Second wave for San Diego Vallarta Race

San Diego, CA (March 11, 2022) – The second wave of starters for the 2022 San Diego to Vallarta International Yacht Race launched Divisions 3, 4, and 5 in westerly wind of 5-8 knots that allowed reaching angles for the start of their 1000 nm course.

Among the starters was Ivan Batanov’s Soto 40 Zero Gravity who anticipates a challenging race due to somewhat unpredictable weather conditions. “Some years it can be very light, others can get a bit sporty,” noted Batanov. “The rounding of Cabo is critical and can make or break the race. Depending on the local conditions and the time of day, many boats have lost hours and days in the light airs ‘hole of Cabo’. For us, the 1000 mile course requires careful planning to keep the boat light and fast.”

For the three boats that started yesterday, their email check-in this morning had the Division 6 boats 120-135 nm down the track. White Cloud and Envolee were within a half mile of each other having morning coffee (or their equivalent). Such Fast stands only a few miles behind the other two in terms of distance to finish, but in a more offshore position. Clearly different pages from the Mexico Race play book.

Nathalie Criou Envolee, Skipper, Division 6:
“Awesome sailing last night – 17 to 20 knots of breeze which has turned into s**t about a hundred miles from Cedros. Battling it out with White Cloud, but we’ve lost track of Such Fast. Team morale is good and we are all rested as the weather tests our patience.”

Day one starters launched in a moderate south wind, prompting tighter upwind angles. But through the night, the breeze swung to a more southwesterly direction and increased, allowing the three competitors to set some downwind sails and extend down the course. However, with 24 hours of change on the weather map, gains from inshore thermal, or offshore gradient winds near San Carlos will reveal winners and losers by tomorrow.

Event information – Race details – Entry list – Tracking – March 11 roll call – Photos

Note: The tracking has a 4-hour delay.

Start schedule for 30 entrants:
March 10 – Division 6
March 11 – Division 3, 4, 5
March 12 – Division 1, 2

Source: SDYC