Cinco De Mayo Regatta 2022

  Fleet 66 puts on another exciting event! Every year, Fleet 66 puts on an event in Puerto Penasco at the north east edge of the Sea of Cortez. We cruise down and stop at Why Not Travel Store. The eclectic fuel stop offers travel insurance, reasonably priced fuel, clean restrooms and snacks! They've also supported the Hobie fleets over the years with regatta support. Uneventful boarder crossing. The Mexican agent poked around in our van for a minute before letting us go. We rolled into Play Bonita RV park about 10:30 in the morning on Friday to some gusty breeze and temperate weather. Friday was full of strong gusty conditions, but about mid day, the cats went out! A few A-fleet sailors went out for a practice sail and cruised around the bay. The breeze was moderate, and I went out solo as my crew was in town enjoying some of the local amenaties, such as Mexican micro brew and pedicures. As the white caps whipped up, we came back in and the b-fleet 16s headed out to the tune of 20kt breeze with gusts to 30. The conditions were effective for some trapezing and boat testing, but frustrating in that the wind would drop to next to nothing for 20 or 30 minutes before whipping back up. I swooped up Diane for the extra hands as we went out in the breeze. We darted around a bit, checking out how well I'd gotten the old boat back together before cruising back into the beach. Saturday we were greeted by an early light breeze filling in from the north. Race committee was hoping for an early start to ensure we got some races in before the wind whipped up beyond what they could manage. We mostly got off the beach with a steady breeze and were ready to race shortly after. For the first race on the new to me H16 from '84 we did a good job of nailing the start and rounding A mark in first place! Tony and Kirsten were right there with us and quickly moved past us. We ended up with a 4th place with Tony and Kirsten taking first. The second race was pretty close to the first, with single trap conditions and a few white caps. There were occasional double trap conditions with some building breeze. We got another 4th with Mike Montague and new H16 sailor Diane Norden taking first. As the wind filled in, a bit of an oscillation developed on the right side of the course. It felt like the right was favored, but an intermittent header would hit the starboard boats heading for the mark. Somehow Jeff Perlmutter and Dani Haneman always seemed to make up boats going up the left side. By the end of the third race, a bunch of boats had headed to the beach as the gust differential was getting bigger. From shore, most of the sailors were derigging boats while listening to intermittent calls about a missing boat and we started looking for Bill. The race committee was contending with a some capsizes and decided to call the races due to the conditions. Bill and Renee Feil had apparently had an exciting downwind and ended up sticking the front end, resulting in a turtled boat. The mast quickly filled with water and proved difficult if not impossible to right. Support boats and race committee got eyes on them pretty quickly, but even after getting Renee out of the water and two extra bodies to help with righting the boat, it just wouldn't come up. They opted to start disassembling the boat to prepare to bring it back in, but after battling to get it upright and fighting with the sea state energy was starting to get low. [caption id="attachment_64100" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Bill Feil coming in with mast down[/caption] From shore, we'd heard that race committee and a mark boat were with Bill, but we couldn't hear any more information. We could see the committee boat and had seen Bill's boat, but they were drifting toward the point and it seemed to be taking a really long time. We started talking about sending out someone to help and/or check on the recovery effort, but everything on shore was mostly de-rigged. I'd been wing foiling the day before and my rig was setup in the lot. After a few minutes of back and forth on the beach, I figured that at the very least, it'd be a nice ride out to the boat. I jumped on the board and headed out. The wind had settled down a bit, and was blowing in the mid to high teens with regular 2' chop with some coming together for some nice 3-4' breaking waves. I found the committee boat nearby Bill's boat, with the hulls upright, but the mast and sails laying off the port side of the boat. Bill Feil, Larry Langer (our PRO) and a third guy were on the 16 struggling to pull the gear into a stable position on the boat. The mark boat driver had a line to the 16 and was prepared to tow, but with the mast off balance, they couldn't make headway. They were about 50 yards off the point. They were clearly very wet and cold, but Bill looked up with a big smile on his face. When I asked how I could help, he said they were struggling to get the main off the mast. After I tied my board and wing off to the 16's rear pylon, I swam out and undid the halyard clip at the top and helped the crew slide the sail off the mast and onto the boat. We got the main, jib and mast lashed to the boat and they got setup for the long ride back to shore. I undid my gear and jumped off. I proceeded to cruise up and back from the beach as they panga boat towed Bill back to Playa Bonita. There is always an awkward time when getting a downed boat back to shore. The powerboat can't power