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SoCal 300
SoCal300 was a great success, it’s by far the best offshore race in California. SDYC and SBYC did a great job in coordinating this race. 4:30 PM the day before, cocktails and appetizers with a great view of the beach and the bay with the great looking Jost von Kursell trophy on display. 9:00 AM the day of, skippers meeting with Dave Servais explaining the course and rules. 12:00 warning gun and our 12:05 start in a 12 knot Northerly breeze. Wizard was first around the first mark that was set a mile north of the start closely followed by Rio100 and Bad Pack. Rio100 caught up and passed Wizard after about an hour of upwind sailing in 15 to 20 knots of breeze with the first reef in. Turned the corner at Santa Cruise Island into a reach at 2:15 PM in 20 knots of wind with our R2 and J5 up blasting down at 20-24 knots with nice rollers helping us along (this was fantastic sailing). Passed below San Nicholas at around 5:30 PM with the same conditions and came up a few degrees. Arrived at the NOAA buoy at 8:30 PM while there was some light. Under […]
Read moreRio 100 Line Honors in West Coast debut!
After her 7,500 mile journey from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles, California, the mighty Rio 100 made her West Coast sailing debut in the 17th edition of the Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs 800 nautical mile Newport Beach to Cabo Race. Aiming at breaking the current record of 2 days, 13 hours, 25 minutes, and 58 seconds set by Doug Baker on Magnitude 80 in 2005, Rio 100 met fickle winds when leaving Newport, but by the next morning was seeing consistent boat speeds around 15 knots, building to 18-20 knots of speed by that afternoon. By the end of her 800 mile run down the Baja coast, Rio and her crew were able to hold off the ORMA 60, Mighty Merloe, and earned Line Honors! Her final elapsed time was 2 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes, and 56 seconds, just 38 minutes shy of a new course record. After being delivered back, Rio will be getting prepped for her next regatta, the SoCal 300 on May 22nd. Until then, enjoy this video that crew member Tyler Wolk made of their trip South!
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Sydney to Hobart – Video 1
Here’s a look at the Sydney to Hobart from onboard Rio 100 produced by Nick Vindin from SBS who sailed with us. LiveSailDie / Rio 100 Media will be coming out with our own version of this story shortly.
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Entering Storm Bay – Sydney to Hobart 2014
A short clip from Rio 100 as she entered Storm Bay towards the end of the Sydney to Hobart – 2014. Low quality. A full movie of the entire race will follow over the coming days.
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Sydney to Hobart race underway
(Filmed just after rounding the heads) Nick Vindin, who is currently on the Rio100, says there are five yachts ahead of them in the race.
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Weather could ruin fortunes of many
If talk around the dock in the last 24-hours is anything to go by, the big boats are genuinely concerned about keeping their craft in one piece. The skipper of multi-million dollar, newly launched Comanche will have a rough sleep tonight, “It is crazy to do this as the first race and it could end in tears, you can get some weather that breaks an unproven boat.” The race record looks off the table according to the five skippers of the supermaxis in this years race, and Wild Oats XI don’t want to even think about setting a new race record for eight line honours wins. “To get any sort of record you’ve got to win. You got to finish the race. If we do a good job this week we will be in contention, who knows mate it’s the kiss of death we have to stay away from it,” says her skipper Mark Richards. The mind games are nearly over, it’s almost time for racing to take the spotlight.
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