PV Race: Big boat brawl, Little boat fiesta

(March 12, 2020) – The 2020 San Diego to Vallarta International Yacht Race, which has been crawling along the 1000nm course from San Diego, CA to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, saw the pointy end of the spear arrive today.

The morning started with a chase as the 80-foot Cabron pursued the 70-foot Pyewacket 70, erasing what was once a 40 mile lead to come side by side with their Class 1 rival. Just after 0100 PST, with both teams within boat lengths of each other, they dueled for the line, actually missing the port end on the first pass and both boats scrambling to reverse course and re-round the port end of the virtual finish line.

One can only imagine the match race tactics, flying lines, and crew work needed to keep these ocean titans moving, in the dark, with close quarter maneuvering. In the end Cabron is the line honors winner of the 2020 PV Race, while Pyewacket 70 wins Class 1 on corrected time including a 1 hour corrected time penalty assessed to Pyewacket as a result of the brawl at the finish.

After over a 1000nm, the first to finish honors came down to a dial up at the finish and some string theory.

As for the smallest boat in the fleet, Bill Hardesty’s Hobie 33 Sizzle (above), this year’s PV Race was a magical ride. Sizzle was the 5th boat to finish, crossing the line mid-day and running away with the Class 6 victory. They were able to stay close enough to the hard sailing Rogers 46 Bretwalda3 and correct ahead of them by 6.5 hours.

Sizzle managed to avoid the blue wall (color code for light air on the race tracker) that stopped Pyewacket last night.

The overall win is in Sizzle’s sights, but won’t be official until a few of the sleds post their race race times tonight and tomorrow. The tape will tell the tale.

Event Details – Entry List – Tracker – Facebook – Photos

Report from Nathalie Criou on 33-foot Beneteau Figaro 2 Envolée:
We has to bail. All the models are converging on no wind across from Cabo to PV and we don’t have enough fuel to make it by motor. As a result we are retiring and sailing into Cabo. Heartbroken. Team also worried about international travel because of the virus and need to get back to land. Envolée out.

More comments from the course:

MR BILL
Wind 340 @ 20 kts, sea 3-4′, 100% cloud cover, bar falling @ 1012
Windy & wild night, fast sailing. We broke starboard spin sheet, used the port sheet temporarily, then sent our bowman, Seth, out in a harness to hook on a new sheet.

SNOOPY
Wind 348 @ 20.3 kts, seas 2-3′, partly cloudy, bar 1011.9 falling slowly.
Finally making strides down the path, and should be home soon! Hope the beer is cold (and has not been drunk yet)!

ZERO GRAVITY
Wind 325 @ 18 knots, seas 3 feet, 50 % cloud cover, 1013 mbar pressure
Blast reaching with a reefed main. Foam the runway, we’re coming in!

KATARA
Winds: 315-330 at 12-13 kts
It’s so close we can taste it – but we have to PUSH. Nights like last night make all the drifting, all the lack of sleep, all the heat/cold, all the wet soggy nights, and all the physical discomfort disappear. Starts you never knew existed. A near full moon that we got to watch rise that light the night up like daytime. Dozens and dozens of satellites that we watched scream across the sky as they were lit by the now set sun. Just incredible.

BRIGADOON
Wind 350 @ 17.0 kts, Sea 2′-3′, Cloud cover 30%, bar dropping @ 1021 mb
Hazy sunrise; clearing. Couple spits of rain passing Cabo San Lucas. Got through the eddy and into the freshening Cortez breeze and aren’t looking back. Don’t know what the heck it was but everyone liked whatever Romeo Villareal at Baja Sessions Catering & Provisioning prepared for dinner. Morning wake-up call: “One Wild Night” by Bon Jovi.

The 2020 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race got underway on March 5 for five teams in ORR-6 as they began the 1,000nm course from San Diego, USA to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Staggered starts continued on March 6 for 16 teams in ORR-3,4,5 and March 7 for eight entrants in ORR-1,2.

The multihull race record of 02:03:48 was set in 2018 by H.L. Enloe’s ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe. The monohull race record of 03:05:41 was set by Manouch Moshayedi’s Rio100 in 2016.

Source: SDYC, Scuttlebutt