wingssail images Leading Swan Fun

Javier was head down in the engine compartment fitting a new shaft coupling. He was quiet for a moment, not unusual because Javier usually goes about his work with quiet competence. But this time was different. He grunted and then said, "It doesn't fit, I have to go back to the machine shop and have this re-machined." 

This wasn't the first time that we had a setback on the engine and drive train project we embarked on in July, after I got back from my spring cruise, there had been plenty: parts which were unavailable, replacements which didn't fit. It seemed endless. But we got through it. Engine work

By the end of August the whole engine project was completed and my car was also finally fixed right. That too was a bit of a struggle. "I have no more ideas senior, maybe Jose over in Mescales can figure it out." That's the polite way of saying ,"I no want to work on your car any more." One car mechanic after another thought he knew what was wrong with the engine and transmission only to fix that with no results. Fair enough, so I trekked over to Jose's shop in Mescales. But eventually, gradually, the car got better. And there were a ton of other nagging projects to be addressed. I never took time to write about it all, I guess I was just too busy to update my blog. Sorry to leave you in the dark.

But then November rolled around. Racing season was on the horizon.

Time to line up a race crew.

One day Terry stopped by, surprise! "Hey Terry, great to see you, want to come aboard. What's up?" It turned out that Terry wanted to rejoin the crew, as fore deck. SUPER! That's one down. Mark and Linda joined. Vicki came back. Then Arjan. The crew came together. A group of women signed on and became good friends and when they helped Terry and Geoff on the bow the began to call themselves "the foredeck bitches" Racing was good in December and January. When we dominated in the Punta Mita race we all partied hard.

Happy Crew Tequila Sandy came aboard for several weeks as live aboard crew and she and I sailed down south to Tenacatita to participate in a couple races there. Sandy

Sandy has been great as crew and companion but not the whole crew could make the trip.

I needed a full crew and particularly a jib trimmer and I didn't have one. At the bar the night before the race that came together too. Vicki called me over and said, "You should meet Joey, he might want to sail." "Hi Joey, I'm Fred, I hear you might be interested in sailing?" "Yeah mate, I might be." I liked his down-under accent immediately. Auzzie or Kiwi, they are often great sailors. "What do you like to do on the boat?" "Anything, bow, trim, steer, what ever." "Great Joey, we are in the anchorage. Be on the boat tomorrow at 11:00." So that's how we got our jib trimmer and he was really good. We won that race too.

Vicki says, "First Place" Now we are back in La Cruz. I am sure there are more adventures to come. I'll try not to wait so long to update you.

Cartel Wars UPDATE: FIRES AND DESTUCTION: When we arrived back in La Cruz the whole Banderas Bay area was in shock. The day before the drug cartel had struck back at the government and community for the arrest and death of the drug cartel’s leader. Cars and buses had been burned in the streets and in Puerto Vallarta every OXXO store has been torched and burned to bare bones. People were in lock down, airport was closed and most businesses were closed. The streets were empty. But by Monday everything was quiet. Traffic had resumed. We got the car started and went to the store. It was busy. By now things are normal. No civilians or tourists had been killed, but it was a big fight between the government and the cartel. We don’t know who won or what is next. But for now, life goes on as normal. Fredrick Roswold, SV Wings, Mexico

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Fred Roswold, SV Wings, Mexico

July 7, 2025- Spring Cruise to Sea of Cortez

           

This is Sailing 

wingssail images-fredrick roswold

Happy with a reefed main

We were hitting speeds in the high sixes going upwind with 25 knots of wind and big seas and the ride was pretty bad. It would be nice to slow down but Wings, sailing to windward in a strong breeze, doesn’t know slow. Puttin up a small headsail and putting in a reef in the main makes no difference; still too fast. We flew off of wave after wave and landing was like hitting concrete. The noise was deafening. The bow tossed up ocean water like someone throwing buckets, only lots more. The wind then carried it back and it landed on the dock in rivers. The whole boat was continuously covered with salt water. Down below conditions were not so bad but after a day or so things started getting wet there too. 

