A lot of sailors would suggest that it’s ‘when’ you start that matters, the earlier the better. Others would insist that it’s the weather on your start day that matters most, the windier the better. Both are logical and have been true separately and combined. But what if NEITHER mattered?

Not many (any?) spectators on Shelter Island watching the Saturday starters for the the 2024 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race would have speculated that seven of the boats floating in the windless bay that afternoon would fill the top seven overall finishing positions! They were already 48 hours behind the two Thursday starters blasting down the course in a fresh westerly wind. But after a week of many sail changes, cursing grib files, running weather models, and pressing the boat when the ‘park up’ (sitting ‘parked’ in becalmed windless conditions) was over, that is exactly what the results reflect.

Looking ahead to Wednesday night’s racing, it appears as if the wind will hold up overnight and allow the fleet to press to finish: the way it should be. There is traditionally a day or two of light winds in this race. This year, they came at the beginning of the race. Fortunately, ideal downwind race conditions have turned the race around for the 20 boats still on the course.

Pyewacket looms as the projected corrected-time leader despite the majority of the fleet sailing out ahead of them, leaving little room for error for those vying for the title. Two weeks ago, BadPak sailed an impeccable Islands Race, winning with Pyewacket 2nd overall. This week, Pyewacket looks to pay it back and will have the final 200 miles to set the pace. Also in contention is Rio100 with their Wednesday morning finish establishing the time to beat. Vitesse and Peligroso also rank in the top 5 and will have a chance at the overall win.

Rio100 used a strong last 24 hours to be first to finish in the 2024 PV Race, crossing the line at 07:36:25 Wednesday morning for an elapsed time of 3 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, 25 seconds. In addition to their first to finish result, Rio100 has set the corrected time to beat. Based on predictions from recent progress on the course this time has a chance to be competitive against the rest of the fleet who still have a day of racing + to go. Rio100 has raced to PV 3 previous times, in 2016 (16th overall), 2018 (9th overall), and 2022 (9th overall). Could this be the year where the accolades include corrected time success in addition to elapsed time elite preformance?

Daily 0800 Projected Standings

Projected contenders this morning include Lucky Duck, Peligroso, BadPak and Pyewacket with estimated corrected times right around Rio's mark. BadPak and Peligroso remain within a few miles of each other and will likely eat up the miles between them and Lucky Duck 40+ miles ahead on the last leg of the race. While Pyewacket will sail in different conditions 60+ miles behind the other top contenders leaving lots of room for gains or losses along the way meaning this race is up for grabs and should have an exciting finish.

Competitors in the 2024 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race are approaching a classic tactical waypoint while negotiating the Baja Peninsula. Boats will gamble on sailing fewer miles by hugging the Baja coast or bearing away to the south, hoping to avoid getting stuck in the lee of Cabo San Lucas and the surrounding Baja headlands. 

Rio100 finally powered up, showing teens on the speedo at sunrise on Tuesday morning. And as the first to reach the Cabo milestone at 1000 PST, Rio100 consistently sailed 18-20 kts throughout the day Tuesday, swinging just 14 miles offshore from Cabo and then gybing south nearly 60 miles. With the speed boost, Rio put 70 miles on their nearest competitor Blackwing, who passed 26 miles off of Cabo 7 hours later on Tuesday afternoon.

Most boats on the course are about 24 hours behind last year’s record-setting pace. Compared with their 2022 position at this same elapsed time, Rio 100 and BadPak are roughly 200 miles short. Such Fast, a Thursday starter, is about 140 miles short of last year’s Monday morning location.

The 2024 edition of the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race features a staggered start so the smaller boats can sail their best race and hopefully finish within a day or two of the larger, presumably faster boats.

With the Thursday starters from division ORR 6 sailing about 140nm on their initial 24 hours down the course, Friday saw divisions ORR 5 and ORR 4 start in what amounted to a ‘fair’ breeze. While the forecasts called for mostly calm with some models even suggesting a southeast wind (which would mean upwind sailing) a modest 5-8 kts from the west showed up in the harbor to move both fleets smartly out of San Diego harbor and into a building westerly for the rest of their run for the day. 

The biennial San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race started in 1953, and returns for the 37th running February 22 - March 1, 2024. Sailors have been racing to the Mexican mainland for decades in San Diego Yacht Club’s signature offshore race for the on-water adventure and competition, and the tropical winter weather awaiting them in PV. Twenty two boats are set to compete in this year’s 1000nm race from the start line in San Diego Bay to the entrance of Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The race officially begins Thursday, February 22 with Class 6 boats Blackwing (Grand Soleil 44 Race) and Such Fast (1D35) squaring off as the first two starters of the race. These two will get a 24 hour and 48 hour head start over the rest of the fleet starting on Friday and Saturday. In 2022, the Thursday starters remained ahead of the later starters for the first three days of racing before the bigger and faster boats caught them at just past the halfway mark of the race. David Garman is racing his 1D35 Such Fast out of Seattle in his third straight PV Race, eager to escape the winter weather for warmer San Diego and tropical conditions in PV. Garman’s adventure won’t stop after the PV Race. He’ll be competing in MEXORC in Banderas Bay before solo sailing his boat up the Gulf of California for a few weeks.

The San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) is thrilled to announce the upcoming 37th edition of the Puerto Vallarta Race, a biennial international offshore yacht race, set to take place from February 22 to March 1, 2024. With a rich history dating back to 1953, the race has evolved into a premier event attracting the best offshore sailors, featuring a challenging 1,000 nautical mile course from San Diego, CA to the vibrant shores of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.