Sailing and Sailboat Racing in the Sea of Cortez
Sailing Club forming in La Paz – Veleros de Baja
Sailing enthusiasts of La Paz are please to announce the formation of the Veleros de Baja, an organization formed to promote recreational sailboat racing and sailing events in the southern Sea of Cortez, specifically La Paz.
The first organizational meeting of Veleros de Baja was held at Rancho Viejo on February 25th where an initial charter was drafted and organizational officers were elected. Charter articles recommended by the committee included the sole focus of the organization to be sailing activities, rather than social and charity fund raising events which are adequately covered by other excellent organizations in La Paz.
Check out
the Sailing Club in La Paz Website
for more details
VelerosDeBaja.com
“Based on the enthusiasm generated by the recent Carnaval La Paz Regatta, where 15 boats entered the 50 mile two day event we thought it was time to reignite interest in sailing and getting off the dock.” said the first club commodore Bob McAlvain.
Bob had organized, found sponsors for and promoted the Carnaval Regatta just a few weeks ago. The excitement and close finish to the race provided the platform and participants to get this new project off the ground.
Race Week was a long standing event in the Sea, held in the islands of the Sea of Cortez where sailboat racing was a focus and being able to attend meant you had a boat or knew someone who did. But in the last decade as the number of land dwelling emigrants to La Paz increased, Club Cruceros, the organizational force behind Race Week, revised the event to become Bay Fest, held on the beach in La Paz. The event now is open to more than just the sailing community and has greatly contributed to the events success.
“There are more boats in La Paz than ever before.” said one of the founding members, Tom Zyber. “But it seems to take an act of god to get some of them off the dock. With the Sea being such an excellent venue for fun sailboat races we thought we would take our shot at creating an organization with the sole aim of getting folks out to enjoy the fundamentals of racing the wind.”
Veleros de Baja will seek to organize two types of events, sailboat races and sail regattas. Since the Ensenada de La Paz offers the drawback of a nearly 40 minute up the channel to waters open enough for racing, the events will need to be of significant enough time and distance to make leaving the harbor worthwhile. Races will be formatted to take several hours while regattas will be multi-day events where some contestants may FUM (finish under motor)
“We aren’t out to step on the toes of other events in the Sea either.” said commodore McAlvain. “We are working to schedule our events to compliment other long standing events and even provide sailors something to do while enroute to these events.”
Club Events for Spring 2010 |
March 13Raft-up: A pre-race gathering in Coleta Lobos for racers that do not wish to get up early to make the starting line on the 14th. March 14, 2010 11AMRock to the Dock - A 11.5 mile south run into the Ensenada de La Paz. Entry fee $100 pesos. BBQ pot luck to follow on the beach of the Magote. Click here for Race ResultsApril 15 - 17, 2010Spring Regatta - 4 Days after La Paz Bay Fest a 3 Day sail from La Paz to Isla Espritu Santos, overnight in Coleta Partida then on to Isla San Francisco. North bound sailors for Loreto Fest and San Carlos can depart north and those returning to La Paz will race down-wind to the Municipal Pier. The first two legs are about 25 miles each and the run to La Paz is about 52 miles, usually downwind. More details soon. Mid May, 2010One Day Race Event" To be announced June 19-20, 2010Soltice Regatta - A one day race on the 19th around a mark in the Bay of La Paz with the destination of Bahia Balandra. A gathering and potluck to follow. More details to follow. A downwind race back to the Municipal Pier to follow on the 20th. (Soltice actually occurs at 5:28AM local time daylight on 6/21) Sailors in any 2 of the 4 first season events will be automatically eligible for Club Charter Membership. |
“We want to be about getting folks out and having some fun with their boats.” said Billy Delmer, owner of Rock Hard Dingy Repair in La Paz and another founding member. “It is really a kick to remember that anytime you have two or more sailboats going in the same direction you have a race! We had so much fun in the Carnaval Regatta we would love to do it every week, but it might be hard to generate that much interest this soon.”
The club has scheduled 4 sailing events for the remainder of the 2010 spring/summer season and hopes to sponsor an event a month beginning in October 2010 should interest remain high.
All events will be for the fun of sailing and as one of the founding members Mike Lancon said, “Official race protests will be tossed in the circular file.” Since most entrants will be cruisers, sailing their homes the focus will be on safety and having a good time.
In addition to the fun and thrills of sailboat racing the club hopes to entice more participants with pre and post race BBQ’s and gatherings, where racers and non-participants alike can revel in the excitement and commradery of boating.
The first event to be organized by the club will be a race from the Rock to the Dock on March 14th. On the evening of March 13th there will be a raft-up and gathering in Coleta Lobos about one kilometer east of the starting line. The pre-event will make it fun and easy for entrants to make the starting line the next morning. The race will begin at 11AM on the 14th at Roca Lobos and finish at the pier downtown, with a beach pot-luck BBQ and gathering for all La Paz sailors and fans on El Magote to follow.
The second planned event for the club will be a 3 day regatta following Bay Fest for those looking to sail north to Loreto Fest and San Carlos at the traditional end of the cruising season. The Regatta will leave from Punta Prieta at the entrance to the Ensenada de La Paz, overnight in La Partida (Isla Espritu Santos) and reach its northern Apex at Isla San Francisco. A return race from Isla San Francisco will be held for those boats returning to La Paz.
A day sail race is planned for the mid May and a Solstice Regatta is planned for June 19 and 20.
The club voted to suspend membership dues for the remainder of the Spring 2010 season and base prizes on local sponsorships and entry fees. Skippers and vessels entering any 2 of the 4 first season events will be automatically eligible for Club Charter Membership and will receive perpetual discounts on membership and race fees in subsequent years.
The club charter calls for races and regattas to be open to all comers with an entry fee discount to be applied to dues paying members. Dues schedules and club benefits for 2010-2011 will be announced in September. The club is open to all, but club officers must be owners of ‘actively sailing vessels in the Sea’. Long term plans call for the club regattas to be open to Baja power boaters as well. The club will become an official organization when charter documents are completed this summer.
For further information on Veleros de Baja sailing club sponsorship, membership and events please visit our website.