And the pounding continued. 

Mp4 102 Rene Stands Watch on the Crossing (to see this video try clicking on the heading and then maybe click "replay")

Heavy water hitting the dodger

I knew the boat was strong and over the years I’d been through this before but after a while you just wonder how the hull and rig can keep taking it. But what to do? We really had to go upwind; we were crossing the Sea of Cortez going to La Paz and the route was up wind. So we just kept going, hoping it would be over. Resting down below or on deck huddling behind the dodger we just sat there taking a beating. Rene was stoic and I was glad for her experience and calmness but I was anxious and jumpy.

We tolerated it for two days 

Finally I said to Rene, “Let’s try heaving to.” 

“OK” 

Hove too we were basically stopped, there was no slamming and no noise. 

Hove to the boat became quiet and calm. Don’t let anyone tell you a race boat can’t heave to. It can. 

We began to relax: “This is nice!” 

We resumed sailing the next day and the wind continued. It was more of the same tough conditions. We hove too again the next night.

By the fifth day we had battled our way across the Sea of Cortez and we anchored in Baja at Los Frailies. 

Well that was an quite an experience but it was over. 

For the next month Rene and I explored Baja and it was much nicer. After Rene four other great crew members joined me, one by one, and helped me sail. It was fun. In the months after rough crossing there was some great cruising with weeks of sailing every day between the islands and many pleasant nights anchored in quiet harbors. 

 

 Mp4 108 Tacking San Jose Channel (to see this video try clicking on the heading and then maybe click "replay")

There were even some overnighters when Dulce and I found ourselves becalmed in the middle of the Sea of Cortez for hours on end but we kept sailing and kept the boat moving. Dulce became a pretty good light air sailor, she had to. 

Three months later, on the trip home though, there was more tough sailing. Kelly and I found ourselves in a big squall which ripped the mainsail in half (more on this later) but we survived. 

So, that’s sailing I guess. 

Boat Work 

There were also projects and repairs. Things like starters burning out and leaking water tanks which were wake up calls and needed immediate attention. 

Small repairs kept us busy also. 

The new dodger And then there was the dodger. I’ve made dodgers for Wings a few times over the years and the one I made in in Trinidad in 2013 was looking pretty ragged. We were lucky the heavy weather on the way up the Sea didn’t blow it out. Making a new one seemed like a good project to do when I had a few days alone in La Paz after Rene left. I got out my roll of white acrylic cloth and started cutting and sewing. I sweated and worked and made an ungodly mess with cuttings and threads and tools all over the boat. I was glad there was no crew aboard to have to deal with the mess. 

For much of the trip we had a big problem with the propellor shaft and had to sail everywhere. The engine was basically useless even though we worked on it every day. When I returned the boat to La Cruz it immediately went into the boat yard for major repairs. 

Living in Close Quarters 

“What? No door on the toilet? Really? Will you please go on deck for a while? I need some privacy. And maybe you could put on some music.” 

I had five crew members on board on this trip. Four single women and one guy, Kelly, who is one of my best friends. They all came individually. The women who dared to venture into this unknown liveaboard sailing thing were all pretty brave individuals, and trusting I guess, because they were going to be alone with me on this small boat and three of them had never met me before. But it worked out. It’s not just the toilet. There are no private quarters and no doors anywhere. Living in close quarters like this on a stripped-out race boat with a total stranger takes some getting used to. We shared the main cabin, changed clothes behind a partition, and everybody got the privacy they needed. We all tolerated each other’s quirks, and if anybody got on anybody’s nerves they never let it show. In any case it all went pretty smoothly. 

About the toilet: Well, I told them about that before they signed up but it was still pretty shocking I guess. For the people joining me for the first time to live on Wings for a few weeks it was quite an experience. 

Me? I had no problem? I enjoyed it all including the domestic stuff like sharing cooking and cleaning and choosing a wine together to have with dinner, I need the company. In fact I like it so well and am so used to it I think they are still there sleeping on the bunk across the cabin even after they have left. I wake up in the mornings surprised to find nobody there. 