all the way up the beach, with the downed boat in tow... so I used my wing! The panga threw the tow line to the boat and they threw it to me. It wasn't very effective, but I was able to get them closer to shore, and then drag them in with the long line. A team of people quickly showed up to help the waterlogged crew and boat up the beach. [caption id="attachment_64093" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sailors pushing waterlogged h16 up beach[/caption] Fleet 66 organized a great dinner of tacos, desserts and Tecate beer! Puesta Del Sol catered a taco bar under the sponsored Tecate Tents near the boat ramp. The fleet provided a potluck style dessert table and ice cold Tecate beer! Sunday brought gusty winds and we got out on the water to try for an earlier start. Half of A fleet set up for a port start to a dramatically skewed line. We wondered why the course was so offset as we flew past the boats on starboard. The answer was clear after a few hundred yards, when the wind began to shift. The sails sagged limply as we watched the other boats catch up. Personal puffs came through the fleet and scooted people along, some close hauled, and some broad reaching. Blair and Sasha managed to sail in a complete 360 as the wind swirled around us. A group of us bob in the middle of the course as the swell pumps through. Tony and Kirsten had gotten out ahead, and caught the first gusts of the breeze filling in. We watched a couple other boats start to scoot away, and then as the breeze caught our boat, we heard the race committee come up on the radio. They were instructing the Mark boat to come down to us and tell us to abandon the race. As the wind reached us and we started scooting along too, my crew and and I looked at each other and said, "noooooooooo!" fortunately the race committee changed their mind and we were off! Technically it wasn't much of a windward/ leeward course, but the shifting wind, holes and gusts made it exciting. One of those races where the winner is determined by ability to shift gears and a bit of luck. Results were still on par with the rest of the event. The next race started after a significant delay due to the 90 degree wind shift. The breeze was coming directly from the beach! We got a start off and the first lap seemed OK, then the next lap ended up with some shifts and some holes. As we wrapped up the race, there ended up being a few boats over and the breeze started cranking. Race committee called it a day and we headed for the beach. Rich and John got to learn about recovering from a turtle in high breeze and a big sea state! The committee boat cruised over and Larry jumped in for another righting assist. [caption id="attachment_64101" align="alignnone" width="758"] Rich and John on turtled H16[/caption] Everyone got back in OK and packed up for the various drives home. Fleet 66 put on their traditional hot dog lunch as we gathered under the tents again to share stories and discuss the weekend. Cinco Regatta 2022 lived up to it's rep as the breezy companion to the Pinatta Regatta.   [gallery columns="2" size="medium" link="file" ids="eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzNDIuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJDaW5jb2RlbWF5b3JlZ2F0dGEgMjAyMiByZXN1bHRzIiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IkNpbmNvIDIyIFJlc3VsdHMiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMzkuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIHRyb3BoeSBzdGV2ZW4iLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiIiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ==,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMzUuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIHRyb3BoeSBjaHJpcyIsImNhcHRpb24iOiIiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMzIuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIHRyb3BoeSIsImNhcHRpb24iOiJUcm9waHkiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMzAuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIHRyb3BoeSB0b255IiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IjFzdCBQbGFjZSBBIEZsZWV0ICIsImFsdCI6IiIsImRlc2NyaXB0aW9uIjoiIn0=,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMjYuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIHRyb3BoeSBtaWtlIiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IjJuZCBQbGFjZSBBIEZsZWV0IiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ==,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzMjEuanBnIiwidGl0bGUiOiJjaW5jbzIyIG5pZ2h0IiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IlR1Y2tpbmcgaW4gdGhlIHRveXMgYXQgbmlnaHQiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvYmMwNTgxZjMtYjdlMS00YjZhLThiNWItZTY2MjdkMTFlOWZhLmpwZyIsInRpdGxlIjoiY2luY28yMiBkaW5uZXIiLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiRGlubmVyIGluIFRvd24iLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzgyNjcxLXNjYWxlZC5qcGciLCJ0aXRsZSI6IklNR184MjY3WzFdIiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6Ik1pa2UgTS4gQmxvd2thcnQiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzIzNTYxLXNjYWxlZC5qcGciLCJ0aXRsZSI6IklNR18yMzU2WzFdIiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IlN1bnNldCBvbiBDaW5jbyAyMiIsImFsdCI6IiIsImRlc2NyaXB0aW9uIjoiIn0=,eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm11cnJheXMuY29tXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDIyXC8wNVwvSU1HXzgyNzYxLXNjYWxlZC5qcGciLCJ0aXRsZSI6IklNR184Mjc2WzFdIiwiY2FwdGlvbiI6IlN1bnNldCBhdCB0aGUgd2FsbCIsImFsdCI6IiIsImRlc2NyaXB0aW9uIjoiIn0="]