2007 Cabo San Lucas Race News

03/09/2007 4:15 PM CST - It has been a busy 16 hours since our last update. Although extremely light (read: non-existent) winds prevailed in the finish area overnight, dawn brought a bit of breeze. The light conditions and darkness did not stop 9 boats—including Falcon, Fortaleza, Rocket, Roller Coaster, Bolt, Piranha, Picante, Cheetah, and Tango from finishing—in that order, before dawn broke. The early morning light brought Black Knight, Magic, Katrina, Reach Around, and Checkmate, along with breezes picking up to around 5 knots. Check out the updated Finish Log by clicking on the “Regatta Results” tab and then the “View” link for the log found on the Club Race Site It’s fairly impressive for boats to have sailed so far and finish so close to one another, especially given the variable weather conditions throughout the race After that, Relentless, Low Speed Chase, Windswept, Aeolos, and feisty Between the Sheets came in, leaving only Uncontrollable Urge and Condor still out on the course. Uncontrollable Urge had retired earlier, having hit a submerged object and damaged her keel (see earlier entry below). Shortly after that, mid-morning brought a bit of panic to the Race Committee, as it received “news” from sailors on the dock that Condor had hit a whale, had an injury to one person on board, had retired, and was motoring directly to Marina Cabo San Lucas. Off go the alarm bells. It took about 90 minutes to chase down that news via multiple channels, including multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach Condor herself, ultimately to discover that the whole thing was unsubstantiated dock talk. Thank goodness; but it’s no fun worrying about sailors at sea, as many spectators who have been watching the race might agree. In a bit of irony, it was close to the end of that mini-crisis that Uncontrollable Urge showed up, sailing under jib alone, with what appeared to be all hands on deck in the warm sun. They answered a hail on VHF 16 and confirmed that all were healthy and were glad to be close to port. Though the end of the regatta is approaching, there’s a still lot to be done. We’ll try to get another update or two out, along with some additional photos as they become available. Everyone is wondering: Will the winds push Condor fast enough to make it in time? And: If she does make it, will she correct out to end up in the money? The clock’s ticking… In the meantime, everyone at NHYC hopes that you’ve enjoyed watching, supporting, or participating in the 2007 Cabo Race. It’s been a spectacular event. More spectacle to come this evening at the trophy presentation.

03/09/2007 9:15 AM CST - The tight cluster of boats approaching the finish earlier last evening has resolved itself. Adrenalin, Lucky Dog, Morpheus, and Tachyon III drifted across the line in that order approximately 0.5-1 knot of breeze under a clear starry sky and close to the breaking waves of the Pacific shore. The separations in finish times belie how close these boats were racing against one another. Perhaps light-air sailing skills created the final 1-2-3-4 separation at the end. Three of the four boats suffered problems with clear VHF communications, so Morpheus acted as a relay vessel, clearing communications between the boats and the Race Committee. Hats off to a classy organization. Falcon was ghosting in to the finish, with approximately 500 yards to go. About 20 minutes behind, retired vessels Ariadne and Lightning are both approaching under power, with ETA’s of 2300 PST 3/8/07.

03/08/2007 9:15 PM CST - Although the late morning and afternoon brought steadily building winds at and near the end of the Baja California peninsula, only three additional finishers appeared from the western horizon. Valkyrie, Cipango, and Locomotion all finished strongly today under following breezes. Tight racing in Class C continues. A four-boat cluster comprised of Morpheus, Tachyon III, Adrenalin, Lucky Dog has converged and is getting ready to round the corner of the peninsula. They are so close that they could be within shouting distance of each other. These four are so closely matched that it’s almost impossible to predict which will make the finish first. Uncontrollable Urge (Class D) retired from racing today after hitting a submerged object. She reported that her keel is loose, but that she is in no immediate danger and there are no injuries to the six crew members. As of last update, she was motoring with her jib up at 6.5 knots towards Cabo San Lucas at approximately 125 miles out. The Communications Vessel Galatea has altered course toward her and is maintaining hourly contact. Other Class D boats have the finish within reach, assuming that some wind pressure holds between Thursday evening and the extended finish time limit on Friday afternoon. Piranha and Picante continue their boat-for-boat duel a bit over 6 miles apart and nearly equidistant from the finish. Whales continue to migrate north around the end of the peninsula. For a host of reasons, everyone hopes that the submerged object that found the keel of Uncontrollable Urge was not pelagic wildlife—adult or newly calved.

