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Boaters’ Donations Needed for San Blas Residents
 Capt. Pat Rains - The Log
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October 15, 2010
| | A Little Help from Boating Friends — Donations of children’s clothing, shoes and a pink teddy bear were appreciated by this young resident of San Blas, shown with Norm Goldie, who organized the donation drive. (mexicoboating.com) | |
San Blas, Mexico — The poorest people of San Blas, Nayarit, are currently in need of clothing donations, according to former sportfishing skipper and longtime Mexico boater Norm Goldie.
He’s asking any recreational boaters who may be heading to the port of San Blas during this fall and winter cruising season to bring along a trash bag or two filled with soft donations: usable clothing for children and adults.
San Blas, on Mexico’s mainland side of the lower Sea of Cortez, is easily reached on one of the popular crossing routes between southern Baja California and the mainland coast. San Blas is also a regular stop for cruising sailboats and sportfishers traveling between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
The town of San Blas was heavily damaged by Hurricane Kenna and several tropical storms. And although the streets have been repaired, many residents who had lost their jobs — in fishing and town services — are still out of work.
San Blas lies 30 miles off Highway 200, so delivering donations by road is difficult. Boaters’ assistance has really made a difference.
“We took a couple of bags of kids’ clothes down to San Blas last year,” said sailboat cruiser Kay Penelagon. “It was easy: We stuffed the bags into the bottom of a hanging locker.
“When we got to San Blas, we met Norm Goldie on the panga dock,” Penelagon said. “He took us over to the hospital, where we left the bags with the children’s donation program.”
Singlar Marina San Blas is open and running, but it is one of the nine Fonatur marinas that are currently for sale. The marina has floating slips, a dinghy landing, a large Pemex fuel dock, haulout and dry storage yards, and the signature blue buildings housing the marina offices, laundry and showers, lap pool and cruisers lounges. Anchoring is allowed in the San Blas estuary and nearby Matanchen Bay.
However, the port’s two breakwaters contain a migrating shoal that builds dangerous breakers at some states of the tide. A new GPS chart of the harbor entrance will appear in “Mexico Boating Guide” updates, and cruisers who stopped here have posted sketch charts on the Internet. Goldie, who has lived in San Blas for more that 20 years, says he has guided more than 4,000 yachts into the harbor, both by VHF and with his sportfishing boat.
Goldie’s charity group focuses on disabled children of poverty-level families in San Blas and nearby rural areas, many of whom are native Huichol people. The families have registered to receive donations through the local hospital, where the children are treated.
Clothing donations for San Blas children and adults can be new or used, but they should all be useable items. For convenience, boaters can transport the clothing in plastic trash bags and write “clothing donations for San Blas” on the outside. Leaving the bags unsealed will allow for customs inspection — if needed.
Last cruising season, Goldie arranged for some much-needed medical equipment to be donated to the local hospital, carried to La Paz by boaters and then ferried to the mainland by a volunteer doctor and his family. Goldie said the new ultrasound device has already saved many lives, but not enough doctors are trained in its use.
This year, Goldie has found an experienced doctor willing to train others to use the donated diagnostic equipment.
For more info, contact eston(at)goboating.com.
This article first appeared in the October 2010 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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