Article# 1 - Ensenada - Mexico’s Front Door More than 2,000 U.S. sailing and power boats will descend on Ensenada for the 1998 Ensenada race festivities in April, and many of those boaters will be taking their first step through Mexico’s front door. Ensenada offers the Old World charm that Tijuana lacks, plus it has a large sheltered harbor with marinas, sportfishing docks, fuel piers, launch ramps, moorings, anchorages and plenty of entertainment ashore. Old hands will notice how much Ensenada has improved since the harbor was cleaned up and the pleasant paseo, or public walkway, was constructed along the waterfront. Located just 60 miles from the U.S. border, Ensenada is the first real harbor you come to when coast-hopping southward. En route, several interesting landmarks are visible along shore, such as the beefed-up border fence and the old bull ring at Tijuana; the smoke stacks and tanker moorings at the north end of Rosarito Beach; and the white-roofed movie studios at the south end of Rosarito Beach. While Titantic was being filmed here last year, many boaters mistook the giant three-stack mockup for a real shipwreck on the beach. Just south of Punta Descanso, Sugar Loaf Rock looks for all the world like a northbound fishing boat, except that it never yields the right of way. If you train your binoculars toward Punta Piedra and Punta Salsipuedes, you may see the beginnings of some future boating facilities: a launch ramp with an RV park and a big new marina. Boating Facilities About 2.75 miles north of Ensenada Harbor, you’ll find Marina Coral’s breakwater on the west side of Punta Morro. This 300 slip marina opened only two years ago, and it is almost always filled to capacity, mostly by U.S. and Canadian boaters who stay for three months at a time, or by private sportfishing boats that cater to hotel guests. The longest waiting list is for slips in the 35 to 45 foot range, but there’s usually room for 65-footers and up. The entrance to Marina Coral’s yacht basin is awkward; in order to turn in, you first have to go past the outer jetty, which takes you close to the rocks along shore. This breakwater was extended to shield the slips from storm surge, but it doesn’t always work. However, once you’re inside, the fuel dock is easily accessible and well operated. Ensenada Harbor itself is marked either by the whitish scar of a rock quarry on the north side of town -- or by a huge cruise ship or a tuna boat docked inside the breakwater. An approach GPS position you might use is 31 degrees, 51 minutes North, 116 degrees, 38 minutes West. As you enter the wide breakwater, a large mooring area lies to starboard. All the pleasureboat activity is located in the northeast corner of the harbor, on either side of the large pink Plaza Marina building. Straight ahead, you’ll see three commercial docks and two shipyards. The I.N.C. Boat Yard is popular for big-boat renovations and for emergency haulouts. The cruise ship docks and tuna freighters are at the far end to port. Ensenada’s public moorings are rented from either Juanito’s Boats, Bandito’s Moorings or Gordo’s Moorings, and since visiting yachts can’t simply grab moorings that might already belong to local fishing skippers, it’s best to call ahead on VHF to ask for assistance in locating a vacant mooring. Juanito’s Boats answers on VHF 18 and operates sportfishing boats and a decent little marina north of the big pink Plaza Marina. Owner Luis Cordona speaks perfect English and can arrange fuel and other boat services for you. For Gordo’s Moorings and Bandito’s Moorings, try VHF 06. Gordo is well known to veteran trailerboaters, and his ancient launch ramp and small boat yard are still visible behind the new developments -- but very little used. Bandito also has a few slips next door to Baja Naval. Baja Naval Marina and Boat Yard is the primary destination for pleasureboaters inside Ensenada harbor. A huge Mexican flag flying in the plaza, which is just south of Baja Naval’s two docks worth of slips, marks the location of the marina. This modern boat yard recently expanded to the south, encompassing part of the former military base next door. The four acre outdoor work area is now paved, fenced, lighted and guarded. Marina Baja Naval’s covered sheds, bathrooms and laundry facilities were renovated recently. The 75 ton Travelift hauls boats out of the water, and a fuel truck delivers diesel from the area on the north side of the marina docks. Baja Naval’s 40 full-service slips fill two docks, and an additional 20 slips may be in the works. Since the waterfront paseo was constructed, marina guests no longer have to enter through the boat yard, and Baja Naval’s uniformed guards keep passersby from loitering near the locked gate leading to the marina’s docks. Ensenada’s new foot-traffic-only paseo is good for a safe and pleasant stroll, and is decorated with flower beds and banks of flagstone benches. When the shade trees mature, it will look more like Barcelona than Baja. The paseo starts behind the traditional Fish Market and runs south past Baja Naval. The Fish Market is a great place to buy the freshest lobsters, cabrilla, sea bass, red snapper or huachenango, and squid or calamari to take back to cook on board. Outside, you’ll find two lanes of stalls with stools and counters where short-order cooks fry up fish tacos, fish sticks and other delicious finger foods from the sea. South of Baja Naval, construction is under way for a new marina basin and cruise ship terminal. When it’s completed, the cruise ships will no longer berth in the northwest corner of the harbor, and visiting boaters will have a greater choice of slips. Official Paperwork Everyone coming to Mexico on a boat must have a valid passport, and the boat skipper must have the boat registration or documentation. If you’re arriving as a registered participant in one of the races that finish off Ensenada, it’s likely that the legwork will be done by your race committee. If you’re staying at one of the marinas, they can clear your papers for a small service fee. Fishing permits and licenses should be supplied by your race committee, but they’re also available in Ensenada. However, if you’re not a registered racer or are staying at the marina, you’ll need to make the rounds of capitania (port captain), aduana (customs) and migracion (immigration) with all your papers in hand. Start at the port captain’s office, across the street from the I.N.C. Boat Yard on the north side of the harbor. It has a sign in English that says harbormaster. Captain Estrada will tell you which office to visit next. After you’re officially cleared in, you’re free to check out Ensenada behind the sea wall. Fun Ashore Shopping, eating and drinking are the favorite pasttimes of most visitors to Ensenada, even boaters. Finding your way to any of these activities on foot is easy. Costera and Mateos are the first two streets you’ll come across from the waterfront. Both streets are lined with shops and eateries, and Mateos was recently renovated with wide brick sidewalks and wheelchair ramps. Good buys in Ensenada are soft leather luggage or suede team jackets, fanciful carved furniture custom-made by a local artist or satirical clay sculptures crafted by a Guadalajaran artist. Traditional handicrafts from southern Mexico are pretty well screened before they reach Ensenada’s nicer shops, but Chicklets and macramé wristbands are still sold on the street corners. The Bahia Hotel is a traditional gathering spot for races ending in Ensenada, and it occupies most of a city block between Costera and Mateos. My favorite restaurant is Mariscos Ensenada, which is on the north side of Riveroll Avenue just inland from Mateos. The chefs are known as the “seafood specialists.” The two swankiest restaurants are El Rey Sol (French country) on Mateos near Blancarte Avenue and Cueva de los Tigres (great for abalone), which is one mile south of town by taxi. Houssong’s Cantina is probably the most famous bar in Mexico. Although Houssong’s T-shirt stores pop up along the north end of Mateos, the original bar is still on Hidalgo-Ruiz. The facade is green, and it has swinging saloon-type doors. Wine tasting tours are offered by Domeq and Santo Tomas Vineyards in their showrooms on north Mateos. At the Estero Beach Hotel south of town, a natural history museum is open to the public. The new university at Ensenada has tours of the campus, which climbs the hillside north of Marina Coral. If it’s been a while since you visited Ensenada, you’ll be happy to see the improvements around the waterfront. If you’re racing down, be sure to take enough time to see them all before you depart.