Who’s Racing in the Banderas Bay Regatta?
Who’s signed up to race in the Banderas Bay Regatta this month? The regatta will take place March 18–22 in Banderas Bay, Mexico. This year marks the 32nd event, and to date we can see 12 crews signed up and hailing from Portland through to Mexico.
Here’s an idea of what you can expect from this year’s Banderas Bay Regatta (BBR).
To help get crews organized there’s a BBR Crew List party (sounds familiar). Sailors will gather at Vallarta Yacht Club (VYC) on March 11 from 4–6 p.m. for happy hour cocktails and sailing stories and crew building. In keeping with the BBR and VYC’s mission to support youth, skippers are encouraged to also invite young sailors aboard as crew.
Next on the agenda is the skipper check-in and mandatory meeting on March 18. This also marks the start of the Banderas Bay Opening Day Kick Off Event at VYC:
“After registration and the skipper’s meeting we have a fun night in store with Happy Hour (well drinks) from 5:30–6:30, pasta buffet starting at 6:30 and live music starting at 7:30 to dance the night away! Buffet dinner $350 MXN [about $17 US]. Please purchase in advance: Contact [email protected] or come into the yacht club to purchase. We look forward to seeing you there!”
Handicaps will be posted by 11 p.m. and on-water events begin the next day at 12 noon with the
Captain Ron Theme Boat Parade.
“The parade of boats heading to the ‘Start Your Heart Out’ practice line is a long-standing tradition of the BBR event. This year’s theme is “If it’s gonna happen … ” At noon, all registered boats will enter the Paradise Village Marina harbor and will be ushered into the proper sequence to parade past the judges’ stand. They will then proceed to the ‘Start Your Heart Out’ practice area.”
This is where crews can practice their starts while giving the race committee the opportunity to hone in the starting sequence. “We set a short windward mark to make it fun. Start, round the mark to port, rinse and repeat. New this year, the last start of the day (1500) will be the weekly Beercan Rally. A triangle for the cruisers and multihulls and we add an extra windward leeward for the ‘racers.’ It is great fun for all!”
The three days of racing, and after-parties, begin on March 20 and conclude with the Beach Party Awards Ceremony at Paradise Village Beach, including dinner, drinks, and dancing with live music.
More information here.
Does that all sound like fun? It does to us. We can’t go join the regatta, but we’d love to hear from anyone who does: What was your boat and who were your crew? What did you most enjoy about the racing? How were the conditions? Did you win?!
Early-bird signups have closed, but you can still join the fun. Registrations close on March 17 at 6:00 p.m. You have time! Sign up here.
How Many Dolphins Make Up a Pod?
We all love watching dolphins swim in the ocean, and to see one is a special treat. If we’re lucky, we might see two or three, or even four or five swimming together. A pod of dolphins is the next level to seeing only one. But what about when you see what look like hundreds of dolphins, all swimming in the same direction, seemingly with purpose — or is that porpoise?
Ten days ago, Evan Brodsky, boat captain and videographer with Monterey Bay Whale Watch and his crew were on a whale-watching tour off the California coast when instead of the gray whales they were seeking, they came across a very large pod of dolphins. What started out as about 15 dolphins soon became what Brodsky estimated was a pod of more than 2000.
“I kind of just take a glance and scan the horizon, and maybe about a mile and a half from us the water literally looked like it was boiling,” Mr. Brodsky told the New York Times. “It was foaming. There were so many dolphins there.”
Brodsky added that in the past he had seen hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dolphins, in a pod. This was the first time he had seen this many “northern right whale dolphins, mixed in with Pacific white-sided dolphins.” He captured the footage below of the pod and shared it on the Monterey Bay Whale Watch Instagram page.
View this post on Instagram
According to the director of conservation biology at the National Marine Mammal Foundation, Dorian Houser, it is rare to encounter such a large number of northern right whale dolphins in a single pod.
“The groups I have typically encountered are much smaller,” Dr. Houser told the Times. He suggested that the dolphins were treated to an “abundance of food” that led the large group to merge in this one area.
This story reminded us of a similar experience had by the crew aboard Call of the Sea’s schooner Seaward as they made the bash back from their charter season in Mexico to San Francisco Bay in April 2020. If memory serves, Seaward was sailing parallel to the coast in a similar area when the crew saw what appeared to be hundreds of dolphins swimming toward them, from the shore out to sea. Some dolphins stayed to play in the bow waves for short times, but the majority came straight toward Seaward and swam under her keel with such speed and determination, one could wonder if they even saw the boat.
(Please forgive the unprofessional video.)
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
Don’t Get Behind — Schedule Your Service With KKMI Today
Thanking the Advertisers for the Annual Latitude 38 YRA Calendar
In a world inundated with distractions, it’s helpful to narrow your focus. Latitude 38 thanks all the advertisers who supported the 2025 Northern California Sailing Calendar to help everyone with a boat on the Bay distill the most important events of the year — sailing events. There are almost 1,000 of them! Luckily you can participate one evening or weekend at a time. There’s racing almost every weekend day of the year, with events really ramping up in March.
If you’re looking for a date, the calendar has them — and much more. The annual calendar includes simplified racing rules, charts of the Bay’s racing buoys, radio call channels, a consolidated Beer Can Racing schedule, a list of Northern California youth sailing programs, and numerous other ways to drop a winch handle overboard. Regarding racing rules, in our podcast with sailing coach Ron Rosenberg he reminds us there are really only three critical rules: port/starboard, windward/leeward and room at the mark. Most of the rest are common sense, with the big one being to be courteous and avoid hitting another boat.
When you head out on the Bay with your crew and the annual YRA sailing calendar, you have almost everything you need to compete on the Bay. You can pull out the book to discuss future racing plans and find your course for the day’s racing.
As you can see, by the time we get to March the racing calendar is full. And not only that, March has five weekends of racing, including the one that just passed. This coming weekend is the Big Daddy Regatta, and numerous other events. You can see them in the book and online here.
As in our monthly magazine, toward the back of the book is our complete Advertiser Index. We’re grateful to all the organizations that work together to promote participation in sailing and provide the products and services that allow us all to sail the Bay. Right above the Advertiser Index we have two very affordable fleets to join — the local Santana 22 class and the J/24 class. You can often find those boats for sale in our Classy Classifieds. Right now there’s a winning, pedigreed Santana 22 for sale for $3900.
We think advertising often gets a bad rap. It’s the advertisers that support racing and the production and distribution of a free calendar to help you discover more Northern California sailing and racing opportunities. We thank them for their support and ask that you also support all the advertisers that enable us to create these free publications.
If you’ve read this far and thought, “But I don’t have a boat,” you can sign up for our Crew List and attend our Crew List party at the Bay View Boat Club one month from today, on April 3. You’ll connect with boat owners and other sailors ready to help you get on the water. And if you’re a boat owner looking for crew, the Crew List and Crew Party will help you find the crew you need.
Again, we thank the advertisers, the YRA, and all the race committee volunteers who make racing possible. To enjoy your boat more frequently, sign up for some racing. You’ll get out on the water more often and increase your appreciation for owning a sailboat.
Pick up a free calendar at one of our Northern California magazine distributors here.
Farallon Islands — A Voyage of Purpose and Discovery
Early on the morning of January 18, 2025, the sailing vessel Francesca, a 1999 Beneteau Oceanis 461, slipped away from Marina Village in Alameda, headed for the remote Farallon Islands. This wasn’t just any trip, this was a mission with a purpose. Francesca’s crew — myself, (skipper Larry Hall), co-skipper Harmon Shragge, Arzen Joy, John Daughters, Katie Blaesing, and Don Bauer — were ferrying vital supplies and personnel to one of the most pristine wildlife sanctuaries on the West Coast. Three researchers from Point Blue Conservation Science were to trade places: Allison Yan was joining the island’s researchers, while Amanda Reardan and Ben Peterson would be joining Francesca for the return to the mainland.
The day started early, with the crew gathering at 6:00 a.m. to load the vessel. It was a chilly, overcast morning, but spirits were high and Francesca cast off 45 minutes later. Light winds meant motorsailing, but the stunning sunrise over the Oakland-Alameda Estuary more than made up for it.
Thankfully, for our trip the weather was cooperative. Light winds of 5 to 7 knots and gentle rolling seas made for smooth sailing. Visibility stretched to 10 miles, and while the morning was cool and gray, the sun came out as we neared the islands. Temperatures stayed in the 50s — brisk, but manageable.
We reached the Devil’s Teeth (Farallones) by 11:45, well ahead of schedule. The first task was to secure Francesca to the lone mooring. To my surprise, this process went much more smoothly than I’d anticipated. Once the boat was safely tied up, the Farallon’s tender came out to meet us. The tender would ferry our crew and all their gear and provisions to the island. They would then reload Francesca with gear and waste to be brought back to the mainland.
As the tender neared the shore, we were greeted by a unique crane attached to the rocky shore and designed to hoist the small boat out of the water with occupants and gear still aboard. The cable goes taut and up you go until the crane swings you toward shore. Once we were safely on land, it became clear that this remote spot had strict protocols in place to protect its delicate ecosystem. We all underwent a necessary disinfection process, which included disinfecting our clothing, before being allowed to explore the island.
Latitude 38’s Spring Crew List Party Is Back!
Join us for our first spring crew list party in 5 years!
Bay View Boat Club, Thursday April 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets and info can be found here.