Pangas No Mas – published Feb. 2006 – Western Outdoor News
No matter what you may want or remember, Baja will never be your dad’s Baja for much longer. Maybe we’ve already lost it. It’s all a matter or perspective. If you’re a real estate guy with deep pockets, Baja must seem like a vast landscape of opportunity just waiting for the hand of creativity to sweep over it. From the other side of the wall, if you’ve been pushing pangas off the beach for 20 years, there’s a whole different perspective.
Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas is the iconic beachmaster of beachmasters. Everyone knows Eric and if you haven’t fished with him off San Jose del Cabo then you probably know someone who has. Sleepy little San Jose del Cabo used to be a hidden enclave at polar opposites to it’s bustling sister city of Cabo San Lucas half an hour away but it’s about to step…no accelerate. . . into the new age with the construction of the massive Puerto Los Cabos Marina Project . According to Eric, the project is progressing rapidly and they predict that they will be opening the entrance to the ocean sometime this summer insofar as they’ve nearly completed the southern jetty and have started on the larger northern jetty.
If you thought the Cabo San Lucas Marina was big, the San Jose operation boasts plans for a ferry terminal, offices, private beach club, an island boutique hotel, 500 slips for boats up to 150’, restaurants and retail shops, a seafood marketplace not to mention the Greg Norman golf courses, home sites and condos. There’s even a 20 acre sports parque plus sports center and two soccer fields. Hard to believe we’re only a few years removed from the days when Cabo didn’t even have a working dock!
Eric has told me that real estate is going through the roof and so many things are changing. Some for the good, but he’s also worried it doesn’t bode well for his fleet as well as others, but he’s trying to remain hopeful.
“Our fleet has to relocate from the northern end of the beach, which is where the northern jetty had been planned, so now we are on the furthest southern end of the same beach in about half the area. Also, the new palapa and fillet table that Puerto Los Cabos agreed to build for us is of smaller scale so we are adjusting as best we can.”
He added, “A major problem now facing everyone is there are no longer many beaches where locals can go. Due to construction, there is barely room for all of the 50 or so pangas and still have room for the public and their cars.” He expects that with all the resorts along the Cabo corridor as well as the marina construction, it’s only going to get worse.
The days of the panga might be numbered. According to Brictson, there is a small area just inside the marina “away from the fancy yachts” that is slated “to have some 80 or so slots for pangas. This is being built just to keep peace with the locals. This area will create even more competition and price wars than we already have.” He added, “ I personally feel the panga charters will rapidly become obsolete as wealthier clientele prefer larger and more comfortable boats, besides the fact that we will need boats capable of holding more fuel and traveling further distances in order to find fishing action.”
He intimated to me that fishing is not what it used to be either, but that’s the subject of another column. I”ll keep you posted as things progress. However, further news that Armageddon can’t be too far around the corner:
Mark Rayor of Vista Sea Sports in Los Barriles says that the town got it’s first traffic light recently. Add that to the new golf course where the old landing strip used to be in front of Hotel Palmas de Cortez and can Starbucks be far behind?
Maybe it’s already happening in La Paz which now has a (close your eyes and cringe)…an Applebees Restaurant right on the malecon (waterfront). There are already several very popular coffee bars in town, a new bowling alley, driving range and COSTCO type wholesale and a genuine Irish pub that opened last season. As one of my Mexican friends told me, “Me gusta mucho American pancakes.” (I like American pancakes.) Oh no. Chucky Cheese must already be looking for a space.
I’ll be in my Tailhunter Booth at the International Sportsman’s Expo at the Pomona Fairgrounds Fairplex (L.A. Co. Fairgrounds) Feb. 17-19th. Come by and say hi.
That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.
Jonathan
That's My Story 
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