Meet the crew

wingssail images-fredrick roswold

Rene

“Hello Wings!” came the hail from the wharf. Terry, my new crew, an old friend of Rene’s had arrived she and she sailed with me for twelve days. 

Terry

Kallie leqrns to steer

Kallie showed up next and we had a wild and crazy time going up and down the islands and exploring the small towns. 

Dulce arrives

After Kallie the next crew change was scheduled in Loretto on the 17 of June and Dulce stepped off the bus right on time as the fourth crew member this year. 

Dulce and I also had a lot of fun sailing around the Sea of Cortez including a few nights homeward bound when lack of wind and a broken motor left us sitting for hours. 

Finally Dulce flew home from Mazatlán and Kelly arrived, after a grueling bus trip. 

Kelly

How was it? 

Terry had the worst time of it I think. When strong winds kept us hunkered down for several nights we didn’t get to go very far. But we made the best of it: we got to Puerto Balandra and went to the beach during the day for sunbathing and swimming and got back to the boat and got it closed up every night for the strong Coramel winds. If you know the right places to anchor 31 knots all night at is not a problem. 

Night time Coremel winds

 there were other ports and other crew, we all had a good trip. 

Enjoying the sunset

But probably the best thing for my crew was the sailing. Rene and Kelly were old hands but the other three were pretty new to sailing so there was really a lot to learn. It was one long class. At anchor I demonstrated their jobs to them and then we practiced. 

And we practiced. 

Things like raising the anchor and setting the sails got to be mundane, as did getting the dingy up and down. Even anchoring, which takes some skill and coordination, became ordinary. Charts were studied and navigation was taught. I added nothing that we didn’t need to do on our cruise, but we covered everything, even repairs. 

Sailing however, was the real fun. 

Putting sails up I work the foredeck and crew tail the halyards and use the autopilot to keep us head to wind.

 

“Are you ready?” 

“Yes” 

“Ok, right 10 degrees, then hoist.” 

Sometimes it’s hard work and I was glad for my time in the gym the last few months. 

Tacking or jibing I am usually steering and handling the mainsail and helping with the running backstays. Sometimes we traded jobs but usually the crew did everything else, releasing, winching and including running forward to skirt the jib. 

“OK, Ready to tack?”, I would call. 

“Ready” 

“Tacking” 

Then winches spin and sails fly and three or four jobs have to be completed in quick succession. We did it all. And we did it well. Some days we did it over and over. There were no bad tacks. 

 

 MP4 424 Approaching Nopolo (to see this video try clicking on the heading and then maybe click "replay")

We sailed into tight anchorages and dropped sails on deck then secured them to prevent them from going overboard. Choosing the spot and setting anchor was the next challenge. My crews learned how to judge the bottom with their toe on the chain, how to tell when the anchor was holding and how to decide we were swell set. On their signal I would cut the engine and we would have a cold drink before the task of folding sails. 

“It is time to start dinner or do I have time for a swim?” I think I heard that every day. 

The Squall 

After Dulce left my friend Kelly came for the trip from Mazatlán to La Cruz. I needed the experience he brought. The engine was basically useless and we had to sail out of Mazatlán harbor and of course all the rest of the way home. 

We had some good wind and exited the harbor under sail without a problem but the season had changed and there were southerlies, so it was upwind work again. 

About 03:30 in the morning I was below and Kelly was sailing close hauled on starboard tack in about 10 knots, using the windvane. The genoa was close hauled and the main boom was prevented out to port to keep it stable in the sort of lumpy seas. 

“Hey Fred, something is going on with the wind”. I heard the call from my sleep. 

Yep, something was going on all right, 30 knots hit us from the south east and knocked us right down on our starboard side, both sails aback. 

I got on the helm, but what to do? I swung the boat around but close hauled on starboard, aside from being way over canvassed, took us to the NE. The other tack was pretty much west and neither was going to be good for the sails which were straining. Reefing the main would require going upwind and the genoa wouldn’t tolerate that, so it had to come down, not easy in this breeze, besides, which of us could go forward to hand the sail? It was one moment when I wished for roller furling. 

