This is the first of a series of blog posts sharing thoughts and observations regarding preparation for cruising Mexico.

Coming south next season? Here's some things to consider.

Rig - Please don't leave the states without a thorough rig inspection and tune. Some friends of ours who were scheduled to be leaving right around now for the South Pacific just had their mast pulled on account of a rigger discovering some serious defects. They are hoping they will still make it out this season but once you pull the stick you never know. Having the rig in tune will help the boat sail better and reduce shock loading and other potential damage.

Sails - Remember what I wrote about importing difficulties in yesterday's blog post? Don't be one of the cruisers who head south with all the latest gadgetry and old sails. You will be amazed at how quickly those sails which have worked okay for daysailing and weekending will deteriorate after weeks or months of continuous use. Although Island Planet Sails and other lofts are more than happy to help get your new sails shipped down to Mexico you will pay additional for shipping and handling even without the duties. Most lofts in Mexico mainly do repairs and new sail choices are limited. Make sure your working sails are in good order before leaving. Once you get to Mexico there will be a fair amount of light air sailing. You will need at least one decent cruising spinnaker or other reaching/downwind sail unless you enjoy the sound of your diesel, exhaust fumes, and more heat in the boat from the engine. I will have a post up dedicated solely to sail inspection, repair, and replacement in the near future.

Electrical - Many cruisers including us have had electrical issues. We saw a spate of failed external voltage regulators this season. Even conscientious and well prepared cruisers have had some surprises. Some friends here in La Cruz purchased new batteries before leaving the states and those batteries are failing prematurely. Bring plenty of wire, a variety of connectors, good multimeter, fuses, etc. Your solar panels will probably not perform as well as you think. Keep in mind that the winter days don't have that many hours of daylight compared to what you experienced in the summer elsewhere. The boat will be swinging at anchor and some panels may be in shade, especially on a ketch with panels on the sides outboard of the mizzen boom. A wind generator may be annoying to hear and ineffective in the calmer anchorages but those who have them seem to appreciate the extra amps. One thing we wish we had bought is one of those Honda "suitcase" style portable 2kw generators. In addition to being a great backup power source, especially on those cloudy days, in the event of a major charging system failure you won't have to find a marina to plug into shorepower. Another item on our wishlist is netbook computers. Our Dell and Lenovo notebook PC's are terrible power hogs. If we want to spend any significant amount of time on the PC it usually means running the engine to charge batteries. The new netbooks are inexpensive and much easier to haul around.

Scuba gear or "hookah" compressor - You will accumulate growth on the bottom a lot more frequently in the tropics. You will definitely want to knock off any hard growth on the prop. Divers are ridiculously expensive in places like Banderas Bay. Your hookah will quickly pay for itself and free you from having to take a chance on divers who may or may not know what they are doing. We avoided one anchorage at Isla Isabella because we were concerned about fouling our anchor. Although Jean and I are both certified divers we lack scuba gear. We will have a hookah soon. Freeing up one fouled anchor that otherwise would have been abandoned will save over a thousand dollars and not force you into a marina for lack of a good primary anchor. Anchors and chain are not cheap in Mexico. If you can afford scuba gear (high on our wish list) then you will enjoy some phenomenal diving. At a minimum we think a hookah is required equipment.

Watermaker - A nice to have but not a must have in our opinion. Hauling bottled water to the anchorage is manageable. We are keeping a close eye on a company that is getting ready to introduce the first reasonably priced watermaker for marine use. It will use the same type of components as the units already on the market but use a much more efficient business model. Hmmm a more efficient business model. Sounds like the reason our company is able to support our cruising and keep customers happy.