"Prepare for Inspection"

So commanded the heavily accented voice over the VHF radio as we carefully motored into the lightly-charted bay to drop anchor. After sailing 300 miles from Puerto Vallarta, we were calling at remote Isla Socorro for a quiet place to work on the spinnaker halyard up at the foremast head, and to have a little break. It was early morning and men in uniform slowly gathered on the boat ramp ashore, then made their way out to Issuma in a low launch. The island is a nature preserve and military outpost of Mexico.

The military circled us, taking photos and notes, then came alongside, and 3 men boarded Issuma. The Commander carried a binder of paperwork that took an hour to complete, luckily, he also had a sense of humor and we all got through it in broken Spanish with a smile. His Captain took photos of everything on the boat, from every angle. The young Marine, cool in his beret and aviator shades, kept his machine gun pointed down at all times. At the end, we were actualy asked to complete a short evaluation of the inspection. Questions like did we share drinks, offer to trade, or was anything taken, were in contrast to the professionalism of the team.

We had obtained permission to anchor at the island for a day, but civilians are not allowed ashore. The spinnaker work took less time than the inspection did! We enjoyed our breakfast, then jumped into the cool, blue Pacific water for a swim before heading back out to sea.