Heading South for the Winter

Teams are signing up to avoid the upcoming rains brought on by El Nino and preparing for the wind, sunshine, warmth and the margaritas to be enjoyed after another epic ride down the Mexican Coastline and bounce across the Gulf to scenic Puerto Vallarta!  Our friends in Mexico are determined to help the San Diego Yacht Club make this a great experience for all the teams and their families.

A quick scan of the entry list demonstrates that this will be the offshore race of 2016. With competitors coming up from the Mexican Sailing Federation such as the Patches (TP 52) under new ownership just before the 2015 Transpac, and the always well-performing and former winner of the PV Race, the 70 foot Peligroso skippered by Lorenzo Berho and a cast of fine young Mexican crew members. Looking for a victory on handicap will be Ricardo Brockmann’s IRC 52 Vincitore, whose crew will include Ricardo’s son Erik Brockmann, part of the current reining J/70 World Champion crew.

Looking to capture line honors in the multihull class is H.L. Enloe’s Mighty Merloe the 60’ trimaran and hoping for a rematch with the record setting Mod 70 Orion. We will just have to wait and see if Tom Siebel brings back the big gun. Over in the monohulls it is looking like Manouch Moshayedi will try and avoid any costly mistakes or breakdowns as he aims for a record run with his 100’ Rio.

State side boats will feature a close match between Roy Disney’s Pyewacket, class winner in the 2014 PV Race and the ever present Grand Illusion fresh off its record third overall win in the 2015 Transpac. Other sleds on the verge of signing up are Brack Ducker’s Holua and OEX under charter to a yet to be announced famous yachtsman. With competition like this it is reasonable to expect other sled owners to jump on the bandwagon and get their teams together for this classic race to mainland Mexico.

With the entries so far 16 and counting... the battle royale is shaping up to be in the 50-foot class with two Santa Cruz 52’s and three Santa Cruz 50’s, including the SC 52 Lucky Duck and the SC 50 Horizon looking to claim top honors. Clearly a good class, but really impressive when you add in two-time PV Race winner Blue Blazes the R/P 50 from SDYC and the always fast J/125 Timeshaver. Wow!

Time to finalize your crew and get your entry in and enjoy a great race! However, the excitement does not end with the finish of the PV Race. Oh no, after a couple of days or rest and recovery and it is right into the MEXORC. Those of you who have not participated in a MEXORC, you are missing, quite simply, the best big boat racing on the West Coast of North America! Banderas Bay reliably serves up steady sea breeze of 10 – 18 knots of wind with warm air and water. This series is traditionally a mix of windward – leeward races and a couple of point-to-point races thrown into the mix to keep every competitor on his/her toes!

Don’t wait sign up now and join in on the FUN!