NEWS AND NOTES
Blue Water Sailing
March 29, 2010
New Veleros de Baja Sailing Club Rocks La Paz
Photo - Loreto: bajainsider.com
Veleros de Baja - a new club promoting recreational sailboat racing and sailing events in the southern Sea of Cortez has organized some great sailing events in Baja.
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: http://www.velerosdebaja.com/
We want to be about getting folks out and having some fun with their boats,” said Billy Delmer, one of the club’s founders and owner of Rock Hard Dinghy Repair services in La Paz. Veleros de Baja means “Sailors of Baja” in Spanish.
Bob McAlvain, the club’s first commodore, said, “Based on the enthusiasm generated by the recent Carnival 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.”
La Paz has four large marinas, a popular free anchoring zone and the largest population of visiting boaters in the Sea of Cortez. McAlvain explained that Race Week was a long-standing event held at the Espiritu Santos islands off La Paz. To participate, you either had to have a boat or know someone who did. As more land-based tourists and powerboaters moved to La Paz, the venerable yatista group Club Cruceros de La Paz revised the event into what is now called Bay Fest and changed the venue to in-town beaches that are more accessible to the public.
“Veleros de Baja’s sole aim,” Zyber said, “is to get folks out to enjoy the fundamentals of racing the wind.” McAlvain added that “we aren’t out to step on the toes of other events in the Sea of Cortez either. We are scheduling our events to complement the other long-standing events — and even provide something for sailors to do while en route to these events.”
http://www.bajainsider.com/baja-california-travel/baja-adventures/boating/sailingclublapaz.htm].
Upcoming events include:
Sea of Cortez Sailing Week, April 1-6, takes place in and around the spacious Partida Cove on the Espiritu Santos islands off La Paz.
Bay Fest La Paz, April 8-11, is organized by Club Cruceros de La Paz. It is held mostly in the harbor and on town beaches, and it draws thousands of tourists by land, sea and air.
Tax Day Regatta, April 15-17, is Veleros de Baja’s next event. This three-day sail from La Paz to Isla Espiritu Santos includes two overnight anchorages: one at Calea Partida, another at tiny Isla San Francisco. The Tax Day Regatta is a feeder event, helping to usher sailboats northward for Loreto Fest.
Loreto Fest, April 30-May 2, hosted by Hidden Port Yacht Club, has traditionally been the last big hurrah before summer cruising season begins. Organizers think that some boats in the Tax Day Regatta will probably branch off toward San Carlos or Guaymas on the Sonora side of the Sea of Cortez, while others will return to La Paz.
The lovely, protected anchorage at Loreto, Baja sur, Mexico.
Solstice Regatta, June 19-20, is third on Veleros de Baja’s new racing calendar. Starting in La Paz, the destination is a beach party and overnight anchorage at picturesque Balandra Cove, north of La Paz.
From: thelog.com.
