Insane Racing in the Tropics

On the West Coast of Mexico, it started with the San Diego YC’s Puerto Vallarta Race, followed by the high-end Copa de Mexico on Banderas Bay, where the fleet was started by Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico. And yesterday the 20th Annual Banderas Bay Regatta, the best cruisers regatta in Mexico, started out of Paradise Marina. Whew!

But that’s nothing compared to what’s happening and about to happen in the Caribbean. Sixty-eight boats are competing in the 39th International Rolex Regatta Thursday through Sunday in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgins. Two Farr 400s from Southern California — Michael Shlens’ Palos Verdes-based Blade and Doug Baker’s Long Beach-based Magnitude 400 — will be competing, and Barry Lewis of Mill Valley will be driving 40 Degrees, one of the Class 40 boats. We have no idea how many more West Coast sailors will be having fun in St. Thomas, but all should have a good time.

As if that wasn’t enough, the next three days will be the St. Barth Bucket, which in our mind, and that of many other sailing observers, is the greatest spectacle in sailing. Unless you’re here, you just can’t believe the fleet or the buzz. Forty-seven boats, from 96 to 220 feet, with the most sumptuous interiors money can buy, will be competing with various degrees of intensity. It’s mind-boggling to just walk down the docks in Gustavia and see what man, given enough cash, can create in a yacht. These boats are not only spectacular, but are in spectacular condition. And they race with 30 to 70 crew/guests. You can only imagine what the parties will be like on this French island.

Yesterday there was a special pre-Bucket race between the four J Class boats Hanuman, Velsheda, Endeavour and Ranger. It’s our understanding that this is the largest gathering of the approximately 135-ft boats in 80 years. These incredibly powerful boats race without lifelines. Crew going overboard is not an unusual occurrence, so special rules are in effect. For instance, you need not finish with all the crew you started with, but you must do a 180 for each crew lost overboard. And yes, each J Class yacht has a boat trailing behind to pick up any swimmers. All these big boats, but particularly the J Class boats, require crew with huge cojones and little fear of danger. Nonetheless, one of the crewman in yesterday’s race had to be rushed to the hospital with unspecified injuries suffered during a spinnaker maneuver. We’re glad to report that he’s said to be recovering well.

All 47 boats will be racing for the next three days in winds predicted to be in the 10- to 18-knot range. To a lot of skippers, such as Mill Valley’s Patrick Adams of the Swan 100 Varsovie, that’s a lot better — and safer — than the 30 knots they had to deal with in the Heineken Regatta earlier this month. Joining Patrick on the big Swan will be Jim Gregory of the Pt. Richmond-based Schumacher 50 Morpheus, who is now cruising the Caribbean with his wife Debbie.

We also bumped into Dawn Riley, who headed the San Francisco YC’s America True American’s Cup effort a few years ago. She’ll be sailing the Holland-designed, Perini Navi 150 Helios II again this year. We also crossed paths with Bay Area rigger and Moore 24 (Eight Ball) sailor extraordinaire Scott Easom. He told us he’ll be part of the navy crewing on the 190-ft Dubois-designed, Huisman-built Twizzle. We’re sure there are a number of other West Coast sailors lucky enough to be here.

There aren’t as many West Coast boats in the Bucket this year, but we suppose we can claim Jim ‘Silicon Valley’ Clark’s Hanuman and the Los Angeles-based Frers 96 Symmetry that spent a lot of time in Driscoll’s Yard in San Diego last fall.

Although far too small to be entered in the Bucket, Dorade, the legendary S&S 52 built in 1929 and which is being totally restored by Matt Brooks of the St. Francis YC, was out sailing yesterday. She’s waiting for the Voiles de St. Barth, another gang-buster of a sailing regatta at the French island that doesn’t start until early next month.

As if to add to the buzz around St. Barth, yesterday the Celebrity Summit cruise ship, hosting a gay cruise, pulled into port. She’s been in the news because while tied up at the dock in Dominica, two of her Palm Spring-based passengers apparently had sex on deck in site of people on shore. Religion is big on some Caribbean islands, and some islands prohibit sex between members of the same sex. So the two were arrested for "buggery." The Chief Magistrate called the two "rogues and vagabonds." Their attorney explained the two had merely been "struck by the beautiful mountain, the clean and clear fresh air, and having had a few cocktails, threw caution to the wind." After throwing $900 to the government of Dominica, the two were allowed to fly home.

Some readers might wonder what has happened to the La Gamelle Syndicate’s Olson 30 La Gamelle. We last reported that the Wanderer and Doña de Mallorca had flown to Martinique to pick her up and sail her 250 miles back to St. Barth. Thanks to way more north in the wind and swell than preferred, and a much bigger swell, it was a wild trip. But a fantastic adventure. While we’ll have much more on the story next month, we can say the Olson has gotten a tremendous reception from the locals and charter boat captains, all of whom are eager to have a sail on her.