Laser sailor Bill Symes loves La Cruz.

Laser sailing folks are unique in and of themselves. We’ve had many who’ve stayed at Villa Amor Del Mar share their passion for the sport with us and it appears to be downright addictive!

Bill Symes is the epitome of the above. He and his beautiful wife, Lauralee, visited Villa Amor Del Mar after choosing La Cruz de Huanacaxtle when Bill’s passion for sailing coincided with the coaching clinics at the International Sailing Academy around 2010. ISA is perhaps the premier training center in the world for Laser sailors (the Laser is the Olympic single-handed sailing class for both men and women). And there’s no better place in the world for small boat sailing than Banderas Bay.

Infatuated with our quaint Mexican village, Lauralee commenced looking for a property while Bill was on the water working his craft! They bought their house in La Cruz in 2018, and have been splitting their time between here and Portland, Oregon, for the past many years.

Bill grew up in Southern California spending his childhood summers sailing small boats in Newport Beach. He told me “After college, I moved with my young family to Portland where we raised our four kids, and I pursued a career in marketing and communications. After a few years’ break for parenting duty, I rediscovered my passion for sailing, eventually becoming involved in the emerging racing scene in the Columbia River Gorge. I retired from my day job in 2010 and have been pretty much focused on sailing ever since.

Bill Symes (USA) competing in the Radial Great Grand Master class on Day 1 of the Laser Masters World Championships 2018
Photograph: David Branigan/Oceansport

Exciting for those taking clinics Bill became a guest coach at ISA in 2020. He stated he “Specializes in clinics for “masters” sailors, i.e., those of us who have aged out of Olympic contention but still want to compete with people of our own, um, level of maturity. The minimum age for masters’ events is 30; there is no maximum age (Laser sailors are currently competing well into their 80s!).

Sailors come from all over the world to sail at ISA; mostly from the US but lots of Canadians and a handful from Mexico, Australia, England, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, and various Central and South American countries.

When asked what Bill loves best; “Well of course I love sailing, and I get great satisfaction out of sharing my 60+ years of experience with other sailors who aspire to compete nationally and internationally. It’s a great group of men and women who are passionate about this sport and very fun to be around. So, I guess I would say it’s the friendships and comradery that I enjoy most. A good year in La Cruz would be 365 days of waking up with the sun, putting on a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, walking down to the square for huevos con chorizo, then heading out into Banderas Bay for a few hours of champagne sailing and coming home to a couple of cold Pacifico’s at the Marina Bar and Grill Restaurant followed by giant shrimps on the Bar-B at home with LauraLee as the sun sinks into the sea; augmented of course by the occasional morning paddle and/or evening dancing to classic rock ‘n roll at the Treehouse Bar and Grill!”

Vaughn Harrison captures this fabulous photo as Bill sailed… one of the many blessings of sailing Banderas Bay.

Living in a waterfront town Bill shared, “In addition to sailing, I enjoy stand-up paddle boarding on calm mornings with LauraLee and we love to take our 19 ft. runabout out to Punta Mita for a picnic lunch or across the bay to explore the lush, exotic coves of the south shore.”

I always ask if folks cook, and I love Bill’s answer “I don’t really do much of the cooking because I’m married to the world’s greatest cook. Our favorite dish is grilled fresh fish from the Mercado del Mar, on which I assist by standing over the BBQ sipping one of Lauralee’s fabulous margaritas. I haven’t found a restaurant yet that can match that, although La Cata del Mar in the Mercado comes close. We will go out for the occasional burger at Ala Braza, pastor tacos at Tacos Junior, or pizza at Casa Hule.”

Bill’s favorite quote? “I have a lot of them, but the one that comes to mind right now is “I may be wrong, but I doubt it” by NBA great Charles Barkley.”

Bill is most inspired by his wife LauraLee. “She encouraged me to go to my first Laser Masters World Championship in 2002 and has supported my crazy sailing dreams ever since. Oh, and the first light of morning on the Sierra Madre Mountains across the bay is inspiring too.” The final question I asked is “What is the one thing you’re most proud of in your life, greatest achievement kind of thing and Bill exclaimed “That’s a no brainer: it would be our children, Kate, Anna, John, Tim, Nicole and Zac!”