Adventurer David Vann’s trip south in his 50-ft trimaran Tin Can was cut short over the weekend when he was towed into Santa Cruz on Saturday after discovering cracked welds on one of his crossbeams. Vann is a 39-year-old writer and sailor whose dream is to sail this self-built aluminum craft solo around the world. He left the Bay Area last Thursday on a shakedown sail to San Diego, but diverted to Santa Cruz when he discovered the cracks. Vann was towed out of the harbor yesterday morning (he has no engine) and is presumably on his way back to the Bay. We have not spoken with him directly (he is prevented from giving interviews by an agreement with Esquire magazine to write about the trip for them). Fortunately, Jeremy Leonard of Surf City Catamarans went down to talk to Vann over the weekend and took a few photos, which he has generously shared with us.

“Without getting into the debate of whether Vann’s adventure is ill fated or not, I would like to say that I admire his spirit of adventure,” Leonard wrote on his website, www.surfcitycatamarans.com/vann. When Vann and a friend went to dinner, he even let Leonard climb all over the boat, where he got a taste of all the bad press Vann has received in some of the sailing media. “Many people in the harbor were checking it out, and several of them thought it was my boat. There were a few people that had been following the story and came up to me with a hostile attitude. I had to come clean and tell them it wasn’t my boat. Vann must get that reaction all the time!”

As far as his plans go, Vann told Leonard that he’d left too late this season, and that he would take the boat back to Napa, where he completed and launched it, and “try again next year.” He also said he was going to make some modifications to the design so the boat, which features flat-bottomed hulls, wouldn’t pound as much.

We’ve made our opinion clear about Vann’s voyage, so we won’t rehash it here. But like Leonard, we also admire Vann’s adventurous spirit. He built the boat he said he was going to build the way he said he was going to build it. And he did sail it out the Golden Gate. Although a failed weld is surely embarassing, he’s not the first person who has had to stop a proposed great voyage shortly after the start. He deserves a chance to prove himself, and we surely hope he will.   

John Moore has all the latest on Festival Nautico ’08 – Vallarta Race Week:

This biannual, week-long event started in 2006 as a celebration of Mexico’s greatest natural treasure: Banderas Bay. The Bay is one of the finest sailing venues on the west coast of the Americas, and is listed as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. The Festival is held from March 1 through March 8 and consists of four separate events.

The celebration begins with the finish of the San Diego YC’s Vallarta Race ’08, a 1,000-mile bluewater ocean race. More than 20 of the fastest yachts in the world will finish their race at Punta Mita, and then be welcomed at the docks of Paradise Marina by members of the Vallarta YC, the Mexican host for the event.

On the afternoon of March 1, there will be a welcoming reception at the Paradise Village Amphitheatre followed by a Ballet Folklorico and the Vallarta Race ’08 Awards Dinner.

Starting at 10:30 a.m. on March 2, there will be a Grand Boat Parade from Nuevo Vallarta traveling along the coast to Bucerias. Prizes and awards will be given to the best themed and decorated boats. “It will be a Mardi Gras on water,” said parade chairman Mike Gowen.

The Governors Cup Race, a 21-mile distance race, will begin at 1:00 p.m. Spectators can enjoy the parade and the race from boats, beaches and hotels along the Riviera Nayarit. The Governors Cup Race is also the first race of the MEXORC Regatta, which is Mexico’s premier International Grand Prix Regatta, hosted by the Vallarta YC this year. The best Mexican racers will sail up from Acapulco to compete against the boats arriving from the States.

On Wednesday, March 5, there won’t be any regatta racing, but there will be a special America’s Cup match race between elite Mexican and U.S. teams aboard two of Vallarta Adventure’s IACC race boats. At the same time, there will be a Laser regatta in the Nuevo Vallarta Lagoon.

The Banderas Bay Regatta XVI, a series of fun races around the bay for cruising boats, will begin on Thursday, March 6, and continue through Saturday — as does the MEXORC. Both Regattas will have award dinners Saturday evening.

The hub of all these activities is the VYC, located in Nuevo Vallarta. For more information on these events check out www.vallartayachtclub.com, www.sdyc.org, www.mexorc.com or www.banderasbayregatta.com.