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January 2009 UPDATE:
The 2010 Vallarta Race is scheduled to kick off with the first starts on Thursday February 18th, and conclude with the Awards Ceremony on Saturday February 28th.
We will be returning to Paradise Village in Marina Vallarta, Mexico. Stay tuned for details to come.
March 1 , 2008 UPDATE:
RACE RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY
As Friday turns to Saturday Morpheus and Innocent Merriment crossed the finish line at Punta Mita, leaving Raincloud approx 30 miles from the finish. The conditions were far more favorable Friday night than they were Thursday, and these last few finishers were able to quickly make their way past the Tres Marias and into Puerto Vallarta making a steady 7-9 kts.
Despite finishes at all hours of the night, the Vallarta race hosts have been standing dockside to greet each boat with a warm Mexican welcome throughout the week, which always includes buckets of cold beer. The lineup of boats at the dock at Paradise Village is nearly complete, and the Grand Awards Fiesta is set for Saturday night with a large crowd ready to party.
The '08 Vallarta Race has been an epic event, from Kick Off Party in San Diego to creative greetings in Mexico. The sailors experienced just about the full spectrum of conditions from 30kts + winds maxing the power of these speedy boats to complete lack of breeze and the test of patience. They saw bits of rain and lots of sun, wildlife from flying fish to huge pods of whales. But most of all the camaraderie that goes along with a distance race both on the boats and on the docks is something that every sailor and spectator can remember.
Special thanks goes to the hosts in Puerto Vallarta, both Commodore John Moore and the Vallarta Yacht Club, and Paradise Village Marina and Resort, who's hospitality and staff made the complexities of this event come together with great success and reminds us why Puerto Vallarta is a wonderful regatta destination.
February 29, 2008 UPDATE:
FRIDAY PHOTO GALLERY
Friday has provided a quicker approach for the boats remaining on the course compared to Thursday's conditions. The 5 guys aboard Uncontrollable Urge, fresh off their Transpac race, finished Friday morning and were at the dock in PV before noon.
There was an exchange of Finish boats and crew today, as Safari headed in and Jeff Johnson and Randy Hough aboard Sweet Lady headed out to Punta Mita for the night. The finish deadline that was written in to the Sailing Instructions was extended by 48 hours to allow the last boats in the fleet a chance to finish if the wind slowed significantly again. Condor, the Columbia 50 and final boat in the Division 4 fleet retired from the race Friday morning and have turned on their motor, having had enough fun on the sea and ready to party in PV.
Dennis Pennell and the crew of Blue Blazes were the first Division 3 boats to finish, crossing the line Friday afternoon and heading in to PV for the fiesta at Vallarta Yacht Club. VYC has been hopping all week with the Vallarta Race crowd growing each night, along with those involved in MEXORC which immediately follows the PV race.
THURSDAY PHOTO GALLERY
Dennis Conner and the Stars and Stripes crew just arrived at the Vallarta Yacht Club before midnight and are busy enjoying their land fall. Among the happy crew were three generations of the La Dow family, Gerry, son Andy and Grandson Jake who worked as part of Dennis’s crew.
Super Gnat, Cliff Thompson’s Beneteau 40.7, the first Division 4 boat to finish also made it across the Sea of Cortez to Punta Mita and the finish line around 1900 Thursday night.
Both crew’s knew the importance of getting to the finish line before the late night breeze shut off and really didn’t want to spend another night slatting.
…which the entire Division 3 is doing. Most of the fleet is spread across a 70 mile swath of sea and is doing 1 kt or less. Pendragon, the last of the Division 2 boats has finished at 23:46:26 PST (1:46am in PV) with just enough breeze to push them across, while host's Nick and Carol Rau anxiously awaited their arrival.
Pendragon had a bit of trouble getting in to the marina at 0200 PST, but when they finally made it to the dock wives and the hosts were ready to great them despite the early hour. The team was greeted with sombreros and mustaches along with beer, tequila, and sandwiches. Thanks to Nick and Carol Rau, along with Dick Markie and Jeff Brown for their early morning assistance in getting Pendragon safely to the dock.
"That's a Blue Boat!"
Unfortunately for those still on the course, the breeze took a siesta Wednesday night and nobody made much progress towards the finish.
