Check out the Islands Race website for the preliminary finish reports with final results posted by awards time at 1800 on Saturday. A fast race for most aside from spotty wind near the finish. Good feedback from several of the competitors who said they enjoyed the course. And if that's the case, consider joining SDYC on the Bishop Rock race in August. The start is at Two Harbors in Catalina with a similar finish near Point Loma.
March One Design Racing - Betther Than the Weather...
On Friday, the buzz for the weekend was for big seas, high winds, maybe water spouts, etc for the weekend. Doom and gloom, alternate courses, abandonment!
Saturday dawned without rain, although it was in the forecast. By the 1000 tow time, the wind was up around 12 knots and most boats sailed out into the building South breeze. The Race Committee only went 1.5 miles beyond Zuniga jetty because the wind was so far left at a seldom seen 145 degrees. A little dark cloud passed over the race area around 11:00 AM as we were preparing the course. Top gust was recorded at 24 kts, with sustained 20 kts. The Y flag (mandatory life jackets) was hoisted along with L over A to amend the 1200 start time to 1140. After the cloud passed, the wind dropped back to the mid teens for the rest of the day and the Y flag was lowered for Race Two and Three. Direction was more or less steady at 150 to 160 all day. The race committee was constantly anticipating a big right shift to a more regular 180…but it never came.
Race One was fast around four 1.2 mile legs. Race Two was lengthened to 1.5 nm. The weather mark broke loose during the second rounding of the second race, but all boats continued around the offset mark which remained secure. The sea state did build along with the wind in the third race as some ominous black clouds rolled in from the south. The final race was set back to the shorter 1.2 nm. Managing the races aboard Corinthian became fairly sporty as the boat pitched and rolled in the chop and swell. We suspected the looming clouds were from the more severe front everyone was forecasting. As boats surfed through the finish line, they kept the spinnakers up and only slightly altered course for a great run to safe harbor at the club. The 20 minutes we gained at the top of the day was well worth effort as rain and gloom descended on San Diego just after everyone was safe aboard the shore.
Sunday – some more Scuttlebutt at the dock forecast 40 kts and more waterspouts…but in fact the sea state was very flat, and wind was 10 – 15 from same 145 to 170. After setting up the course in the same location as Saturday, and again amending the start time to 1130, the breeze picked up and the rain began to fall….Lots of rain. Yet the wind remained fairly steady from 150 to 160. The winds were 12 to 15 during the first race on a 1.2 nm leg length. The rain abated as the second race was about to start, and the wind built slightly. The course was shortened to 1 mile mainly to get all the wet folks to the dock. As the weather seemed to clear a bit, a right shift began to suggest itself and the RC executed a course change of 20 degrees for final leg of final race. Everyone again enjoyed the downwind sail to the club from the course and even managed to enjoy a bit of sunshine along the way, forgetting the rain water puddles in their boots.
Twelve high performance sailboats competed in the 2010 Vallarta Race, a San Diego Yacht Club biennial tradition since 1953. This year the Course Record was beaten by an incredible 7 hours and is now at 3 days, 8 hours, 52 minutes, 1 second. The new record holder is Akela, a Reichel/Pugh 77 owned by Bill Turpin and David Janes. Akela’s average boat speed was an amazing 12.4 knots over the 1000 mile course. In their wake and also surpassing the 2008 record (previously held by Magnitude 80) was Peligroso (Lorenzo Berho) and Medicine Man (Bob Lane). Except for Pendragon VI which unexpectedly retired early due some steering concerns made critical by the big breeze, the entire Division 1 may have surpassed the record due to great winds during this race.
The sailors stepped off the dock in agreement that this was one of the best regattas they have sailed. Continuous strong winds developed for the entire 1,000 nm run down Baja and across the Sea of Cortez to Paradise Village Resort and Marina in Nuevo Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta MX. Multiple boats clocked speeds over 30 knots, and many spent hours with steady speeds over 20 knots. Virtual spectators enjoyed the coverage of the race through iboattrack.com which provided trackers for each vessel.
Second to finish (just 3.2 hours later) and earning first place on corrected time was Peligroso. SDYC member Lorenzo Behro recently purchased the Kernan 68 design and used this year's Vallarta Race as its first long distance test under his new ownership. Mr. Behro assembled an experienced team including Robbie Haines (former sailing master for Roy Disney’s Pyewacket campaign). Co-navigators Piet van Os and Raul Velarde came up with a winning route as Peligroso finished victorious in Corrected Time in both Division 1 and Overall standings. An elated Behro and crew celebrated with champagne aboard Peligroso after hearing the news of their official victory. Behro was inspired by the actions of Roy Disney and the Morning Light project – a 'youth in sailing' development program, and aims to create a similar opportunity for young sailors in Mexico with Peligroso (check out the interviews with Behro and van Os).
For the 4th time in the last 5 Mexican races from SDYC and Vallarta Yacht Club joined by internationally recognized Paradise Village Resort and Marina were generous hosts to the event, sailors and supporters. New to the event was the additional support from the Mexican Navy granted by Admiral Miranda. Captain Jilino and the crew of the ARM Alvarrado were stationed just off Punta de Mita at the northern tip of Banderas Bay for the finish of the 1000 mile race.
Also providing generous support for the event were the Mexican Board of Tourism, North Sails, JK3, Douglas K. Smith Insurance, Driscoll’s Shipyard, Honor Marine Communications, Nelson Merek Yacht Design, Fiddlers Green Restaurant, Grape Connection Wines, The Pearl Hotel, Sunglass Optical Warehouse and Bartlett Hotels.
With such an exciting regatta now in the books, SDYC looks ahead to 2012 and another epic race down the coast to Paradise. We invite everyone who is a competitive sailor or a fan looking for an exciting winter-time destination to make an effort to join us for the Vallarta Race 2012.
2010 SDYC Racing Calendar
The racing calendar for 2010 has been published. Please visit the online calendar for upcoming regatta dates. Also, you can download the printable annual calendar for SDYC regattas.
San Diego Yacht Club welcomes Etchells sailors from across North America for a highly competitive and fun week in San Diego. Registration is open at www.etchellsna2010.com.
SDYC Hosts the 2009 Snipe World Championships
Three weeks of the highest level of snipe sailing took over San Diego Yacht Club with the junior and senior Snipe World Championships from August 22 - September 11. Find out more about the regattas at www.snipeworlds2009.com.
CALENDAR
44.2%
39.5%
7.0%
7.0%
2.3%