We left the sails up as they were and I turned downwind. Kelly handled the sheets and I worked the runners and main. It was completely the wrong way to go but the flogging sails settled down and the boat came back under control. I steered by the Windex light at the top of the mast keeping the wind right behind us. Wings took off at 8 plus knots heading pretty much due north. We were glad we had sea room. 

That was when the main let go. I heard a tear, then the sail unzipped from the leech to the luff, right across the middle. 

Kelly said, “That is not a good sound to hear.” 

We were still going 8 knots and steering was a handful. I couldn’t leave the helm and there wasn’t much Kelly could do either, so we just sailed, with the main in tatters. 

Finally the wind moderated and I managed to get the windvane on and it took over the steering. Kelly and I went to work, untangling the mess, and put a reef in the main, just above the rip. Then we turned upwind and resumed sail to the south.

ITime for a bit of work

There are a lot more photos that go with this story. 

Click here to see all the images.

Fredrick Roswold, SV Wings, Mexico

March 23, 2025- Banderas Bay regatta and thoughts about the future

wingssail images-vicki westphal

We’ve just finished another Banderas Bay Regatta, the eleventh one we’ve done on Wings since 1997. Last night we went to the Banderas Bay Regatta awards ceremony. We had some good sailing in this regatta (and a lot of hard work) but for the first time in the eleven times we have sailed it, since 1997, Wings was not on the podium. In the past we have typically been 1st or 2nd. Now this year we were forth out of 4 in our class; last place. It is disappointing. But all good things pass into history. 

The question was asked, “Can you get back on top?” 

Well maybe. It's partially about crew and partially about boat types. 

This crew is getting better; they are good. But it takes years of experience to make really great sailors. This bunch will be ok with more practice and experience but even though I have some superstars I need a few more if I want to win. It’s tough to find superstars, and even keeping these people will be hard, some will move on to other things and others will decide the commitment and hard work is too much and I will have to rebuild. It would take two or three years to put together a really great team; we are on the way but it takes time. I know, I've done it before a few times. 

Boat types is another challenge. In all three monohull classes this year the winning boats were modern, light weight, faster boats or much bigger boats. All were ones that reach better than Wings. The courses used by Vallarta Yacht Club favor lighter, reaching boats. If I am racing against similar boats, with a great crew, I can get back in top. Tenacatita this year proved that, we were dominant. But that was a different fleet, excellent pick-up-crew, and a course which didn't require fast reaching speeds. We also have one regatta here in the bay which is like that, the Blast, which occurs in December. We always win that. Last December we dominated it, winning by 20 mins in the second race. Wow! What fun. 

For the other races the rating system could be changed that might help us older, slower boats, but there is little incentive for the yacht club to change it. 

On top of it all it is hard work to keep this boat in racing shape and manage the program by myself. Harder each year as both myself and the boat ages. And expensive. For 38 years it was Judy and I. We were a good team. This year and last I have had crew who came to Vallarta and lived on the boat and helped do the work (a lot of it requires two people). Last year Rhonda was here a lot, she was wonderful. This year it has been Renee and she has been super also. These two women and some others have been close friends, not GF but friends, who were happy to come here and help. Mark, a very loyal crew member, has been a big help too. I have been very fortunate. 

Since I have owned this boat I have raced it over 600 times, mostly winning or placing well, in addition to sailing around the world. Now I feel like I need to reassess my life. I will still sail but maybe a full-on, 26 race per year, program needs to be reconsidered. Is it worth it to carry on until the boat's glory years, and mine, are just a fading memory? 

Now I will get to work for a week to convert back to a cruising boat and then go into the Sea of Cortez and relax for a few months. Rene, a great sailor who is another really good friend, is going with me for part of it and that will be fun. Then I see what life brings and how I feel about everything. One thing I know: this year was hard, more than anything getting and working up a crew. The boat is hard to sail competitively and these guys from this year are really feeling exhausted right now. I'm not feeling exhausted, not physically or mentally. I feel fine but just not sure it is all doable or worth it going forward. 

