William Reed, local Puerto Vallarta author, passed away last night, July 30th, at 8:30 p.m. at the age of 79 after recent poor health. He is survived locally by his loving wife, Sylvia Reed.

Mr. Reed retired to Puerto Vallarta in 1972 and was author of over nine books. His most recent book, Rocks & Shoals, is the first second half of his memoirs, but also an intriguing page-turner revealing a never before made public top secret program that was used during the Cuban missile crisis to track the Russian submarines. William Reed was one of those who briefed President Kennedy on the program and its important implications during those tense days.

Mr. Reeds AMexican Odyssey is the last half of his memoirs, although written before Rocks & Shoals, and has been called a “hip-pocket history” of Puerto Vallarta’s last 30 years. Angelica Huston said of it:

“Bill Reed’s Mexican Odyssey follows the amazing life, near deaths, and many loves of this real-life Superman. In his poignant memoirs, Reed (a retired Naval Intelligence officer, historian, biographer, publisher, art-gallery owner, musician, writer, adventurer) – shares with us his own private Vallarta. From the beautiful jungles and pristine beaches of Mismaloya, Las Animas and Las Caletas, to the piñata parties, mariachis, scuba dives and poker games – and a deep romance between Reed and his wife, Sylvia Rosa Garces Marroqui – this book has something for everyone.”

Mr. William Reed’s other seven books included collaborating in the writing of John Huston’s biography, An Open Book: John Huston and Tarzan: my Father with Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. and W. Craig Reed.

Administrative Note: Website Update

After a late battle with technical problems, our website is in final corrections now and is expected to launch at the end of next week. Look for it here at www.boatmexico.com at which time this blog will move to an associated site address.

SOMETHING WICKED safely arrived June 30th in San Francisco after losing her rudder in the Vic - Maui. She was leading with good margins when Mike Danielson was at the helm and suddenly lost steerage and saw the rudder floating behind the boat!

Mike, tremendously experienced in his own right, still did what people usually do during an emergency: revert to primary training’s lessons. Fortunately for Mike and the rest of the team, Mike’s primary training was under the tutelage of his father, BoatMexico’s maintenance and professional writing expert, Doug Danielson. Doug is a professional delivery captain and surveyor as well.

In an email to his wife soon after things were put in order on the boat, Mike wrote: “Aside from thinking of you and Merik, I thanked God for growing up as a sea scout and all of the training and practice back then. I thought about what Dad would do and we got it done.”

It must have been good stuff. SOMETHING WICKED safely arrived in San Francisco last night, June 30th, only 3 days after she made a sharp left turn out of the race and headed for her emergency destination rather than the finish line in Hawaii. She made great speed under very challenging conditions, a testament to the skills of the crew who were leading the race.

FULL WEBSITE UPDATE (July 1): BoatMexico didn’t get the full site up and online on June 27th as programmers had promised us, but we truly are close. Our site has features and a level of interactivity that you are going to love, but they are requiring extra tweaking time. Keep checking back with us.