03/08/2007 5:00 PM CST - The late evening hours brought calmer winds at the finish line, making the sprint from Cabo Falso seem more like a snails’ marathon. Overnight 10 more boats finished with O E X capturing line honors in class B, finishing ahead of Medicine Man the final class A boat. As expected, the next 4 finishers in the closely matched class B still were still battling it out 1 mile to the finish line. In the most exciting finish of the race, after well over 800 miles of sailing, Trader and Holua crossed the line within 31 seconds of one another—at approximately 1 knot of boat speed in extremely placid conditions. However, it doesn’t appear it was quite enough to move them ahead of Denali who will finish second on corrected time in her class. Winds are still holding at 12-14 knots up the coast from Bahia Santa Maria and south, hopefully bringing Windswept and the remaining boats in class E across the line before the extended time limit. lead.

03/07/2007 7:30 PM CST - With a little over 50 miles to go, money leaders Grand Illusion and OEX are headed towards the finish line in an exciting boat to boat battle. Not to be overshadowed Skylark, Denali and Houla are heating it up on the inside closer to shore. The last boat to finish in Class A Medicine Man is being overtaken by the B fleet leaders. Peligroso and Stark Raving Mad have both safely docked at the Marina Cabo San Lucas. The Race Committee is not expecting another finisher until early to this evening. Pressure continues to build across the race course especially close to the end of the Baja Peninsula. Stark Raving Mad reported making in excess of 22 knots at Cabo Falso just prior to finishing. Blue Blazes continues to shine in the front of the C Class, but without a transponder transmitting on Valkyrie it is hard to tell who really has the lead.

03/07/2007 3:00 PM CST - Stark Raving Mad III is the first to Finish!! We do not know their official corrected time yet but the excitement builds as the boats get closer to the finish!!

03/07/2007 1:00 PM CST - Things are looking better for the now 43-boat fleet racing to the finish in Cabo San Lucas. The increased winds overnight have pushed Stark Raving Mad within 50 miles of the finish and the forecast remains optimistic for the next 24 hours. At the finish line the Race Committee is reporting winds from the NW at 18 knots—“epic” conditions. With the boats still so tight in Class B, the change in conditions should provide for an exciting last leg. Denali has pulled second in the overall standings, while Skylark has dropped to fourth. Perseverance prevails among of the remaining boats in the Class E. The Race Committee has received an e-mail from the crew of Between the Sheets, it reads: “The Furniture Fleet has been, and still is, in an all out horse race since the start. Many times we have been sailing in sight of each other. We have no intention of retiring from the race due to lack of wind, food or water. We also have no doubt that our friends on Katrina and Windswept are pushing on with everything they have.” The Race Committee is amending SI 16 to accommodate the so far challenging, yet improving weather conditions by extending the finish time limit to from 1200 hours to 1600 hours PST Friday afternoon. Crew onAdrenalin, Robert Kinney is reporting that they have discovered a “new continent” in the Pacific Ocean. Last night they sailed headlong into a “kelp island.” Full stop. It took them an hour to extricate themselves. Despite this delay, Adrenalin recovered and moved up in the standings since yesterday.

03/07/2007 12:00 PM CST - Class C's, Locomotion continues to set an impressive pace, clicking off another 65 miles overnight. Santa Cruz 50's Rocket and Fortaleza, along with NM 55Bolt, are tracking within sight of each other and close behind Santa Cruz 52 Relentless. Meanwhile, Adrenalin, Morpheus and Lucky Dog seem to be in their own race, going boat-for-boat for the past 65 miles. Class D, appears to have survived the night unscathed, with most boats remaining tightly clustered. Early class leaders Picante and Piranha after having separated by over 50 miles earlier in the race, literally flanking the rest of the fleet, remain out front, closing to within sight of each other (less than 4 miles). Katrina, Windswept, and Between the Sheets continue to pace each other closely in Class E, as they have throughout the race so far. Last night's forecasted winds came through, increasing speeds across the fleet. While Class A's three boats are focused on the finish, all other eyes are focused on Friday's finish time limit. Will the winds continue long enough and strong enough to push the fleet to Cabo in time? Check in again to find out!

