La Paz BayFest...

Posted By: Delezynski, Nor'Sea27, Cruising
Date: 4/20/07 10:03p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

I just got this write up from "Virginia Reel" Allyson for the La Paz Bayfest that took place last weekend. FUN was had by ALL!!!! How to Attract Cruisers, Who Wants to and WHY? AKA: LA PAZ BAYFEST ’07 (I will get there … keep reading) Prerequisite Questions and Answers Cruisers. Who are they? To quote the Cruiser’s hero, Captain Ron: “No One Knows…” because Authentic Cruisers almost always have no last name, preferring instead to be identified by their boat name, or alternatively, by some physical characteristic. Examples: “Amazing Grace” Mike, “Sunbreak” Allison, “Moon Me” Jeff, or Too Tall Tom. To call Cruisers a loosely knit group of sea going non-conformists is only partially correct. Definitely, they are loosely knit (if you get my drift), but Never try to group, categorize or organize a Cruiser, that would be akin to herding ants with a rake. Some Cruisers set sail real young, some only escaped recently. Some are enjoying their second childhood, while others have never quite graduated from their first. Some are old salts, others are just OLD. Speaking of which, Cruisers too old for messing about with boats are called CLODs – Cruisers Living On Dirt. A few cruisers have a “plan” (can you hear the gods laughing?) Most Cruisers are afloat, some are just adrift. Where can one find Cruisers? Cruisers can be located at any point on the globe, as long as it is far away from any form of structured environment. Like most other flotsam and jetsam, they tend to wash ashore here and there along salty coasts, bays and waterways. The Sea of Cortez is rumored to be a favorite habitat. **Hint** (OK, so here comes the La Paz Bayfest part) – Authentic Cruisers can be briefly waylaid and studied when properly enticed. Try setting out a mixture of the following on a warm, palapa-strewn beach: · Copious amounts of delicious food (for poco dinero). · Frosty adult beverages (must be abundant). · Fun and Games (slightly bent). UNorganization is key. Bribing of officials encouraged. · A sprinkling of artsy fartsy stuff (a beading or watercoloring class, for instance). · Educational seminars (cleverly disguised as random gatherings designed to disperse secret cruising information). · Music and lots of it! Dance at will. · Rock to Dock Sailboat Race, the crowning glory of all events – ghost of the famous old La Paz Race Week. Water balloons mandatory, extra points for popcorn. Mighty little Club Cruceros of La Paz craftily conjures up and lays out all the above ingredients once a year, and voila!, Cruisers from all over the Sea of Cortez appear, as if by magic. But watch out Merlin, things can quickly spiral out of control! An unidentified, lone bugler heralds each new day of festivities (Thanks Tom Ireton of s/v”La Casita”!). “Almost immediately” (Cruisers read: sometime after the radio net and maybe just in advance of your first adult beverage), blindfold dinghy races erupt on the bay. Chili and various potluck meals are devoured post haste. Ragged groups of enthusiasts hurl bocce balls about. Cold drinks materialize at everyone’s elbow. Big boats race from horizon to bar. Lunch break! Hawaiian shirted “Experts” materialize to impart knowledge not otherwise found in cruising guides. Latter day hippies can be found stringing beads. Spontaneous music and dancing occurs nightly under the stars and in the bars. The best barbeque chef in La Paz rolls his truck-BQ onto the beach. Pirates and later day revolutionaries roam the sand, waging (tug of) war. Cheerleaders (?) – yes, really! La Paz Bayfest lives and flourishes, burning bright for three or four days each April. CLODS and Non-cruisers invited ( it’s kinda like going to the zoo – you can observe Authentic Cruisers at close-range without too much peril). You might have missed Bayfest this year, but mark it on your calendar* for next Spring – it’s a right of passage. *Please note: Authentic Cruisers do not have calendars and are excused from this, or any other, stringent requirement.