We had an amazing experience with the “sinking” (on purpose) ship DYT Yacht Express. After the great load process onto the ship in Brisbane we headed to Ensenada for the offload only one month later.  Not only was the shipment quicker than we could have done driving Roxia it was a little less expensive.  The big negative is you don’t have the experience of crossing the ocean or visiting the remote islands of the South Pacific. I think given the choices for us this was the right decision. We will spend time on the west coast from Mexico to Canada and be able to visit friends and family along the way.

This picture was taken in Papeete Tahiti while Yacht Express was making a stop on the way to Ensenada.

You can see Roxia on the Port side behind a 150′ vessel.

These pictures show the process to re-float the boats prior to driving off.

When we arrived in Mexico we found that two previous owners of Roxia had active Temporary Import Permits (TIP). You cannot obtain a new TIP with an existing one so the customs officials did not know how this could happen.  Because we could not be in Mexico on another persons permit, the only remedy was to apply for exit papers which proves we were leaving Mexico. At that point we were able reprint the newest active TIP first then cancel  the TIP. Then we started over with the second permit.  Because it is “not possible” to have two active TIPs in the system we spent a great deal of time in the customs office. With exit papers in-hand, two canceled TIPs we were able to obtain a new TIP under our name. However, because we had exit papers we had to leave Mexico and clear back into the USA. Fito and Juan at Marina Coral were invaluable in helping us through the process all for $60 US!

While waiting between customs office visits we met through a mutual friend Tomas Fernandez.  Tomas with his two sons Tomas and Diego own and operate two shipyards in Ensenada. Baja Naval is for vessels under 85 feet or 75 tons and Gran Peninsula is for larger vessels up to 200′. Tomas (Sr.) and Rocio own N6219 Alamir. We became fast friends and spent the better part of two days with the two of them.  We had tours of both shipyards and then were treated to three hours at the location of their passion, a center for Downs, deaf or Autistic children. The downs children bake Empanadas which they sell to markets and earn money for their families. Tomas provided the warehouse and the necessary improvements for a bakery and rooms for learning. Also in the facility children from all backgrounds learn to play orchestra instruments and give concerts.  We attended a practice session and spoke with the instructors on one of their breaks.  About 200 children are active at the facility. The gifted teachers were a pure joy to meet and we could easily see their love for Tomas.

To top it off Tomas and Rocio joined us for dinner and visit on Roxia.  We made friends forever and confirmed again how close the Nordhavn family is.

After all the formalities of customs were complete we headed to San Diego and 8 hours later we were back in USA and then able to return to Mexico on our TIP for ten years.