From the Perspective of Freda & Allan Brender (aka Bubbie and Zaida)

My mother and step-dad, Freda and Allan Brender, wrote the following contribution to our blog, describing their experiences aboard Whatcha Gonna Do during their recent visit with us. I added the photos. -BG

"We arrived in Puerto Vallarta on January 14 and were met by Barb at the airport. After picking up an air shipment of kosher meat from Mexico City we made our way to the marina at La Cruz and first boarded WhatCha Gonna Do.

"As first time sailors, we were looking forward to our time on the boat with our family but were also a bit apprehensive since this was a new experience and we also wondered whether our physical abilities were up to life on a boat. As it turned out, our primary difficulty was in getting on and off the boat and we generally managed OK.

"The weather did not cooperate and we spent our first three days in the marina. We saw a pretty spectacular waterspout offshore extending from the clouds to the ocean's surface, basically a tornado over water. We walked around La Cruz which is a small Mexican town that clearly benefits economically from the new marina. Shabbat dinner on the boat was a delight with home-baked challah. The next evening we had dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant together with the family from another boat that has been mentioned in these blogs, Journey. A few nights later we also met the family of another boat mentioned here, Mishak.

"We left La Cruz on Sunday, January 17 for Punta Mita at the northwestern end of Banderas Bay. We sailed for 4 -5 hours, zig-zagging across the bay following the wind. Along the way we saw several whales and a number of great breaches. We anchored offshore for the night.

"On Monday morning we set sail for the Marietas, a group of uninhabited and largely inaccessible islands at the opening of Banderas Bay where there was swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and touring by dinghy. We sailed back to Punta Mita where we anchored about a half mile off shore. The next day, after school work was done, was spent onshore but the highlight was getting there. Freda and Barb swam the whole distance in about an hour while the rest of us followed closely in the dinghy.

"Early Wednesday morning we headed east to Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. Michael caught a late afternoon flight to S. F. to attend to business. The rest of us spent time in Puerto Vallarta and near the marina. The marina is part of a large complex with a major resort hotel. We were able to use its facilities and made good use of the pools. We took an interesting boat tour up the river into a national park and saw lots of iguanas, crocodiles and water birds.

"Now we have left the boat and Mexico. Looking back, we are impressed with how all the Mitgang family has adapted to life on the boat and at sea. They are all sailors now. The catamaran is just right for the four of them, is comfortable if compact and a great way to see the world. The Pacific coast of Mexico is really beautiful and we are grateful we had the opportunity to see some of it with them."

-Freda and Allan Brender