Or maybe I am just down at the moment after this regatta. We’ll see how I feel in a few weeks. 

Click here https://wingssail-images.blogspot.com/2025/03/banderas-bay-regatta-2025.html for more photos

Fred Roswold, SV Wings, Mexico

Feb 20, 2025-Cruise to Tenacatita

wingssail images-fredrick roswold

It’s 1:30 in the morning and pitch black outside. Instruments tell the story

We’ve jibed over are heading east towards Tenacatita It’s rough and instruments are glaring out the story: we are still seeing over 27 knots of wind out of the north and 7.6 knots of boat speed. We are sailing with just a reefed main and no headsail and the windvane is steering, as it has been all night. Renee has been on deck as I worked on the broken bilge pumps but I finally finished , went on deck, and took over the watch. Renee is getting some rest. It’s about time. Frankly, we’ve overstood and that’s on me. We should have jibed two hours ago. 

Why is it that it aways seems to be stormy and problems happen when we start out on a passage? I can’t tell you how many times on the first night out of port I’ve been head down in the engine compartment trying to get something fixed or something sorted out while outside the wind is howling. Right now it is as dark as the inside of a cow and Wings is sailing fast through the black night. It is pretty scary for the crews I’d guess, they are often new to sailing, especially sailing at night, but they have always turn out to be tough. Renee is. 

We don’t plan it that way. Usually we leave port during the day, often by lunch time, but even then things happen. 

This time when it got rough we found water in the bilge and the pumps decided not to work. In the end the boat was not found to be leaking, it was just left over water I missed, and after I got the pumps all running we were fine. 

We made it to Tenacatia at sunrise. 

Tenacatia Bay is beautiful. We had a day of rest and then while Renee did her workout routine and went for a swim I went about lining up some crew for the race. 

I keyed the mic on my VHF, “Hi, this is Fred on Wings, may I speak to Dave?” 

 “Speaking” 

“You interested in racing?” 

“Yeah, I think so, I’ll let you know.” 

Bingo! I got the best guy in the bay. Others good sailors soon followed. By race day I had a full crew and a great one at that. Renee was navigator and everyone else just sort of fell into place. We practiced; it went well. We were ready. 

Speeding across the bay in the dingy on race day with the flags for the Race Committee Renee and I must have been a spectacle. Anyhow the pre-race excitement around the fleet was tangible as crews were being ferried to the race boats and those already aboard were busy rigging. 

Here come the race flags

021

In this race trash talk is encouraged and the teen and pre-teen girls were already into it. 

“Hey you guys over there with Jim, look out, we are going to leave you in our wake” 

“You just think so, beware we have secret weapons.” Then the water ballons broke out. 

But we had none of that, we were serious (in a fun sort of way) and it paid off. While the kids played around with the radio and threw water ballons we sailed with intensity . Renee called the start perfectly, Dave called trim (he was the star) and we all worked as a team. We knew the weather leg in this bay, with its persistent right shift, was similar to the pattern we knew well from Banderas Bay, and it was the key to this race. We played it exactly the same as going to Punta Mita, rounded the top mark first and led the rest of the way around. A great day for Wings. 

< Fred Steers Ready to Tack

Wings finishes first

Next stop Barra. We weren’t so lucky. The race there, the Flamingo Cup, is a very well attended charity event and we were keen for a repeat but we missed the entry deadline and were not allowed to race. Dang! 

But Renee and I were invited to sail on John and Donna’s Carmanah, a great custom C&C race boat from the late 70’s with an excellent record. John wanted to work the foredeck so he turned the helm over to me. We sailed hard and finished second, missing a possible first when the spinnaker tack line failed on the final leg. Congratulations to Baja Fog. 

Renee fights with the mark

After the race we volunteered to pick up some of the inflatable marks. Renee had to fight to get them fully deflated for the ride back to the marina.

