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Photos of the Day: Puerto Vallarta Race

February 18 - Marina del Rey


Left to right: Bay Wolf, Horizon, and Chicken Little take off in Wednesday's PHRF B start.


Barking Spider's David Kory was granted his request for a wind change. The MacGregor 65 started yesterday (Thursday) along with the TP-52s Beau Geste and Flash.

A trio of big boats - Pyewacket, Magnitude 80, and Scout Spirit (ex-Zephyrus IV, ex-Bright Star) - took off today in Del Rey YC's 18th Biennial Puerto Vallarta Race. They'll be chasing the rest of the small fleet (10 cruisers and six other racers) over the 1,125-mile course, hoping to beat the MacGregor 65 Joss's record of just under 5 days.

Conspicuously absent from today's start was Genuine Risk, Randall Pittman's canting-keel Dubois 90. "We have crew members with major family problems, and we couldn't get replacements in time," claimed boat captain Duthie Lidgard, who informed the crew on Wednesday that Pittman, who had injured his foot, was pulling the plug. Something doesn't quite add up, but we don't have time to chase down 'the story behind the story' here. Didn't Roy Disney break his leg before the '97 TransPac? Didn't he send his boat anyway, setting the record?


Even start for Chicken Little, Horizon.
Photos Rich Roberts

As of yesterday, division leaders were: PHRF A - Beau Geste, TP-52; PHRF B - Chicken Little, SC 50; Salsa A (spinnaker) - Lark, J/46; Salsa B (spinnaker) - Green Dragon, Catalina 380; Non-Spinnaker - Lazy Bones, Irwin 54. So far, the race has been upwind, lumpy and rainy - apparently a good one to miss. According to Stan Honey, Pyewacket's navigator, the forecast for the big boats calls for a day and a half or so of upwind sailing, a day of slatting, and then a light air run to the finish. We suspect Pyewacket will break the 20-year-old record anyway.

Follow the fleet's progress at www.dryc.org.


Rapper Jay-Z to Be Crewman on Sausalito Challenge for America's Cup?

February 18 - Sausalito

John Sweeney, Sailing Manager of the Sausalito Challenge for the America's Cup, is putting up one of the 17 crew positions to someone willing to pay a "participation fee" of $13 million. So far he claims to have received interest from a rapper, a sheik, and a soccer player. As usual, he refuses to release any names, so for all we know Jay-Z is the interested rapper. Sweeney had sought a primary sponsor for the challenge through an auction on eBay. When you're not a billionaire, you have to be creative trying to finance your challenge. Sweeney's unusual methods have elicited praise from Dennis Conner, another non-billionaire who would like to do the America's Cup again.


New, More Difficult, Mystery Photos

February 18 - Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

The boat you see here is John Haste's Little Wing from San Diego. He was recently in Colombia, but is on his way to Nuevo Vallarta - he'd better hurry - for the Banderas Bay Regatta. We're not planning a report on Monday, Presidents Day, so we'll follow up on Wednesday.


Geronimo Out of Oryx Around the World Multihull Race?

February 18 - Indian Ocean

The crew had detected a split in the forward starboard beam, probably caused by "boat-breaking seas" they've encountered during the last several days. A split in the beam is something nobody wants to take into the Southern Ocean, so unless Geronimo's crew can make repairs while underway - a very difficult job - she will likely have to drop out. See www.oryxquest.com.


Orange II Ripping Along at a Spectacular Pace

February 18 - Southern Ocean

Twenty-four days into her Jules Verne Quest, she is halfway around the world! At this pace, she would break Cheyenne's record by eight days. See www.maxicatamaran-orange.com.


Profligate Looking for Crew

February 18 - Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

And it's not all work, either! The program is to do the Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Run on Banderas Bay on March 11, then the Banderas Bay Regatta which runs through March 15, followed by the delivery back to San Diego, which should take another ten days to two weeks. We're looking for experienced offshore crew with good social skills. Serious inquiries only. Email Donna.


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