WINGSSAIL

wingssail images-fredrick roswold

“I’m getting out” announced Judy, as she leaped over the side of the Zodiac.

There are a few dozen Manzanillas in Mexico, not counting a bunch more Manzanillos, and we were in the dingy heading into the surf beach at one of them, La Manzanilla, in Tenacatita Bay, to go shopping.

The problem was we were a bit too far out from shore when her lovely body departed over the side of the dingy.

I couldn’t stop her.

Judy landed in water about thigh deep and just then a wave hit her from behind, and knocked her down.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold

Surf at Beach Landing in La Manzanilla

I was still rowing but I leaped out of the dingy myself and began to pull it up the beach.

Judy was down in the surf up to her shoulders. The next wave tumbled her under and washed her up the beach, then tried to pull her back down. It tried to pull the dingy down too and I struggled to get the dingy out of the water so I could help my poor wife, who by this time was half drowned and sputtering.

“Get away from the dingy I yelled!”

Too late. The next wave floated the dingy and pushed Judy right under it. All I could see of her was her left hand holding onto the back of the dingy.

Then her head popped up and I could see she was as happy as a wet hen.

By now I was in the water too and I pulled to her to her feet and we staggered up the slippery rocks to the sand.

A guy came down from the shore and helped us pull up the dingy.

Well, so much for a dignified landing.

But Judy is a tough cookie and once she stopped whimpering she changed her shirt and was ready to go exploring the town and looking for supplies.

God I love that gal.

So off we went, walking around La Manzanilla one of the quietest, cleanest little towns in Mexico. Our favorite store in was right where we left it when we were last here in 2019, and they had everything on our list, including sesame oil, imagine that. Soon we were shopped out.

Oh, did I mention there is a cash machine in this town and we got money too?

Now off to find a restaurant. This part of Mexico is famous for “rollo del mar”, which is a thin fillet of fish rolled around all sorts of goodies such as shrimp and cheese kind of like a burrito and fried crispy. The lady at the store suggested El Gato, right on the beach.

It was just across the street and from the table at El Gato we could see our boat Wings anchored off shore.

And they had Pina Coladas. What could be better?

After lunch we got back to the dingy and out through the surf without any problem and we weighed anchor and motored Wings back to Tenacatita.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold