18th
Del Rey Yacht Club Corum USA International Yacht
Race
Del
Rey Yacht Club Starts Feb. 11-18, 2005
dryc.org
Dec.
9 , 2004
Big
Boats Will Chase 20-Year-Old Record To Puerto
Vallarta
MARINA
DEL REY, Calif.---One of the oldest records in
ocean sailing will come under assault by a new
level of challengers in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th
biennial Corum USA International Yacht Race from
Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta---the longest
and oldest enduring race to Mexico's mainland.
Roy
Disney's maxZ86, Pyewacket; Randall Pittman's
Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, and Doug Baker's Andrews
80, Magnitude 80, will be on the starting line
for the last of four starts Feb. 11-18. All are
part of the new generation of canting keel boats,
and all will be seeking the record that has eluded
some of the world's fastest ocean racers for 20
years.
In
1985 Richard and Camille Daniels' MacGregor 65,
Joss, boosted by following breezes of 15 to 25
knots most of the way, raced the 1,125 nautical
miles in 4 days 23 hours 0 minutes 4 seconds.
Average speed: 9 1/2 knots.
That
would seem easy pickings for the lead trio, but
the record---shielded in part by variable conditions---has
withstood challenges from the West Coast's fastest
ocean racers for nearly two decades. Disney's
previous Pyewacket, an R/P 74, missed by less
than six hours in 2003.
Pittman,
50, lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he is chairman
and CEO of Forest Health Services Corp. He keeps
the boat in San Diego.
The
only meeting between Genuine Risk and the new
Pyewacket was earlier this year in the Maxi Worlds
at Sardinia when Pittman's boat, rated faster
but relatively untested at the time, beat Pyewacket
boat for boat in four of five races but corrected
out on handicap time only once---the latter hardly
a priority for these boats.
"That's
true," said Keith Lorence, Genuine Risk's
co-helmsman from San Diego. "That's what
you build these boats for: to go as fast as possible
and get there first."
Duthie
Lidgard, Genuine Risk's boat captain, said, "The
biggest thing will be trying to keep up with Pyewacket.
With the changes we have made, instead of being
even with her downwind we should be slightly quicker."
The
conditions across the Gulf of California are often
daunting. "Upwind in light air, we're very
fast," Lidgard said. "But I've heard
it can be anything."
Joss
is long gone from the racing scene, but there
will be another MacGregor 65 with more than a
nostalgic purpose in mind: David Kory's Barking
Spider 3 from the South Bay Yacht Racing Club.
Kory raced last year's Transpacific Yacht Race
on a Catalina 38 and logged the second fastest
corrected time among 11 Aloha division entries.
The
early lineup of 19 Racing Division boats and 21
Salsa Division competitors also includes Kirk
Wilson's Santa Cruz 50, Bay Wolf, from Cabrillo
Beach YC, which finished second in PHRF-B in 2003.
Broadway
Babe is a headliner in the Salsa Division, which
will feature two or three layovers and fishing
competition along the way. Jim Maslon's C&C
110 from Del Rey YC was distinctive in 2003 for
its blue and white spinnaker depicting an exotic
dancer---Maslon's wife Laura's mother, a former
vaudeville performer.
Corum,
the title sponsor for this race, will present
the owner or skipper of the overall winner in
each class with a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41
watch with a retail value of $2,195.
Corum
is an independent, family owned company producing
high-quality and prestigious Swiss watches since
1955. The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41, with a 41mm
stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead
of numerals to indicate the hours, was just introduced
by Corum in March. The watch, along with the complete
Corum line, may be seen at www.corum.ch
The
Salsa Division will start Feb. 11, a week ahead
of the Racing Division classes, and enjoy layovers
at Turtle Bay and Cabo San Lucas, with Bahia Santa
Maria as an option in between. The Salsa Division
will have classes for both spinnaker and non-spinnaker
boats.
The
Notice of Race, Entry Request Form, current entry
list and other race information and
event details are available online at www.dryc.org.
Del Rey YC will provide dock space for all starters
and assist in air transportation and hotel accommodations.
Each
entry also receives full pre-race hospitality
at the Del Rey YC, including a sendoff party;
a skipper's handbook and tote bag, T-shirts and
pins for skippers and crew, a welcome cooler with
beer and snacks at Puerto Vallarta and hosted
parties every evening, including the awards ceremony.
All
entries must have a minimum deck length of 35
feet and a Southern California PHRF off-wind course
rating of 150 seconds per mile maximum. Salsa
entries also must be capable of a minimum speed
of 6 knots under power, with fuel capacity for
a minimum distance of 150 miles.
Notice
of Race, current entry list and more: dryc.org
GENERAL
INFORMATION
Del Rey Yacht Club
(310) 823-4664
dryc.org
RACE
CHAIRMAN
Ron Jacobs
(310) 274-7200
rj2sail@pacbell.net
RACING
DIVISION ENTRIES
Mike Guccione
(818) 731-1030
innov8@pacbell.net
SALSA
DIVISION ENTRIES
Marty & Phyllis Fliegel
(310) 577-6474
PRESS
OFFICER
Rich Roberts
(310) 835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
