18th Annual Banderas Bay Regatta

There were bullets all over Banderas Bay last Thursday to Saturday, as the top boats in the seven divisions of the 18th Annual Banderas Bay Regatta were unusually dominant.

Romping all over their classes with three bullets in three races were Louis Kruk of the San Leandro-based Beneteau 42S7 Cirque, Thor Temme of the Kauai-based 30 year old 41-ft custom trimaran Meshach, Dave and Kim Wegesend of the Puerto Vallarta-based Maluhia, Rudy Heessels of the Beneteau 36S7 Wind Child, and Tom and Cheryl Landgreen of the Beneteau Idylle 43 Bolero. Winning their divisions with two bullets in three races were Jim Casey of the Lake Tahoe-based Jeanneau 43DS Tomatillo and Rick Gio and Jan Grant of the Sebastopol/San Rafael-based Beneteau 40 Music.

The Banderas Bay Regatta doesn’t recognize an overall winner, but we do. It’s Dave and Kim Wegesend of Maluhia who, after spending years restoring their Catana 42 — and lightening her up by doing things like replacing the heavy plywood floors with helium infused lighter-than-air composite ones — flew around the course at speeds not previously seen in a Catana 42. Well done.

A huge ‘well done’ also goes to Laurie Ailworth, formerly of Alameda, who was primarily responsible for the biggest Banderas Bay Regatta fleet in history. Ailworth says she’ll be stepping down after two years, but nobody believes her, thinking she wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt if she did. Please, Laurie, don’t go.

Banderas Bay lived up to its reputation by providing excellent flat water sailing conditions, with the wind almost always in the 9- to 17-knot range. It goes without saying that it was plenty warm and the skies were blue. The host Vallarta YC did an excellent job, and Paradise Marina was as accommodating as ever. If you like casual cruiser racing, you don’t want to miss the 19th running next year.