Peligroso and Stark Raving Mad battled their way through light air and the Mexican fishing industry to finish around 17:45 PST last night. Akela finished about an hour later. While celebrating aboard "Victoria", the host boat for Peligroso in PV, the crew recounted their excitement when they realized the boat they were chasing towards the finish and eventually passing was the blue hull of Stark Raving Mad rather than the white hull of Akela. The quote of the race for Peligroso was when the first crew member shouted "That's a BLUE boat!" Skipper Dale Williams and crew rested easy Wednesday night knowing they had just won Division 1.
The Division 2 boats are between 50 and 80 miles out and should be finishing mid-day to this evening.
Check back this afternoon for all the latest.
February 27, 2008 UPDATE:
The last few hours on the course (Wednesday afternoon) have been full of mixed conditions. As the Division 1 boats sat 40+ miles off the finish around noon today, sailing in the 4-6 kt range, the latest position update on the Race Tracker shows a surge reaching 11+ kts for Stark Raving Mad, Peligroso, and Akela. These boats find themselves 8-15 nm from the finish at Punta Mita at 1630 PST. The thoughts of midnight finishers tonight are now behind the regatta committee in Puerto Vallarta. With SDYC and VYC members waiting anxiously for the latest finish estimations and position reports, conditions in the Sea of Cortez continue to be ever-changing.
Each boat in this year's regatta have a local host waiting to greet them upon arrival with all sorts of surprises. Vallarta Yacht Club has been abuzz with interest on the pending arrivals.
As you watch the tracker Wednesday the next update will likely show Division 1 complete, and the heated Division 2 trying to catch the same rush to the finish. The 4 Div 2 boats are spread approx 50nm north and south from each other across the Sea of Cortez, stuck in the light air that Div 1 experienced this morning. Another close finish will be likely, with Holua the current class leader for first to finish. Listen to Mark Rudiger aboard Holua with his Wednesday Audiocast update for the latest from Division 1.
MAG 80 VIDEOS
Congratulations to Doug Baker and the crew of Magnitude 80, who crossed the finish line at 04:07:35 PST, crushing the course record by just over six hours (-06:08:01). The course's previous record was owned by Pyewacket in the first race SDYC hosted to the destination of Puerto Vallarta in 1998.
The sole entry in the Performance Cruising Class, Beowulf, is the second finisher at 05:43:17 PST. Official finish times will be posted as soon as possible.
For the fans in PV, remember there is a 1-2 hour trip from the finish line at Punta Mita to Nuevo Vallarta and the docks at Paradise Village or Marina Vallarta. Come welcome the racers to PV!
February 26, 2008 UPDATE:
Mark Rudiger's latest post from Holua is online. See what Division 2 is up to.
Ed Knight spotted the Division 1, 2, and 3 boats as the passed Rosarito on Sunday afternoon (see photo).
Have you submitted your entry for the Vallarta Race Story Competition? Now's your chance... SCUTTLEBUTT PV STORIES
Click on the Fiestas Tab above for all the party info for Thursday and Friday at Vallarta Yacht Club, and Saturday's Grand Awards Fiesta at Paradise Village.
So this is how the race goes – big breeze down to Cabo, then agonize your way across the Gulf for the second leg of this race. Your approach to Cabo (in tight = within 25 miles of the tip of Baja, out wide = outside of 25 miles from the tip of Baja) will have everything to do with how you finish in the race.
Magnitude, with her 361 nm run Monday and 269 nm run Tuesday, looks to be on a pretty good track to better Pyewacket’s course record of 3 days, 21 hrs hrs, 55 min, 36 sec. Although her tracker is not working, her weather report at 0800 revealed 13 kts of wind, so she is still finding breeze as she picks her way across the second leg of this race. On the other hand, the escort vessel Coley D, also crossing the gulf today, reports calm seas. Aahhhhh!
Beowulf is the sole “Performance Cruiser” and is sailing under a PHRF handicap. Beowulf can use her engine to power through the light winds, although she does accrue a time penalty for doing so. Indications are that Magnitude will overhaul Beowulf just before the finish, unless Mag. hits a big hole.
Looking at the Position Report for Tuesday, based on their elapsed time so far, Peligroso, Holua and Velos each are within 30 minutes of one another for overall corrected time honors. Pendragon is an hour behind that bunch and four or five more are within two hours. This is still anyone’s race.
The finish boat Safari has left the dock and will be setting the finish line this afternoon. We will be on alert beginning around 6 am Wednesday as we anticipate the first arrival.
Read more articles from 2-25 and prior >>
