Small boats banned off Puerto Vallarta because of hurricane

Authorities closed the waters off the popular beach destination of Puerto Vallarta to small boats Tuesday as Hurricane Carlos continued to skirt up Mexico's southwestern coastline.

At least one cruise ship, the Carnival Miracle, canceled a port call planned for Wednesday in Puerto Vallarta, port official Odilon Garcia Castillon said by phone from the Pacific Coast city.

With safety alerts in effect from Civil Protection officials, officials were "continuing to monitor the situation," Castillon said.

A Category 1 storm, Carlos weakened a bit by Tuesday evening, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 kph), the U.S. National . . .