San Diego Beneteau Cup

James Dilworth, owner of the local, creatively-painted Santana 22 Pip, headed to San Diego last weekend to join the Beneteau Cup. He sent us this report:

The camaraderie of the racing and sailing community makes for an affordable and fun way to see the world. Sleep aboard, chip in for sandwiches, and enjoy the beer on tap at the race deck. If you’re easy going and know which strings to pull, it shouldn’t be too hard to find rides anywhere you want to go.

And now that the kids are back in school, cheap airfares abound to neighboring sailing grounds. I was able to find a return trip to San Diego, at short notice, for just $160, so that I could join some friends for a weekend of racing on San Diego Bay. In my case, an old work colleague, who was then getting into sailing, now owns a boat and sent out the invite to join her for the annual Beneteau Cup.

San Francisco Bay is a world-class place to learn to sail, and knowing how to sail is a ticket to seeing the world; new places bring new experience and new sights. San Diego provided warm water, light winds, racing without PFDs, and an aircraft carrier passing right by us as we made our way to the start line.

Of course, it takes a little more skill to get on a winning boat. Or in my case, luck. My ride, Wild Orchid, picked up first in class and first overall! A fine accomplishment for the owners, Bruce and Audrey, who are preparing to leave on the Baja Ha-Ha and are ultimately bound for the South Pacific. And they invited us all back for their next race, from Tahiti to Moorea.