03/07/2007 7:00 AM CST - The winds picked up last evening as the moon rose over the race course. Class B boats, Skylark, Denali, Grand Illusion, and O E X continue to battle it out, sailing neck-and-neck downwind with San Carlos abeam at 1930 PT. In Class C, Locomotion has made up the most ground since the last report, logging an impressive 17 miles, while Hula Girl continues to hug the shore, paying the price for missing the bigger offshore breezes. Based on transponder reports and area weather reports, it seems that the breeze is picked up significantly south of Punta Abreojos. As of 0930 PT, Patriot had e-mailed the Race Committee, indicating she was retiring into Turtle Bay. In Class E, it appears that Abba Zaba Dad and Equity have headed to Turtle Bay to find shelter from the blisteringly calm breezes. All are awaiting confirmation via long-range radio at the morning roll call. Stay informed, come on back for more updates

03/06/2007 8:45 PM CST - Stark Raving Mad III, Peligroso, and Medicine Man are just off the coast of Bahia Santa Maria with an estimated 200 miles to the finish. Winds are forecasted 8 to 12 knots through the night, hopefully keeping the boats on their projected time table when they will begin arriving some time tomorrow afternoon. The winds on the course are improving as the boats sail south of the Bay of Ballenas. There continues to be very tight racing in the B class, with OEX, Denali, Skylark and Grand Illusion still leading the charge. They are approximately 82 miles NNW of Bahia Santa Maria. There is still no word from Lightning but from her transponder track shows her anchored in Turtle Bay, however they still have not communicated. Blue Blazes and Cipango are out in front of their class as of the 3:30 PM PST positions. The Race Committee is concerned that some of the boats may not finish within the Time Limit of this Friday at noon PST. It appears that Equity may be under power as she has been averaging 7 knots for the last 12 hours and is headed towards Turtle Bay. We will have to wait until tomorrow's roll call to confirm. Katrina, Between the Sheets, and Windswept are leading Class E abeam of Punta Abreojos. Be sure to return for more updates!

03/06/2007 7:30 PM CST - Tom Akin and the crew abroad Lightning have made the decision to head to Turtle Bay . Their transponder shows they made the turn toward shore at 1130 AM PST. After a stellar first day Lightning fell behind early Monday morning. We are waiting for more details from the communications vessel,Galatea, or from Lightning herself. Stay tuned for more updates!

03/06/2007 4:00 PM CST - As of 8:30 AM PST this morning fleet is spread out between Cedros Island and Punta Santa Domingo. Many of the D and E class boats are sailing through a big lull just west of Cedros Island. The forecast through this afternoon is for very light winds from the NW. Conditions are expected to significantly improve overnight and into tomorrow. Looks like no records will be set this year. Not all boats are reporting as there has been some difficulty communicating due to radio wave propagation problems. The escort vessel William B is expected to pull into Bahia Santa Maria along with the communications vessel Galatea this evening and allow the fleet catch up. Galatea has reported calm winds overnight, clear skies, a bright moon and a fish count of 1 Bonito. Medicine Man's decision to stay offshore has paid off, and she is now at the same latitude as Stark Raving Mad III and Peligroso. Unfortunately she has dropped in the standings to 15 overall. The boats in Class B have placed some distance between themselves since last night. It appears Ragtime's turn towards the shore did not pay off and she fell into a hole, only traveling 7 miles in a 4-hour period. Grand Illusion is still performing magic acts as she was able to cover 30 miles in the same time period further offshore with Skylark just outside of her. Grand Illusion remains first in class B and first overall in the standings. Many of the boats in Class C that were hugging the shore last night have made a move towards the outside looking for more wind. Valkyrie and Cipango are still holding onto first and second in their class respectively, however Blue Blazes is on fire and coming on strong. The Race and Hospitality Committees are eagerly awaiting the arrival of boats in Cabo. The weather continues to be exceptional with temperatures in the low 80's, winds at 10 knots from the SW under clear skies.

03/05/2007 10:30 PM CST - Lagniappe III and Sooner Magic have withdrawn from the race as of this afternoon. Lagniappe III emailed the Race Committee and reports due to timing issues where we felt it would be mathematically impossible to make the race deadline of Friday noon, we are forced to withdraw from the race as of 1530 Monday. No emergencies exist and we are powering to Ensenada. We are waiting for details from Sooner Magic, their transponder shows they have turned around at 1530, however the Race Committee believes it was for similar reasons. Virtual Buoy (27.5º N / 115.0º W), off the coast of Turtle Bay is predicting 10 knots through the night and into tomorrow morning. Medicine Man continues to push forward and is sailing a bit more offshore than the others in her fleet--perhaps she can make up some ground through the night. The race is really heating up in the B class, the leaders OEX, Skylark, Holua, Grand Illusion, Denali and Trader are all on top of each other 60 miles offshore. Grand Illusion remains in the lead overall on corrected time. Denali is reporting via their website that the race thus far has been epic with a few ugly transition zones, they are also reporting one minor injury and minor technical difficulties, but they continue to enjoy the race.

