Shrimp enchiladas tonight, Tequila tomorrow

Published on March 23rd, 2015

(March 23, 2015; 1615 PDT) – The leaders in the Newport to Cabo San Lucas Yacht Race are getting ready to call race control with their drink order, as Manouch Moshayedi’s Rio 100 (representing Scuttlebutt Sailing Club) is just 153nm from the finish. Race tracker shows Rio 100 posting 16.9 knots, with Peter & David Askew’s R/P 71 Wizard posting similar speeds just 38 nm astern. Starting a day later, the ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe is making up time, reporting speeds of 25 knots and now is 272nm from the tequila bar.

This report comes from onboard the Santa Cruz 70 OEX:

Last night fortune favored the bold. On board OEX we carried our 2A asymmetrical up to 28 knots TWS and were rewarded with mid 20s on the speedo and a few anxious moments. OEX rumbled through the moonless night. As the boat slams over each wave it sends a loud shudder through the hull that sounds like distant thunder. Clouds hid stars and the sea state was often confused making driving challenging.

Dawn brought good news as Holua crossed within a quarter mile and we saw Pyewacket three miles ahead and to leeward. We spent the better part of this morning grinding down Holua and at noon crossed again, this time with a one mile lead and the Magic Cat closer. Marine life is everywhere and we had another close encounter with an enormous mammal as it breached within 10 boat lengths of OEX while we were surfing at 22 knots.

We’re sailing in shorts and t-shirts under a bright Baja sun with warm breeze sledding down the waves at 18-22 knots. Current conditions are ideal for our turbo Santa Cruz 70. We’re about a half knot faster than Holua and with some 266nm left on the race track we hope to stretch a bit to save our handicap time. Pyewacket is going really well and we’ll have our work cut out to catch them.

And if that wasn’t good enough, tonight we go native with Chef Pete Lehmar’s famous Shrimp enchiladas from Gladstone’s Long Beach that will be served along with Pots Du creme for dessert.

Event website – Tracking – Standings