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March 4,
2007
After the race,
awards and tales of whales and anxiety
PUERTO
VALLARTA, Mexico---There were mermaid trophies, tales of whales and
Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watches presented to the class winners as
the sun set over Banderas Bay and Del Rey Yacht Club's 19th
International Yacht Race to Puerto Vallarta, presented by Corum.
Magnitude 80
boat captain Steve Dodd and Barking Spider 3 owner/skipper David Kory
collected the bounties of awards for a record performance (3 days 15
hours 51 minutes 39 seconds) in the Racing Division and top honors in
the Salsa Division, respectively. Dodd's boss, Doug Baker, was already
off racing in the Caribbean on another
boat four days after shattering Joss's 22-year-old record.
Dodd's bag
included a new broom for first to finish, first in class and first
overall on corrected time, along with the 
Corum
USA President Stacie Orloff
presented the Admiral's Cup watches to the class winners Saturday
night.
record,
although the Andrews 80 had the 1,125-nautical mile track to itself
after three boats withdrew before the star and Scout Spirit, a
Reichel/Pugh 77, was dismasted the first day.
The broom was
presented by Peggy Redler, the race administrator who won similar sweep
honors with her husband Tom on Citius in 1987.
Corum
USA President Stacie Orloff
presented the Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watches to the class winners.
Special awards
went to skipper Peter Hirsch of Segue for sportsmanship for leaving the
race to stand by a leaking Jungle Jim the first night out (details
below); Jana Villarreal as the Fastest Lady and Fastest Cook---also
resident yoga instructor---on the Slowest (and only other) Boat in the
Racing Division; Barking Spider 3 crew member Marianne Wheeler, Fastest
Lady in the Salsa fleet, and to Aquarius skipper Hiro Funaoku, Fastest
Cook on the Slowest Boat in the Salsa fleet.
That was the
lighter side after a race dispelling notions that the Salsa side was all
clear and casual sailing. The last few days hanging out at the Opequimar
Yacht Club and Marina offered the competitors their last chance to
expand on their tales of adventure.
Jim McCone and
Mike Verla, the Lomita, Calif. sailors who won the Salsa
Spinnaker B class on Voice of Reason, the smallest boat in the race---an
Ericson 32 they bought an eBay---told of approaching the end of Leg 2 at
Point Lazaro on a moonless night.
"It was big
seas and 25 knots of wind," McCone said, "and we were doing 7 knots
under sail trying to find our way by GPS. We weren't sure how far out
the rocks extended."
Their closest
competitor was Arlan and Sean Roll's Classic Impulse, a Catalina 400
from Long
Beach that ultimately finished second in the
class.
"We could see
them most of the time on all three legs," McCone said. "Both of us were
using our engines as little as possible. We were seriously racing, but
they owed us 78 seconds a mile. Once they called us on the radio and
said, 'We see you.' I said, 'Yeah, but if I can see you we've got you.'
"
At one point
when the escort vessel, Larry Silver's 68-foot motor yacht Divergent,
lost contact with some of the fleet, Voice of Reason relayed information
on its powerful radio system.
When Jim
Maslon's Jungle Jim, a Jeanneau from Marina del Rey, sprang a leak in
its propeller housing shortly after the start, Peter Hirsch diverted
Segue, his Island Packet 485 from Marina del Rey, from about an hour and
a half away to stand by for assistance until a Coast Guard boat arrived.
"To see a boat
that far out and dead in the water and taking on water gives you a new
perspective," Hirsch said.
Jungle Jim was
towed back for repairs, then rejoined the Salsa fleet at Cabo San Lucas.
Segue received credit for the time it spent on its mission. Otherwise,
it and Jean Rooryck's Vision, a Tayana 48, paid the race's highest
prices for motoring (statistics below).
"These boats
are not really racing boats," Barry Chass, a Vision watch captain, said.
"Vision is 40,000 pounds and Segue is 48,000. We can't sail in light air
like some of the other racing-type boats."
Vision's more
serious problem was fuel contamination created by the rough seas washing
accumulation of muck and grime off the upper linings of their diesel
tank. Tony London, a diesel mechanic aboard Divergent, fixed the problem
and gave them new fuel filters in Turtle Bay.
