PV11 Series - Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta - Set your watches

by Rich Roberts on 18 May 2010 With 269 days left before the start of the PV11 International Race Series to Puerto Vallarta, a dozen skippers are already assembling crews, planning meals, checking gear, dreaming of sipping cerveza at sunset on secluded beaches and finally collecting distinctive prizes at a fabulous fiesta.

So what is everyone else waiting for?

The 21st version of Del Rey Yacht Club's biennial competition to the Mexican mainland presented by Tutima Watches will start at Marina del Rey February 11, 2011. Skippers of each of the four division winners will be awarded a $1,800 Tutima DI 300 watch from the company's Military Line.

Competitors registering an online entry before October 15 will receive a $200 discount.

The format, in partnership with the Mexico Tourism Bureau, a long-time supporter, combines serious offshore racing with leisurely breaks between races. The first three of four races totalling 1,108 nautical miles will finish along the Baja California peninsula at Turtle Bay, at Santa Maria outside of Magdalena Bay and at the San Jose Del Cabo resort around the corner from Cabo San Lucas - the jumping-off point across the Gulf of California to Puerto Vallarta.

Activities such as whale-watching, sightseeing and informal fiestas will be scheduled at each port.

Joel Young, a rookie racer from Commerce, California who sailed his new Beneteau 52 in the 2009 series, was sold on the concept right away.

'It used to be that I'd look out to sea … an open horizon, and I'd wish I could be there,' he was quoted in Sail magazine. 'But I was thinking powerboat. Then the cost of fuel went up and sailing became a lot more user-friendly.

'All my life I've wanted to do something like this. We didn't win a thing in the race, but the fact that I was able to sail my new boat all the way from Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta makes me the biggest winner of all.'

His larger ambition is to sail the South Pacific, but he said then, 'I might put off the South Pacific so I can do this again in two years.' He is among those already signed up for PV11.

There is also an option, if at least five boats commit, for a non-stop race and a shot at Magnitude 80's record of three days 15 hours 51 minutes 39 seconds set in 2007.

Otherwise, the serious racing will be in the Salsa Roja Division for boats using conventional spinnakers with poles as well as in the Salsa Verde Division for those with asymmetrical spinnakers on bowsprits (Gennakers) or conventional spinnakers without poles.

A unique handicapping system designed exclusively for this race will allow a crew to use its engine for propulsion when the wind drops too low to maintain the minimum sailing speed assigned to their boat.

But how serious can sailboat racing be when motoring? Each boat will be scored on its PHRF off-wind course rating computed by actual time sailed. It worked for everyone in 2009, especially those who caught on to the precise scoring formula based on keeping motoring to a minimum, without missing any starts and still enjoying all of the beach parties along the way.

In fact, experienced blue water racer Mike Priest said, 'Being able to turn on the engine when wind conditions were dead made for a very pleasant alternative to slatting around for hours, and added another dimension to the strategy game.'

Each race will be scored individually, and results will be combined for the overall awards.

Three free pre-race seminars for prospective entries on offshore preparations and long-distance sailing will be presented at Del Rey YC beginning on October 14, followed by a January workshop for participants. Boats are available for charter, and organizers will assist in finding crew.

As before, the start will be outside the entrance to Marina del Rey and the final finish line will be off the beach in Puerto Vallarta. There will be free docking at Del Rey YC before the race and at the Opequimar Marina in Puerto Vallarta.

The new headquarters hotel will be the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa on the beach near the marina.

http://www.pv11.org/