The San Diego Yacht Club on Friday co-hosts the first offshore contest of the year in Southern California, the Islands Race, a trek around Catalina and the San Clemente Islands.
More than 20 boats are set to take part in the event, a 142-nautical mile overnight race. The Newport Harbor Yacht Club also will host.
The Puerto Vallarta Race to Mexico follows two weeks later, making the Islands Race a reliable practice run for many sailors and crews.
Ivan Batanov has entered that contest, taking place from March 10-18, with his Zero Gravity.
“The Islands Race is the dress rehearsal for the (Puerto Vallarta) race – it has all navigation and tactical elements. It’s also long enough to test the crew, boat and equipment under varying conditions and gear changes while also being close enough to shore to allow for a margin of error,” he said.
Aaron Wangenheim, new to the race, said “we’ve been bringing City Lights back to race form, so we’ll be ready to experiment a lot – with sails, rig and crew.”
The course is planned prior to the race, but weather shifts have made alterations necessary.
“With crew safety being of the utmost importance, should extreme weather conditions be in the forecast, the course could be altered to preclude rounding the islands. The organizing authority will typically make this call on race day,” said race co-chair Wayne Terry.
Other races coming up for San Diego Yacht Club in March include the Etchells Fleet Pacific Coast Championships on March 5-6 and the Bill Bennett Memorial Regatta on March 25-27.
