This blog will be broken down into several parts so that you can absorb and appreciate the history here.
Building not only shrimp boats but large luxury pleasure yachts has been a part of Puerto Peñasco history for decades. One of the largest was built by Astillero Bellot and is 150′ long. It features exotic woods from all over the world and has 16 staterooms each with different hand carved doors and walls above the beds. As you enter the main salon where the main seating area and kitchen are, the door has a hand carved lighthouse. I will go into the Bellot family history of ship building in the next blog.
Currently as you drive in towards the Old Port, you will see part of the history of Puerto Peñasco. You will see boats that look like they will never make it out of the harbor and boats that have been re-painted and look fresh. If you coming from the Old Port take a left turn by the Cinema and continue around past the school, make a left turn at the 1st stop sign and wind around pass where they are re-doing the boats. When you see these monsters in the Sea of Cortez, they look large, but get them dry docked and you will be amazed at the size. More than once this summer, they have been hauling them down the center of the street to dry dock for repairs. Once the shrimping season is over, the boats are brought ashore for repair and it can be anything from having the large propeller re-buffed to a complete over haul. Later in summer you will see the anchor cables of the boats being stretched out on the street near the Navy yard for repairs. This seems to be a specialized job as the same man has been doing this for as long as I have lived here.
I hope you will appreciate the pictures but also the history of the families of ship builders and fisherman. Remember this city was built upon the fisherman and every June 1st is Marine Day. This day is to honor the fisherman that still fish faithfully as well as those who have gone out and never returned. It is filled with pomp and circumstances with the laying of the wreath and Navy all dressed in white. During this time locals are taken out on boats if they wish and usually there is a large Navy ship in port for the event. Next June make this part of you Memorial Day vacation plans if the USA holiday is close to June 1st. You won’t be disappointed.
Also start making your plans for the USA Labor Day weekend. Make your hotel or condo reservations now to assure you get the lodging you want. Yes it will be hot and steamy, but it beat’s the “dry heat” in Arizona. Come on down and enjoy our clean quiet beaches soon. After this holiday Rocky Point will be pretty quiet until November 9th – 13th when Bike Week rolls around.
Come visit for a few days and stay for a lifetime! Questions about getting her or the city email me at blog@puerto-penasco.com
