Through circumstances beyond our control we spent two months and four days at the Singlar dock in Guaymas, Sonora. This is not a bad thing. I said it last year and I'll say it again now: Guaymas is a great cruiser's destination. The town has history to it, construction improvements of the waterfront and malecon continue, and from a cruiser's perspective you can accomplish much here in the way of repairs, outfitting and provisioning. You can get your boat's fire extinguishers refilled or recharged on Calle 26, a mere two blocks away from the Singlar marina. There is a chandler selling fishing tackle about 6 blocks to the SE near the fishermen's darsena. A large fabric store is in the opposite direction, down the main drag (Serdan) at Calle 18; you have a classic Mexican market, barber shops, pharmacies, restaurants, candy stores, a well-stocked liquor store and at least two large hardware stores all within easy walking distance of the marina. The bus lines are inexpensive and easy to figure out – you can ride one all the way to San Carlos for 12 pesos. There's so much going on hereabouts, someone ought to put together a cruisers' guide.
Then there's the Singlar marina itself. I hear the fuel permits are expected to finalize this month (June 2009) so that the Pemex fuel dock will finally be allowed to open adjacent to the marina. The rooftop bar & restaurant, and the ground-floor cafe, are all up and running right now, as is the lap pool and hot tub. Excellent Internet access in the marina buidlings and along the dock. Big showers, nice laundry area. All the staff are great people and management works hard to build morale and a sense of community. Very nice.
If for some reason you can't find what you're looking for either in town or at the marina, meet Horacio,
Singlar's dock supervisor, lift operator & yard boss. He knows everything and everybody. And on the off-chance he doesn't know where something is, he'll find out.
Here's Jared, marina manager and lift operator. Look at him in action, here, with the TraveLift:
We're not the only cruisers who have had good experiences at Marina Singlar Guaymas. In its year and a half of operation we have seen it grow rapidly into a dry dock that is now at full occupancy, and a floating dock that generally runs from 2/3 full to almost completely full. In short, if you are considering Guaymas as a place to haul your boat for some quick work, or to store your boat for longer term, get in line quickly and make your reservations early. (The dry dock was at maximum capacity in May. When everyone returns to splash in early November for the start of next boating season, they'll fill Singlar's floating slips to capacity while they clean & provision their boats for travel.) If you're nearby, you can meet the Singlar gang in person or hail them on VHF 16. Mind you, contact information goes stale rapidly in these parts, but as of May 2009, one of Marina Singlar Guaymas's telephone numbers is 52-669-9133-720, and the marina manager can be reached via email jared_martinez@hotmail.com. Check it out, people. You're missing out on some good times.
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