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After the opening of the Coral Marina six to seven years ago, business has taken a precipitous drop in regards to the small businesses patronized by the cruising community which are located along the waterfront of the Ensenada harbor. When the author made his first appearance in the harbor in 1987, the boat was met almost a mile outside by a local enterpriser with various services to offer to include a buoy or a slip, and taxi service ashore. The last visit was a stop for the evening in October of 2001 and there was no one offering anything, and some of the businesses were closed and business was obviously slow for the remainder. Before the opening of the Coral Marina, the harbor would be jammed with cruising vessels in and out of season. The Coral Marina is on par with the best of marinas in the U.S. but in comparison to the harbor it is somewhat tedious to obtain a slip, the sailor first must tie up to the fuel dock, gather the vessels documents, go to the office sign in and hand over a load of cash, walk down to the marina and inspect the assigned slip, walk back and crank up the engine and hopefully get into the slip without colliding with the boat already in the double slip. This is a lot of bother if the stay is only one night, if this is the case, the harbor is located only a mile or so further along and there, simply drop the anchor and leave the next morning at no cost and no bother. The last time that the author checked in with the Port Captain and Immigration was in 1997 and the officials were found to be quite officious and overbearing and further the anchorage and other fees came to almost $50.00 for a four day layover so thereafter, the author was a guest of the harbor. At the time of the last check in, it was noted the above offices were closed on Saturday and Sunday and as a matter of fact, they were closed by 3:00 P.M. on Friday. Therefore, a thoughtful sailor could time his arrival for after 3:00 P.M. on Friday and stay the entire weekend without the onerous fees and bother. Departure should be prior to 8: A.M. on Monday. |
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There must be some precaution taken when anchoring in the harbor, the bottom is not only mud, its very soft mud and when the afternoon wind rises to18 to 22 knots or so, as it can do, the vessel will drag anchor even when properly set and plenty of scope. The sailing vessels in photo foreground arrived in the night long after the author arrived, anchorage was somewhat casual and the next morning most of the crew went ashore and that afternoon, three drug up onto the rocks. Two got off with no apparent damage, one sustained a damaged rudder requiring additional layover, haul out and repairs at the nearby shipyard. The author well aware of the propensity of the bottom, had set a Bruce Anchor rather than the normal CQR and stayed aboard, the vessel did not drag anchor. |
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