If you're in Mexico now, or will be heading to Mexico this winter, we have some good news for you. Very, very good news. And then even more potentially good news.

What is the only thing cruisers hate about cruising in Mexico? Duh - the time-consuming and ridiculously expensive clearing in and out process at every stop with a port captain. Well, according to Terri Grossman of San Carlos Marina and Marina Seca, who has been and perhaps still is the head of the Mexican Marina Owners Association, a new law is already on the books that will require mariners only to clear into Mexico once when they first arrive, and clear out at their last port before leaving the country. If you've recovered from fainting, yes, that means no more checking in at every port, no more running between banks and port captains, no more paying big clearing fees, and equally big fees to ship's agents. Although this is not an April Fool's Joke, and the law is on the books, it still needs a kind of final approval from the Legislature. Because there are now three or four main political parties in Mexico, this could take some time, but Grossman is hopeful it will be a done deal by the start of the fall cruising season.

If you're looking for proof that this long awaited improvement isn't just another false hope, Grossman tells us that the Mexican government is putting together all the necessary officials for clearing in - Immigration, Aduana, and so forth - at one office on the dock in Ensenada to make it easy for southbound cruisers to clear into the country. This does not mean you have to stop in Ensenada. Your first stop can be, for example, Cabo San Lucas, it's just that all the officials won't be in one place.

Want more good news? Mexican officials are also talking about ways in which they might be able to subsidize the price of fuel, which has gone way up, for visiting mariners. It's not certain this is going to happen, however, as it would be difficult to administrate.

But if the apparent upcoming change in clearing procedures isn't great news, we don't know what is. As for Terri Grossman, she's on the verge of being ecstatic, "having worked since 1977 to get the clearing process simplified." Indeed, she's the one who stood up and told Mexico's President Fox that the current process was like making visiting mariners go around the stations of the cross!

In order to get the final stamp of approval for the simplified clearing process, it may be helpful in the near future for Latitude 38 readers to email certain officials and legislators. Grossman is collecting the key email addresses. So when the time comes, please be ready to make a few keystrokes on your computer.
Assuming the new clearing procedures pass, it will make life much easier for mariners visiting Mexico, and will be a boon to great little places such as San Blas, which have been virtually boycotted by cruisers because of clearing hassles. In fact, San Blas would be one of the first places we'd head this winter.