 

I may have cut it a bit fine at the start however and we may have been a second early. I didn’t think so and we were not called by the RC but anyhow a competitor notified the race committee after the race. He was sure we were that we were over early, and he complained, “They should be thrown out.” 

The RC asked me, “Fred, were you guys over early?.” 

“Could be, it was close” 

“Did you go back” 

“No, we didn’t hear any radio hail or see any recall flag., so we figured we were good” 

That was true, but how could we have heard? The radio was filled with a shouting race announcer and the trash talk was in full force, and there were no flags. We heard nothing so we went on, and I acknowledged that. 

It was a deciding moment. We could have been disqualified. But the complaining skipper allowed us to exonerate ourselves by buying him a drink at the bar, Whew! 

So that was Tenacatita and Barra this year. All that was left was the sail home to La Cruz. 

Cruising main, reefed, and a small jib.

Charging with the small jib

Renee and I had a good sail then, all night again, with the wind on the nose (wouldn’t you know it?) and a bit more breeze than we wanted but not too bad, and the rounding of Cabo Corrientes in the morning with flat water and a nice brisk cool wind, was glorious. 

We're home

There is a lot more to this story, the photos at wingssail-images tell the rest of it (or most).

Click here to go to wingsails-images and see the photos. 

 Fredrick Roswold, sv wings, Mexico

In late March I was planning to set sail for a cruise to the Sea of Cortez. 

I had my crew, Rene, lined up and the departure set for March 28.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Fred & Rena

But it was a bit of a struggle to get out of here by then, we had only 5 days after the last race, the boat was still a race boat, race sails, no dodger, no dingy, no life raft, no solar panels, no wind vane, and no provisions

Plus we had major damage which resulted from the collision in the Banderas Bay Regatta. Wing’s bow was mangled and the pulpit lased together with ropes and duct tape.

But I don’t give up easily and my race crew and Rene all pitched in and somehow we got it done and sailed out of La Cruz on March 28.
wingssail images-rene canhamBrainwaves

From day one, when we hooked up with Jim and Deb on Brainwaves sailing to Pta Mita, this cruise has been a success (even though Brainwaves simply sailed away from us).

Over these three months we had a bit too much motoring but plenty of good sailing as well as tough, very tough, sailing. We’ve had breakdowns, repairs, but plenty of gorgeous days in those three months. 

And crew. It took several weeks to recruit the crew I needed for this cruise. I didn’t want to sail Wings single handedly, the boat is not set-up for it, and I have never done it so I worked hard for find suitable and willing candidates.

Rene, Sarah, Jennie, Liz

But find them I did. First Rene, then Sarah, then Jennie, then finally Liz. Each of these amazing women help me sail Wings and made it their temporary home. At times they even sort of took over and made Wings their own. I loved it and mainly due to them the Cruise to the Sea of Cortez was a total success.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold La Paz

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Anchored in Los Gatos

wingssail images-liz miller

Agua Verde

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Balandra Sand Dune

We sailed over 1560 nautical miles but didn’t that far away. Most of our sailing was done going around the beautiful southern Sea of Cortez, back and forth between La Paz and Loretto, visiting all of my favorite anchorages and ports and just chilling.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold And can we dance!

Now I am back in La Cruz and resuming life in port during the summer heat. I have the air conditioner running. I have the awnings up and rain collecting systems rigged. I am back at the gym and also enjoying the local music scene. And most of all I am engaged in a major boat work project. That work list is long and challenging. My friend Rhonda came and helped me on some of the harder tasks (and also went to gym and the local music bars where we danced, even in the summer heat).

So, all is well in Wings’ world. 

I’ll try to keep you updated 

Click here for lots more photos

Fred Roswold, sv Wings, Mexico

April 30, 2023-Springtime Sailing in Banderas Bay

Springtime sailing is usually good in Banderas Bay and this March and April we’ve had great winds and great competition. And we’ve done well but it’s taken a bit of work getting ready for it all.

