Well now, that looked like Banderas Bay.

Day One of racing gave the fleet exactly what people come here hoping for: sunshine, blue water, and a steady 10–15 knots to send everybody south to the Puerto Vallarta Sea Buoy, then back north toward La Cruz, with enough breeze to keep things honest and enough beauty to remind everyone why this is one of the great sailing venues anywhere. If you ever needed an example of what makes Banderas Bay special, yesterday was a pretty convincing argument.

And the fleet got right down to business. In the Margarita Division, Patsy Verhoeven’s Talion came out swinging and took the first bullet, with Eric & Kim Rimkus aboard Gladiator close behind in second despite doing it the hard way with just the two of them. Geoff Gudewill’s Azulejo landed third, Brad Hunter’s California Stars was fourth, and Hey Ya rounded out the day in fifth. On corrected time, Talion’s margin over Gladiator was real enough to earn bragging rights at the bar.

In the Cheeseburger Division, Fredrick Roswold’s Wings—newly settled into the cruising division—promptly reminded everybody that “cruising” and “performing” are not mutually exclusive. Wings took the win, with Joe Heinzmann’s Swan Fun second and David Reed’s Beep Beep third. Lee Suzuki’s Mony, also sailing double-handed, worked around the course with just two aboard and finished fourth, while Anthony Day’s Alcyone came home fifth.

The Flip Flop Division was a proper multihull scrap, with Carlos Sainz on Copiar taking first and Bart Goodell on Paladin just behind in second. In third was a boat with plenty of heart behind her: the late Randy Hough’s Farrier 22 Cricket, sailed this year by VYC Afloat Director Dave Gould. That one brought a few smiles all by itself.

Over in the Pirate Division, John Matejczyk’s Edwina led the way, followed by Linda Sweet’s Olas Lindas in second and Daniel Rodriguez Cabrera’s Atlantis in third. Jim Brainard’s Brainwaves was fourth, Jeffrey Davies’ Por La Vida fifth, Juan Felipe Karam’s Belat sixth, Carla Moreno’s Dreadnought seventh, Daniel Kelsey’s Jazzy2 eighth, and Roberto Medrano Gomez’s Crew2 ninth. Tight racing, good breeze, and plenty of chances for everyone to claim they were “really going much better than the results show.”

Back ashore, the clubhouse got its own workout. Bangity Bob was a big hit, the Buffett covers landed exactly where they were supposed to, and the club was rocking well into the evening with sailors doing what sailors do best after a good race day: telling stories, revising stories, and improving stories.

Today the fleet switches gears for Race Two, the pursuit race. The posted start sheet has Talion off first at 13:05:00, followed by Hey Ya and Azulejo at 13:10:46, Cricket at 13:15:27, and Gladiator at 13:15:43. At the sharp end of the later starters, Por La Vida goes at 13:41:34, while Copiar and Paladin are the last two away at 13:42:57. In other words: if you like boats hunting each other down all over the bay, today is your kind of day.

Forecasts are looking pretty similar to yesterday, and if that holds, we should get another fine run around Course 8: up toward the northern shore, then back to Mark S off Vidanta Reef, then down again to Mark L and home. That has all the ingredients for one of those classic Banderas Bay afternoons where the standings get interesting in a hurry.

And when the boats come in, the party rolls right back to Vallarta Yacht Club. Tonight’s official After Race Party at VYC starts at 5:30 PM, with a dinner special of fajitas with your choice of shrimp, beef, or chicken, followed by house-made flan for $350 MXN. The schedule promises a chance to compare strategies, celebrate victories, refuel, and keep the regatta spirit going—which is a very polite way of saying: show up, eat well, and tell us how you almost had them.

A slideshow of Charity Palmatier's excellent photography is here: 

Day Three in Vallartaville is underway.
Go race hard, sail smart, and save a little fuel in the storytelling tank for tonight.

Here's a few more pictures. What a day!