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Russ
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This I believe was to be their poster child for the project. There is one little snag though. No water! You couldn't launch a tin boat at high tide.
What was suppose to be a tourist draw has made the local fishermen very happy. They now have a great road to get their product to market
Edit: I think this shot was taken at high tide because I've seen pics of a surfer walking between the jetties to go play in the new waves.
[Edited on 8-2-2010 by Russ]
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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capt. mike
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Mood: Sling time!
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Bruce nailed it.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Mexicorn
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Maybe the ramp is there so that you can back up your boat in order to launch it onto the sand without getting sand on your tires!
Al Gore says the ice bergs are melting and the plight of the polar bear has reduced this great beast to sucking on popsicles to keep cooled.
I'm thinking that perhaps the engineer's that built this ramp took that into consideration!
Ni-co Another Bloody Mary it's Monday!!!
[Edited on 8-2-2010 by Mexicorn]
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Jack Swords
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Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Nipomo, CA/La Paz, BCS
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Many years ago the Mexican Gov't had representatives at most boating events in CA asking boaters to fill out an extensive survey about a proposed
Nautical Ladder. Questions were to determine the potential users and feasibility. Apparently there was sufficient response that the plan was
initiated, construction started, etc. The key was the "Baja Cama" computer driven boat trailer developed by the Grossmans over in San Carlos. Its
pads were state of the art as were the trucks to haul them. The Grossmans have been hauling boats up to 55 ft for years from the US to San Carlos and
back with complete safety. It was these trucks/trailers that were to be used for the across peninsula trip from BOLA to Santa Rosalillita, saving the
ugly pounding upwind toward CA. Going down the Pacific side is not the problem, returning is. Well, something happened and Grossman pulled out.
Then, everything seemed to fall apart. The intent was to get US folks down in the Sea spending money, buying real estate, etc. Vestiges remain with
the Singular Marinas, but nothing of the "ladder" of safe stops, fuel, etc. Each marina stop in the ladder was envisioned to then have the resultant
development, shops, homes, etc. Harbors were to be dredged regularly like Morro Bay, Santa Barbara etc. The Grossmans have recently stopped carrying
boats from the US, but some US carriers are doing it. Alternatives now are a giant boat/barge that sinks to drive your boat in, rises up, and carries
your vessel to points north along with many other boats. Unfortunately the US won't let it dock so that means Ensenada or Canada for returning boats.
This service is available twice a year in La Paz mas or menos.
As to cruising the Sea, having done it the past 12 years, including crossings, screaming blue northers, etc. it is not that bad. A well equipped boat
and skipper, regardless of size can have a great time in the Sea. Prudence is always needed whether in the Sea or off So. CA. Sailors from the Bay
area are particularly well equipped due to their Wx and preparation. As an example, Latitude 38, a sailing rag, sponsors the Baja HaHa each October
where over a hundred boats (mainly sail) cruise down from San Diego to Cabo/La Paz/Mazatlan etc. They have been doing this for years and many boats
and cruisers remain in Mexico. They have a web page and are currently gearing up with crew parties, seminars, etc. for this year's Baja HaHa. For the
timid or very social it is an alternative to getting down to warm waters and a great sailing area (but anchorages that used to be isolated are not so
much anymore). Like on land, the Sea is changing too.
As a note on costs, I pay the same in Marina de la Paz for our slip as I paid or would pay now in Ventura and Channel Islands harbor. Even
anchor-outs in La Paz pay the gov't for each day at anchor. However, much less than a marina, but no amenities.
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wilderone
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Some speculate that the entire concept, which was to be funded by private money, was simply a boondoggle intended to incite a land grab in Baja,
regardless of whether or not it went any further. I believe that happened to an extent as land, development, building sites were promoted with the
pie in the sky promises Escalera Nautica would bring. After all, that has been FONATUR's modus operendi.
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Alan
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Personally I think it is like most projects in Baja. So many seem to go on for years with barely perceptible progress until one day they are just
done. Through the many years since the concept inception I have seen fuel come to Puerto Escondido, an Escalera marina in La Paz (though it is so far
back in the bay no one uses it), power come to BoLA, and a huge paved highway to Santa Rosalitta.
My guess it that the project is still moving forward on your typical Baja timetable.
In Memory of E-57
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Martyman
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We have finally named our 16 foot bayrunner boat...The Escalera Nautica.
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Russ
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
We have finally named our 16 foot bayrunner boat...The Escalera Nautica. |
So it's a really nice boat without a trailer or motor?
[Edited on 8-2-2010 by Russ]
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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ArvadaGeorge
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What I heard (Bar room tail in LA Bay) was after they did Santa Rosalillita they were to start on LA Bay. Up by La Gringa.
