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 News from Around Banderas Bay | March 2006 
Banderas Bay Nautical Festival Continues
 Latitude38.com
| | The R/P 50 Blue Blazes in her race-winning downwind form. | 
| | King Neptune and his court of mermaids and pirates. | 
| | Parade of boats. | 
| | Vaquero II | 
| | Yachtie Dustin to the rescue. | 
| Some of the more experienced Opti sailors didn't have a problem in the breezy conditions.
(Photos Latitude/Richard) |
This is the first year of the nearly non-stop month-long Festival Nautico de Bahia de Banderas in Mexico, and the action has been hot and heavy. It all started with the end of the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race, the overall winner of which was Dennis Pennell of the R/P 50 Blue Blazes (ex-Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory, ex-Dennis Conner's Stars 'n Stripes). Pennell, a very nice guy, said the victory was "the highlight of his 55 years of racing, most of it with the same core of guys." Congratulations to him.
Then on Saturday there was the first annual Governor's Cup Big Boat Parade along the Puerto Vallarta waterfront. What a turnout! There were about 60 big boats - some of them very large motoryachts - being led by the Mexican Navy. In addition, there were scores of pangas with guys dressed up like Neptune on the bow and bunches of kids in the back. Mexicans love beauty contests, so there was a big powerboat with a bunch of muy caliente chicas vying for the honor of queen.
You folks in Santa Barbara ever wonder what happened to the Vaquero II that used to shuttle cattle between the mainland and Santa Cruz Island? She's down on Banderas Bay doing charters, a big bar having been set up where the cattle probably used to munch on hay during the channel crossings. When we asked the Vaquero why she moved out of Santa Barbara, she said, "I'm a little older now so my planks ache when it gets cold, and it just doesn't get cold down here on the Vallarta coast like it does along the foggy California coast. After all, it's early March and it's pouring rain in Santa Barbara - I just don't need that any more. Plus, the smell of the cattle was getting to me. Just tell all my friends back in Santa Barbara Harbor that I'm enjoying a happy semi-retirement - like a lot of other Americans - on the warm waters of Banderas Bay."
Rumor has it that the parade was supposed to be reviewed by the Governor of Jalisco, Governor Arnold, and other dignitaries. We don't know if they showed, but everybody had a great time - including us, and we never do boat parades.
Saturday afternoon was the first day of the big Optimist Regatta for mostly Mexican kids from Lake Bravo near Mexico City, but also for some of the kids from the Vallarta area. It blew about 20 knots with some pretty good chop out on the bay, which proved to be a little too much for some of the sailors, who were as young as eight and weighed as little as 50 pounds. Before the end of the first race, no less than half of the 50 competitors had been capsized or dismasted, and were being rescued by everything from jet-skis to inflatable dinghies to sportfishing boats to mini-megayachts. The mothers of the young kids were, of course, in a near panic. Fortunately nobody was hurt, and indeed, the 25 of the bigger kids stayed on the course for the second race.
Saturday afternoon was also the one-race Governor's Cup. Twelve boats enjoyed the breezy conditions, with the Mexican Frers 43 Bandido correcting out first.
Sunday was the second day of the Optimist Regatta, and the first day of MEXORC, a week-long race series featuring many of the boats that competed in the San Diego to Vallarta Race. The conditions were perfect - think of a tropical San Francisco Bay.
There's so much more action to come in the month-long Nautical Festival: the St. Paddy's Day cruise to La Cruz, the attempt at the world's largest dinghy raft-up off Paradise Marina, the founding of the Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club, the Pirates for Pupils Spinnaker Run, the Banderas Bay Regatta, and we can't remember what else. It's so much fun that even Pedro, the 12-ft resident croc of Nuevo Vallarta lagoon, was seen poking his elongated nose around the harbor yesterday. The Banderas Bay cruisers regatta doesn't start until the end of the month, so you'd have to be crazy not to fly down and be a part of it all. Viva sailing in tropical Mexico!
Latitude 38 Publishing is Northern California's leading sailing and marine magazine - check 'em out at Latitude38.com |
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