MEXORC
JAY AILWORTH/WWW.STRANGEBIRDPHOTOS.COM
W
hen we first heard that the Mexican Ocean Racing Circuit was going to be dramatically revamped this year, we were a little skeptical. But last fall, when we saw the list of incentives that the organizers threw into the mix, we started to believe a little bit. There were carrots like free moorage, included dinners for competitors, free lodging for up to six people and free shuttle busses for everyone, plus drastically discounted entry fees for boats meeting the appropriate entry deadlines. But when we arrived in Puerto Vallarta on February 26, what we'd experience throughout the next week absolutely blew our minds. What was so special? Well, everything happened as promised for starters, and then there were some things that happened that weren't
promised, like Mexican President Felipe Calderón not only welcoming the racers on the first day via VHF, but presenting the brand new Copa México trophy and helping out with Race Committee duty on the final day! The joke of the day? "We can't even get the mayor to come down to the Rolex Big Boat Series!" This year's MEXORC was part of the Nextel Regatta Copa México and produced the winner of its namesake trophy. Given to the overall winner of the four 'Oceanic' classes — it was part of a much larger 'Extravaganza Naútica' to celebrate Mexico's bicentennial. Unofficially it was also an attempt to reverse some of the damage that mainstream North American media attention has wrought on the country by focusing on drug wars and swine flu. The Extravaganza
also featured a kiting event, run by St. Francis YC Racing Manager John Craig and featuring Bay Area kiters like Chip Wasson, Johnny Heineken, and some of the world's top kiteboard course racing talent you may have seen at last year's Worlds on the Bay. There was also an 85-boat Opti regatta and a 55-boat J/24 regatta, all within a two-week span. With substantial government support — the Mexican Navy used patrol boats as stake boats for the benefit of racers — the event was a pretty big deal, and the shoreside entertainment was way beyond what we've ever encountered at a large regatta. The regatta's home base at Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle was transformed in the weeks leading up to the event. Large areas of land were filled in to create