Then they found out they couldn’t dredge La Gringa out –it was solid rock.
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Bajatripper
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| Quote: | Originally posted by capt. mike
a total waste of time and money. that deal would never have met the approval of serious global investors. only chumps on the gov't dime with out a
clue on how to make real money in development thru valid private enterprize could dream up such a loser deal.
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Actually, the formula the Mexican government employed in the Escalera Nautica was the same tried-and-true method used in the establishment of the
initial five tourist poles (Cancun, Ixtapa, Huatulco, Los Cabos, and Loreto). The idea was that the Mexican government would fund the initial part of
these projects (land acquisition--often through violence--and building the infrastructure necessary to get the ball rolling (electrics, water
treatment at both ends, airports, highways, etc.) and then expected the international "name brands" in tourism to pick up and run with it.
When representatives of the Hiltons, Holliday Inns, etc, visited the sites and said "thanks, but no thanks," the government suddenly found itself in
the hotel-building-and-ownership business. Once it became obvious that there was a profit to be made, transnational corporations were more than happy
to step in--as managers. In other words, once the stuff that doesn't generate a profit was paid for by the Mexican people, "savy investors" were
willing to step in and skim off the profits.
In the case of the Escalera Nautica, the idea is not new. In the early 1970s, a consortium of multinational U.S.-based companies led by Atlantic
Richfield (ARCO) and supported by U.S. senator Jacob Javits of New York sponsored studies that identified sites suitable for marinas and such--the
same sites proposed for the most recent encarnation of this project. Once the proposal was completed, they scheduled a presentation of the project for
the approval of then Mexican President Echeverria, who seemed to support the idea (he was the president responsible for the completion of the
Transpeninsular Highway). On the day of the big presentation--at Los Pinos (the Mexican White House), no less--Echeverria abrubtly got up from the
table, said "Mexico is not for sale" and left the room. End of the sales pitch.
In the most recent effort to get this project going, the Mexican government placed into action the same development strategy they had used in the past
for their billion-dollar tourist projects: build the infrastructure and hope that international investors jump in sooner rather than later.
The government was to spend $222 million dollars during the first six years, anticipating that international investors would pony up the several
billion dollars needed to finish it.
Originally, it was envisioned that there would be 22 full-service marinas (10 new ones and remodeled others) along the coasts of Baja, Sonora and
Sinaloa. Each marina was also to have airport facilties, golf courses, upper-scale hotels and condos, etc. And we all know about that 84 mile-long
highway linking BOLA with Santa Rosalillita to move boats back and forth--smack down the middle of a protected environmental zone.
The goal was to attract 76,400 boats to the region by 2010 and that by 2014 there would be 5.4 million "nautical tourists" making the journey. At the
time, the editor of a popular sailing magazine estimated that such an ambitious plan would require emptying every marina along the California coast
from the border up to Sausalito.
By most measurements, the project has been a big bust. A few of the marinas have happened, most haven't.
But--assuming that this is the typical "public works project" of Mexico (or anywhere else, for that matter)--then I would say that the project served
its initial purpose, which was to give a chance for public officials (and private individuals with "palanca") to get their hands on some of the loot
as it made its way through the system. And untold millions have likely changed hands as land speculation took off once the project was announced
Furthermore, since something HAD to be built to justify the expenditures of public funds, there is now electricity not only in BOLA, but all along the
way from Guerrero Negro to the Punta Prieta turnoff. Before this project, power ended at El Rosario and was available once again upon crossing into
Baja Sur. And, as someone pointed out, the fishermen at Santa Rosalillita now have excellent access to the Transpeninsular.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this project continue along as subsequent administrations use it to funnel funds their way. And maybe eventually it
will get done, as someone said above. Cancun and Los Cabos took many years before they attracted international tourists in appreciable numbers.
[Edited on 8-4-2010 by Bajatripper]
[Edited on 8-4-2010 by Bajatripper]
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David K
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Great info Steve!
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Baja&Back
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Location: Vancouver, Canada / todo de Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajatripper
The goal was to attract 76,400 boats to the region by 2010 and that by 2014 there would be 5.4 million "nautical tourists" making the journey. At the
time, the editor of a popular sailing magazine estimated that such an ambitious plan would require emptying every marina along the California coast
from the border up to Sausalito.
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There are no where near 76,000 boats in CA capable of travelling to Cabo. Must have pulled that number out of a VERY big sombrero.
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wilderone
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I understand the number of boats that fit into the project hype statistics was the number of registered boats in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Anyway, here's a fairly recent article on the status of the regionin some respects:
http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/the-ghost-harbor-at...
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