Hey Race fans. It has all been a bit on for the last two days. Which seems a bit contradictory, given the overall light air and upwind or reaching nature of the race so far. Many have questioned the reasoning for bringing spinnakers. Several have wondered why Mexico is downwind of the US. But, we’re sailing upwind and other have suggested that maybe flying to Puerto Vallarta would have been a lot more sensible. We got rid of that last group though, so now there is plenty of freeze dried food for the rest of us.

The standings start to come into focus once the boats turn the corner and begin the final leg of the race from Cabo to the finish. There are different ways to look at handicap rated standings on a course like PV. The formula for Distance to Finish (DTF) can be a straight line to finish which may be a straight line over Baja Peninsula, or use a curved DTF that more accurately accounts for the racers path on course. But once the boats are clear of the end of Baja, the math should be the same. It is also important to know if the predictions are using “recent” boat speed or “average 'velocity made good' (VMG)” for the whole race. See the standings reports via a spreadsheet set up by SDYC's Greg Stewart to provide the daily morning standings linked on the PV Race home page (Wednesday's Standings).

In years past, PV Race Committee has typically been coordinating customs clearances and interviewing the first few finishers by Tuesday evening in the race timeline. The 2020 race is going to be one of those years... not so much.

On the race course, boats are running their polars with the latest grib files to assess their ETA. While each boat makes the most of the conditions they find themselves in, they will be having ‘that discussion’. Balancing a competitive and corinthian effort against room nights and airline departures is a tough equation to balance. There is no time limit for this race, so that’s not a consideration. The OA feels if someone commits the effort to the race, they should be allowed to finish. The awards banquet will proceed as planned, and awards that are mathematically secure will be handed out. It’s not ideal, but these logistics are all but changeable.

Brigadoon:
Wind 059 @ 6.4 kts, Sea 0'-1', Cloud cover 96.5%, bar steady @ 1025 mb
Wet, dewy, moist night.  Light breeze with crazy decisions followed by moments of brilliance.  Meatballs with penne pasta (mostly meatballs) in marinara sauce and a Caesar Salad provided by Romeo Villareal at Baja Sessions Catering - wow! great meal. Loud wake-up call this morning to a boisterous version of "Rock Star" by N.E.R.D.

From the Captain and under the heading "You Can't Make This Shtuff Up" we awoke for the midnight watch to find the display on our Nav Station computer was UPSIDE DOWN!   At first we thought we had gone so far south we had crossed the equator. Rob V gets the McGuyver Award for fixing it. We're back in the Northern Hemisphere now heading for PV.

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