leads you.  Tim hopes to also address further questions cruisers may have this evening on sails, sail handling and other boat equipment cruisers often might consider while cruising in Mexico – don’t miss this opportunity.

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CAPT. PAT RAINS,
Author of Mexico Boating Guide & Owner, Point Loma Publishing

Cruisers Alert!   With great honor we present this inspiring speaker and friend whose dedication and encouragement to help boaters become cruisers is legendary.  CAPT. PAT RAINS (U.S. Coast Guard 100-Ton Master) shares with us her personal stories and advice on handling the outside of the Baja Peninsula – and on savoring the Sea of Cortez and mainland Mexico. Pat first got started cruising Mexico with a boyfriend on his 36’ trimaran. After they broke up, she only missed the boat and cruising adventures.  Soon she rescued and restored a 26’ tri and for the next 5 years she explored the Sea of Cortez while commuter cruising, working as a reporter, freelance photographer and yacht cook;  she also crewed on friends’ larger sail & power boats, gathering sea time for her USCG licenses.

After marrying Capt. John Rains, a famous yacht delivery skipper (USCG 3,000-T Master), Pat covered these grounds many years as 2^nd ticket on a variety of boats (sail, power, commercial). She’s logged more than 100,000 n.m. in the waters off Mexico, Central America, 38 transits of the Panama Canal, plus Hawaii and around the Mediterranean.  She worked as a bridge officer on a US Navy research vessel and made multiple crossings of the Pacific, the Caribbean and the Atlantic (and not on cruise ships!) … There is no one more supportive and actively assisting cruisers who voyage the waterways of Mexico and Central America than Pat – a veteran cruiser, prolific author/publisher of maritime news, weather, in-depth area guides and their timely updates for extensive West Coast cruising south-of-the-border.

Since retiring from yacht delivery, Capt. Pat Rains now goes cruising for pleasure with friends and former clients and constantly updates her popular guidebooks:  Mexico Boating Guide,  Cruising Ports: The Central American Route, and MexWX: Mexico Weather for Boaters.  Her articles and columns in nautical publications include Cruising World, The Log Newspapers, Ocean Navigator, PassageMaker, SEA Magazine, and other national publications.  Look for Capt. Pat’s popular cruising seminars at Trawler Fest, Strictly Sail, the San Diego Boat Show and local yacht clubs.  Stay current with Pat and her services at http://www.mexicoboating.com/. 

“Cruising Mexico’s ‘Little Loop’” is Pat’s 2024 presentation for West Coasters who have only one “cruising season” in them… yet hanker for that authentic lifestyle.  Pat’s “Little Loop” itinerary is a perfect sampler of 20 pristine & remote anchorages balanced with a few fun resort ports, snorkeling, hiking, fishing, kayaking. Pat will guide us through the Little Loop from November to July – one adventurous cruising season in the lower Sea of Cortez.  Time for questions & sharing, too. Please join us.

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