About David 

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David Kindopp maintained a California Real Estate

Broker’s license (that he obtained when he was twenty-

two years old) from 1974. to 2020. During one note-

worthy adventure he sailed a 50-foot ketch to Mazatlán

and got into the sailing charter business with two

Mexican brothers who owned a small sport fishing fleet.

The brothers were not completely forthright so David

sold the boat to another individual who got that boat

legal and successfully operated in the charter

business. But due to the delay in working with the first

“partners” he had to come back to the states. That was

pre-NAFTA and before many laws regarding doing 

business in Mexico changed, making it noticeably easier

for “gringos” to function in Mazatlán.

 

David has been a real estate broker and mortgage broker

and has negotiated millions of dollars in real estate 

transactions and mortgage loans. Early in his career, he founded a real estate company which had fifty-five agents and five offices. 

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David has written a book about his exploits in Mazatlán (383 pages; 6 x 9 trade paperback) and you can visit the book on line at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00947X0H0. He has recently completed another book of true, short stories set in Mazatlán titled; Tales from Mañanaville ~ Anecdotes, Observations and True Stories from South of the Border. You can check out his Mexico adventure writing here: https://writerdavid2010.wixsite.com/mananaville

 

David is a former private pilot, and a competent blue water (ocean) sailor having sailed from Sausalito to Mazatlán - and then later, in a different sailboat, from San Diego to Eureka, Ca.

 

The boat David sailed to Mazatlán was a 1956 Newporter 50’ Ketch. He spent six months refitting the boat before he took it to Mexico, repairing the electrical system, water system, and rebuilding large sections of the fiberglass and wood in the hull and repairing and replacing elements of the standing and running rigging. He installed an autopilot, auxiliary pumps, and a satellite navigation system. While at anchor, in the water, in Cabo San Lucas, he pulled the transmission and replaced the dampening plate after the screws holding it in place sheared off.

 

The next sailboat he owned he completely re-wired the vessel (for both 115 volt AC and 12 volt DC systems (including installing an inverter and shore power breaker interface and a new 12 Volt DC panel with breakers), built and installed mahogany cabinetry, installed a demand hot water system, and built a head (bathroom) into space in the cabin. Sailing and maintenance skills are in place.

 

David recently wrote a twice monthly column for the Mazatlán Messenger - an English on-line publication.

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About Roberto 

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Roberto Castro has lived in Mazatlán for the last forty-

five years. He has a university education, speaks very

good English, and knows everything about anything in

Mazatlán. 

 

Roberto is a family man with three children. He is a

diesel mechanic, knows sailboats, and knows a lot

about just about everything one needs to know in

Mazatlán. He helped David with sailing charters way

back in 1990 – taking customers out on the boat,

sailing the boat and interacting with charter guests.

 

I, David, have known Roberto for 30 years. I trust him

completely. He sailed my 50-foot ketch alone, with 

customers, when I first came to Mazatlán. He is

honorable, a family man and skilled with boats – sailing

and power. He recently worked as the warehouse

manager for a yacht repair facility in Mazatlán and did 

diesel repairs as well as engine alignments and similar

work. His young (4-year-old) son David, is named after

me.

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A little history about this enterprise.

 

David spent about three years from 2016 to 2019 trying to figure out how to get a sailing charter business legal in Mazatlán. Talking to lawyers, the Port Captain, Immigration, import agents, ad nauseam. Bottom line; if you take paying customers away from the dock you enter a vast area of local, maritime, sate and federal requirements. A nearly impossible set of circumstances, laws, regulations, licenses etc., to navigate and complete. However, if you are the owner of a boat there are virtually no restrictions for personal, local, use. Finally, taking off the blinders, he found a way for people to own a boat and sail Mazatlán at a "too good to be true" price.

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Check out David's Mexico writing here.