Gil Maguire's
Tenacity, a J/133 from Marina del Rey, had anxious moments when its
steering failed on Leg 2 at night in strong winds.
Scott Cross,
who was at the helm, said, "It was dark. We rounded up and took a
knockdown."
That awakened
Maguire, who was off watch in a bunk below. Meantime, the autopilot
wasn't affected and kept them under control until Cross went into the
lazaret to fix the problem.
Patrick Hearne
of Dana
Point won the Salsa
Non-Spinnaker class sailing Far Niente, a Catalina 42.
"It was a
great ride," said Hearne, who because of a reluctance to fire up his
engine even in moments of light wind logged the least engine time
outside the Spinnaker B class.
"Oh, no, we
were racing," Hearne said. "All the guys on the boat own their own
boats."
They also
enjoyed some "great whale sightings," Hearne said. "When you're staring
a gray in the face less than a boat length away, that's an experience."
Arlan Roll
said, "There were a lot of whales coming into Banderas
Bay near the
finish," and he and sailors from other boats reported squid leaping onto
their decks. Most were tossed back, but not from Hideshige Seki's
Polaire from Japan.
Joe Ebin, one
of four crew Seki picked up from the host Del Rey Yacht Club just for
this part of Seki's 10-year world cruise, said, "I was ready to throw
the squid back but Hide said, 'No, wait!' It made a very nice supper."
As for Seki's
skippering style, Ebin said, "He doesn't yell. In fact, he doesn't tell
us to do anything."
When a
gennaker halyard broke, Seki spent three hours up the mast trying to
repair it. Polaire also was stuck with a sail sheet under its hull as
Vision stood by for five hours.
The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41
watch has a 41mm stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead of
numerals to indicate the hours. It was introduced by Corum before the
2005 race.
Corum is an independent,
family owned company producing high-quality and prestigious Swiss
watches since 1955. The Admiral watch, along with the complete Corum
line, may be seen at www.corum.ch
Final
standings:
Racing Division
(Official
positions at 8 a.m. PST Tuesday; handicap ratings in seconds per mile in
parentheses)
PHRF A (started
Feb. 23)
1. Magnitude 80
(Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach
(-65), finished in 3
days 15 hours 51 minutes 39 seconds (avg. speed 12.8 knots); breaks
record of 4:23:00:14 by Joss, 1985.
RETIRED---Scout
Spirit (Reichel/Pugh 77), David
Janes, Newport
Beach (-123).
PHRF B (started
Feb. 21)
1. Raincloud
(J/145), Lorenzo Berho, Puerto
Vallarta (-25), elapsed time 7 days 0 hours 11
minutes 39 seconds.
Salsa Division
/ Started Feb. 16
Leg 3
Final
standings, with engine use and penalties computed
Spinnaker A
1. Barking
Spider 3 (MacGregor 65), David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif. (-24 rating), motor hours
20/distance motored 163 miles.
2. Amazing
Grace (Farr 55), Jim Puckett, Pacific Palisades, Calif. (12), 26/212.
3. Tenacity (J/133), Gil Maguire,
Marina del Rey (9), 34/221.
Spinnaker
B
1. Voice of
Reason (Ericson 32), Jim McCone/Mike Verla, Lomita, Calif. (180), 39/240.
2. Classic
Impulse (Catalina 40), Sean Roll, Riverside, Calif. (102), 40/251.
3. Jungle Jim (Jeanneau
49), Jim Maslon, Marina del Rey (69), competed only on Leg 3.
Non-spinnaker
1. .Far Niente
(Catalina 42), Pat Hearne, Monarch Beach, Calif. (102), 37/249.
2. Aquarius
(Jeanneau 43), Hiro Funaoku, Marina
del
Rey (117), 40/258.
3. Polaire
(Tayana 52), Hideshige Seki, Tokyo, Japan (87), 64/41.
4. Segue (Island Packet 485), Peter
Hirsch, Santa
Monica, Calif.
(114), 82/586.
5. Vision (Tayana 48), Jean
Rooryck, Woodland
Hills, Calif. (78), 102/450.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Del
Rey Yacht Club
(310) 823-4664
www.pv07.com
RACE CHAIRMAN
David Ross
(310) 980-7829
pv07@dryc.org
PRESS OFFICER
Rich Roberts
(310)
835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
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