America's Cup Tour: Although I’d worked as a “two-stripe” officer on the largest cruise ship in the world prior to returning to Puerto Vallarta, I had never stepped onto a sailboat before. All I knew about America’s Cup sailboats was that they were racing vessels with gigantic sails. Clearly, I was a rookie. However, by the end of the day, I knew the difference between jibbing and tacking, had learned various starting-line strategies to outmaneuver the competition before the start, and was even grinding the winch to help propel our boat to victory!

Best New Maritime Adventure: Sea Lion Encounters: The Vallarta area is well known for animal adventures such as swimming with dolphins and whale watching, but you may not know that you can now interact with sea lions and even go snorkeling with them.These grand whisker-faced creatures are extremely social, comical and mischievous by nature. They love to interact and play with humans, and being close to them is an exhilarating experience.

Surfing: For decades, surfers of all ages have flocked to Mexico’s Pacific coast, long considered to be a destination of choice, in order to benefit from its more than 1,500 miles of beaches, points and reefs. Well-known surf spots from the northern state of Sinaloa all the way down to Oaxaca are awaiting exploration year round.

J24 Worlds – World-class Sailing on World-class Banderas Bay: What makes a great sailboat race? Cruising World says Banderas Bay’s “ideal weather and breathtaking landscape” make it the perfect place for a regatta. Add in a highly skilled, competitive group of international sailors and a fleet of the world’s most popular one-design keelboats, and you have a winning formula.

Dive right in! The water's fine: There are some experiences that are like no others, and diving is one of them. Although it had been described to me as being similar to dreams of flying, I still found myself surprised by the intensity of the actual experience.