banderas bay regatta

Above: Andy Barrow's Vallarta-based Beneteau 390 'Hey-Ya' and David Pressley's Frers 33 'Pinocchio' from Richmond YC. Below: Mark and Patty Thompson's Marin County-based Catalina 470 'Agave Azul' won the boat parade.

The 2019 Banderas Bay Regatta didn't disappoint. Now in its 27th year, this edition of one of the longest-running cruiser's regattas on the West Coast hosted an eclectic mix of 30 boats. Participants included a range of boat types, from cruising boats like Marshall Peabody's Seattle-fl agged Roughwater 33 Tenacity and Patsy Verhoeven's Gulfstar 50 Talion out of La Paz, to racing boats like Linda Sweet's PV-based Varianta 44, the MEXORC-winning Olas Lindas, and Mike Seth's mighty J/145 Double Take sailing in her home waters. Conditions for the event on March 7-9 were classic Banderas Bay, with wind speeds ranging from 6-8 knots on Day 1 to almost 20 knots on Day 3. Also as expected in Banderas Bay, not only did competitors enjoy the beautiful mountains surrounding the bay, but many participants reported sightings of whales, dolphins, rays and turtles. Principal Race Officer Don Becker and his team called the courses for the event. The excellent conditions gave him the op-

portunity to send boats all over Banderas Bay on reaching courses designed to be cruiser- and multihull-friendly. BBR includes a decorated boat parade that leaves from both Nuevo Vallarta and La Cruz on Wednesday and meets in the racing area for start practice. This year's theme was Sabado Night Fever, with disco music as the boats headed out to play. The parade included non-racers, sponsors and powerboats for the fi rst time this year. Start practice day is called "Start Your Heart Out" and ends with a beer can race to La Cruz that is open to all. As with every Banderas Bay Regatta, the motto is "They had a party and a yacht race broke out." This year's event was no different. Vallarta Yacht Club in Paradise Village Marina hosted the opening day and nightly themed parties, with buffet dinners and live music. New sponsor SMA Yachts hosted a free-forcompetitors happy hour on Friday night after Race 2. The awards party on the beach at Paradise Village is also a BBR tradition that is a shared memory for more than 2,000 sailors in the event's 28-year history. This year's fi nal beach party featured music by Luna Rumba and a fi reworks display. Mark and Patty Thompson of Corinthian YC in Tiburon and their Catalina 470 Agave Azul won the Early Bird Award for the fi rst to register, won their division, and won Best Boat in the boat parade. J/World, a sailing school based in Paradise Village, occupied the TwentySomething division. "Our 'results' are a bit convoluted," explained J/World's president, Wayne Zittel. "We switch skippers every race (it's a coached session for our clients), and teams swapped boats every day (round-robin, to keep things fair). So while the 'offi cial' results show only the scores of each boat, we internally tracked each team's performance. "This year, we had students from across North America, including Canada and the US (from Maine to the West Coast). The three days prior to the regatta are spent in a clinic environment, with lectures each morning, then on-thewater practice all afternoon. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed not only the spectacular offerings of Banderas Bay, but also the hospitality of the Vallarta YC."

Anew perpetual trophy has been established to honor longtime BBR participant and friend Bob Smith, whom we lost last year.

Pantera and Bob are legendary in Banderas Bay. He was living the dream that many of us share: Build a boat, retire, and cruise in Mexico. A Baja Ha-Ha vet, Pantera was one of the fi rst boats to earn a minus rating for BBR, and she still won races. Bob lived aboard the 44-footer for 10 years. Last December, Pantera was reported missing, then found wrecked in the Sea of Cortez. Bob's body was found on a beach several miles away on November 20. The Pantera Cup will be awarded at the Banderas Bay Regatta every year based on the results of the season's events, including the Banderas Bay Blast in December, the Vallarta Cup in January, Herding Cats in February and the BBR in March. All multihulls with cabins that have a Vallarta YC rating are eligible. Participation in the BBR is required; other events are optional — we know cruising has no schedule — that's why we do it.

ALL PHOTOS JOHN POUNDER / JL DIGITAL MEDIA / WWW.JLDIGITALMEDIA.NET

The author of this report, Randy Hough, raced his Ian Farrier 22 trimaran 'Cricket'. Linda Sweet's 'Olas Lindas' and the Roswolds' Seattle-based 'Wings' raced in the Performance A division.

"They had a party and a yacht race broke out."

This fi rst year, the trophy went to the winner of the multihull class, Eric Laakmann and his Outremer 55 Zephyr from Seattle. Next year's BBR XXVIII is set for March 24-28, following the San Diego to PV Race and MEXORC. Banderas Bay is the place to be next March! The Parade theme will be Roaring 20s (for 2020, and for our 21° latitude and great breezes). — randy hough & latitude/chris

Randy Hough awarding the fi rst Pantera Cup to Eric Laakmann and the crew of 'Zephyr'. The Outremer 55 'Zephyr', seen here at the weather mark, won the inaugural Pantera Cup.

BANDERAS BAY REGATTA, 3/7-9 (3r, 0t) PERFORMANCE A — 1) Double Take, J/145, Mike Seth, 7 points; 2) Sirocco, J/130, Lee Pryor, 8; 3) Wings, Serendipity 43, Fred Roswold, 10. (5 boats) PERFORMANCE B — 1) Sinfonia Nautica, J/105, Bart Smit, 3 points; 2) Bright Star, Jeanneau SunFast 38, Dor Anderson, 7; 3) Carmanah, C&C 43, John DeMeyer, 8. (5 boats) TWENTY SOMETHING — 1) J/World 1, J/80, 3 points; 2) J/World 3, J/80, 7; 3) J/World 2, J/80, 8. (3 boats) CRUISING OVER 45FT — 1) Agave Azul, Catalina 470, Mark Thompson, 3 points; 2) Talion, Gulfstar 50, Patsy Verhoeven, 7; 3) Scout, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 52.2, Greg Himes, 8. (4 boats) CRUISING UNDER 45FT — 1) ZOA, Ericson 381, Kris Rittenhouse, 3 points; 2) Blue Oasis, Jeanneau SO 45p, Barry Constant, 7; 3) Pinocchio, Frers 33, David Pressley, 9. (6 boats) JIB AND MAIN — 1) Poco Loco Dos, Catalina 38, Keith Sangster, 4 points; 2) Georgia, Van de Stadt 41, Ben Mewes, 5; 3) 40-Love, Hunter 40, Joel Gerber, 10. (4 boats) MULTIHULL — 1) Zephyr, Outremer 55, Eric Laakmann, 4 points; 2) Cricket, F-22, Randy Hough, 5; 3) Jazz, F-41es, Graham McGlashan, 10. (3 boats)

Full results at www.banderasbayregatta.com