03/05/2007 8:30 PM CST - Lagnaippe 3 decided to withdraw from the 2007 Cabo Race as of 3:30 PM PST on Monday, 3/5/07. No emergencies exist and they are powering to Ensenada.

03/05/2007 4:00 PM CST - The majority of the fleet is currently stretched between San Quintin and Cedros Island. As of this morning Stark Raving Mad III and Peligroso were battling it out as they race to the finish. Both boats are just past Turtle Bay, while Medicine Man struggles to keep pace 65 miles behind SRM. In class B, as of 0800 the leaders were 16 miles outside of Cedros Island. Trader's and Valkyrie's transponders stopped communicating shortly into the race; experts speculate that perhaps they have them mounted too closely to other satellite antennas causing intereference.. They continue to report there positions to the Communication Vessel via SSB. Ragtime has fallen behind again after repairing her hydraulic backstay while underway and appears to be working hard to keep pace with the leaders. In Class C it appears that Lightning has been struck with some bad luck as she has fallen to 19th overall (corrected) from 2nd in fleet yesterday. Cipango and Blue Blazes are leading their class down the coast and are almost halfway here. The fleet is reporting winds at 13 knots from the NW under clear skies. Class D is staying tightly grouped between Piranha going inshore and Picante headed off shore. The J133,Picante is leading the fleet overall on corrected time. Katrina is leading the Class E and is a head of some Class D boats. Between the Sheets and Windswept appear to be in a dead heat also racing beside some Class D boats. The escort vessel William B has Turtle Bay abeam as of 0930 and the Communications Vessel Galatea has Cedros Island abeam. Having anchored overnight at San Carlos waiting for the bulk of the fleet, Galatea reports strong offshore winds during the night that are expected to increase to 10-15 knots from the NW through the week. This should help the fleet to finish sooner than originally projected. The Race Committee is stationed in Cabo at the Finisterra Hotel and reports winds at 10-12 knots from the SW under sunny skies and temperature in the lower 80's. While here take some time to view the rest of the FIS Tracking WebSite with Race Archives of past races, as well as the FlagShip Integration Services Inc. Website www.flagshipis.com to find out more about the engineering behind the technology bringing you Race Tracking. Please find below more pictures of the start of the 2007 Cabo Race. Stay tuned for more updates.

03/04/2007 10:30AM CST - Most of the Fleet has reached or passed Ensenada. We are ready for another exciting day of sailing. While here take some time to view the rest of the FIS Tracking WebSite with Race Archives of past races, as well as the FlagShip Integration Services Inc. Website www.flagshipis.com to find out more about the engineering behind the technology bringing you Race Tracking. Please find below more pictures of the start of the 2007 Cabo Race. Stay tuned for more updates.

03/03/2007 10:00PM CST - Please enjoy more pictures of the start of the 2007 Cabo Race. Stay tuned for more updates.

03/03/2007 9:30PM CST - Ragtime, sailing in class B, suffered a hydraulic backstay problem at approximately 6:30 PM PT. The boat has rigged a repair underway and has resumed racing.

03/03/2007 9:00PM CST - The Santa Ana conditions are persiting as the fleet approaches the Mexican border. Hopefully the Ocean breezes will win the weather battle and move the fleet along! Stay tuned for more pictures and race updates!!

03/03/2007 8:00PM CST - Shortly after 4:00 PT a member of Ho'okolohe's crew fell ill with what appears to be a non-life-threatening medical emergency. Ho'okolohe has retired from the race and has motored into Oceanside Harbor under escort from the Oceanside Lifeguard. The ill crew member is receiving medical attention and seems to be improving. We will provide further updates as they become available. Please return to get more updates.

03/03/2007 6:00PM CST - It was a great day for a Race Start, Sunny with a light breeze, the expected Santa Ana condition didn't kill all the winds. The Boats got off well and the 2007 Cabo Race is underway! Below please find some pictures of the start of the race. Also please view the rest of the FIS Tracking WebSite as well as the FlagShip Integration Services Inc. Website www.flagshipis.com to find out more about the engineering behind the technology bringing you Race Tracking. Stay tuned for more pictures and race updates!!

03/03/2007 10:45AM CST - The Race start is only hours away. Please come back to view race start pictures and race updates. Be sure to investigate the rest of the FIS Tracking WebSite as well as the FlagShip Integration Services Inc. Website www.flagshipis.com to find out more about the engineering behind the technology bringing you Race Tracking.

03/02/2007 12:00PM CST - The final preparations for the race are underway. We look forward to an exciting race.