2022 Puerto Vallarta Race at San Diego Yacht Club - Class 6 reaches 150 miles, Day Two Classes start
by San Diego Yacht Club 12 Mar 2022 12:22 AEDT
March 10-18, 2022
2022 Puerto Vallarta Race © Mark Albertazzi
Day one of San Diego Yacht Club's race to Puerto Vallarta is in the books for Class 6 (Thursday start) and to sum up their race so far: angles. Twenty hours into their 2022 Puerto Vallarta Race at the 0800 morning, email check-in had the three Class 6 boats 120-135 miles down the course.
White Cloud and Envolee were within a half mile of each other having morning coffee (or their equivalent). Such Fast stands only a few miles behind the other two in terms of distance to finish, but in a more offshore position. Clearly different pages from the Mexico Race play book.
Nathalie Criou Envolee, Skipper, Class 6:
"Awesome sailing last night - 17 to 20 knots of breeze which has turned into s**t about a hundred miles from Cedros. Battling it out with White Cloud, but we've lost track of Such Fast. Team morale is good and we are all rested as the weather tests our patience."
Thursday starters launched in a moderate south wind, beating into a southerly wind. But through the night, the breeze swung to a more southwesterly direction and increased, allowing the three competitors to set some downwind sails and extend down the course. However, with 24 hrs of change on the weather map, gains from inshore thermal, or offshore gradient winds near San Carlos will reveal winners and losers by tomorrow.
Classes 5, 4, and 3 launched midday today, Friday, in a more westerly wind. Although wind velocity was only 5 to 8 knots during the half-hour these classes started, once out of the lee of Point Loma, competitors are reported to be making 8-10 knots of boat speed to the south. No upwind sailing for this group.
Friday 0800 Daily Standings available here.
Jeremy Davidson, Strategist on Nereid, J/125, Class 3:
"A lot of time, money, and effort goes into preparing for a long distance race. From boat prep to crew selection, I think we have done all that we can in the time allotted. We are excited to get to the fun part of the race - the sailing - and enjoy the Mexican hospitality upon arrival! Thank you to those who helped us get to the start line!"
Several hundred sailors, family and friends met at the Thursday SDYC Send-Off Fiesta to a taco bar, Mezcal samples from Rosaluna Mezcal, and beer courtesy of Bay City Brewing.
The final 12 boats to start will be on Saturday at noon for competitors in Classes 1 and 2. Forecasts are showing conditions settling into a more consistent west/northwest breeze that should set the Saturday starters up for a fast exit.
Brad Wheeler, Navigator on Fast Exit II, Ker 51, Class 2:
"PV2022 is one of the first 'post' Covid races and we have ended up with a fleet of strong competitors. The race is looking like a classic Mexican race with strong northwesterlies driving us quickly down the coast under the largest spinnakers. The wind should lighten up for our crossing of the gulf providing a more varied race than either Ensenada or Cabo. One uniqueness of these races is the inclusion of the Yellow Brick trackers and the 4-hour delay. While real time tracking is desired by some, many feel it detracts from the 'offshore' concept of "man against the sea," and instead would turn it into a 5-day dinghy type race. We monitor the tracker every hour to see how different boats ahead and behind are affected by and taking advantage of the various weather elements. The 4-hour delay did become a key advantage to use in a recent Transpac Race. There was a unique position at the 0800 real time position report and 4-hour delayed YB where we were able to 'nudge' our primary competitor, who was 6 hours behind in elapsed time, to make a tactical change that in the end was to our advantage. Included some fake gybes etc., but an option that would not have been available without the tracker that all competitors monitor throughout the race. While safety is the primary driver of the tracker, we continue to find all ways possible to use it to our racing advantage as well."
Race fans can watch the final starts tomorrow, Saturday, at noon, watching from land on Shelter Island or on a boat in San Diego Bay. Each boat will carry a YB Tracking race tracker, and will show boat positions at 1-hour intervals with a 4-hour competitive delay at yb.tl/sdpv2022.