Banderas Bay Regatta

john pounder jldigital images Wings About to Round

After returning from Tenacatita we had to get the boat set up for Banderas Bay Regatta and that meant getting racing sails on-board, all the cruising equipment off, the bottom cleaned, and the crew roster finalized. It was quite a bit of work in a short time frame, but we got it done.

Then we had some hard practices with a few mistakes and mishaps but generally we were pretty good at our jobs and we worked out the kinks and were ready for the BBR. This year, with the help of the practices like that, our crew has been our strength; we have a boatload of keen racers with lots of experience on board. In the BBR the boat handling was excellent and as well as good boat speed (credit attentive trimming), good starts, and excellent tactics. All in all, we sailed well in BBR. Second place in our class (class #2) was satisfying. Even more so when we compared our times with the boats from class #1, we would have beat most of them too and would have second there as well. We got our trophy at the big awards party and went home happy.

Saturday Smack Down

llbtr images Wings Leads Olas Lindas

The next (and last) race of the season was a real stunner for the rest of the fleet. It was called a “Saturday Smack Down” intended to resolve a dispute between two bigger boats. The race wasn't about us, they allowed us to enter just to fill out the ranks.

The race went to Punta Mita and back, non-stop. What a race we had. We blew out of the starting box to an immediate lead, and continued to grow our lead all the way. The big boats lacked the windward performance (and also the local knowledge needed to find the fastest way to Punta Mita). It was fun sailing and we covered the faster boats behind us aggressively. We even felt that we pushed them into tactical mistakes. It was fun. We rounded the windward mark at Punta Mita well ahead.

After rounding we set our biggest kite and beam reached in the strong breezes back to La Cruz. It was beautiful, fast sailing. In the end one boat got past us but only by seconds and we were first place on corrected time. The race “fee” was a bottle wine to be shared afterward and we all told stories and lies and we enjoyed the whole event including paying off the bets we all made against each other where the winners of the bets had to contribute to the Vallarta yacht Club youth sailing program. We paid happily.

Bonfire in La Cruz

Spring Cruise Delayed

After BBR we made a serious effort to convert Wings back to cruising mode, another four days of hard work, so we could be ready for our spring cruise but we were in waiting mode because of some pending doctor appointments and stayed tied to the dock. More on this later.

Other Sailing Action

Meanwhile Fred raced on Greg and Gloria’s Beep Beep with a boat load of good sailors and they won that race too!

Next a delivery from Barra de Navidad. Mike from Honu needed to get his boat back to La Cruz so three of us lucky amigos took a car ride to Barra and sailed Mike’s boat back. Good fun.

judy sawyer image We left our wives at home, Judy, Gloria, Deb and Judy

Punta Mita Again (Chaotic), and Yelapa (Slow)

We did get Wings out of the marina and we began what was supposed to be our spring cruise by sailing to Punta Mita (again) and anchoring there.

That sail was pretty good but it got off to a chaotic start. The autopilot broke and Judy was left on deck steering while I fixed it and meanwhile the wind piped up over 20 and it was a real handful for her to manage alone. “Fred, get up here", she shouted.

Then the galley lockers opened up and with a loud crash spilled all their contents on the cabin sole. What a mess. So we were dealing with a broken autopilot, the wrong sail set up and a total mess down below. But we got it all squared away and all was good again. We sailed on to the anchorage, and actually managed another good elapsed time despite the chaos.

So now we had some peace and quiet.

Yelapa

But wait! There’s more! The following Saturday was “Spring Fling” to Yelapa, a part of Mike Danielson’s birthday celebrations. Several of our friends were going so we decided to join and we sailed to Yelapa. It’s not a race, but we’ll sailed like it was.

wingssail images fredrick roswold
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Yelapa

alexa shanfelt image Five Guys

John, Fred, Mark, Greg, Jim

Yelapa was great fun with a good mooring and lots of fun ashore. Sunday’s race home, however, was disappointing. We got a late start, the winds were light, and our cruising sails just didn’t cut it. We were the slowest boat out there, barely nipping two other boats to the finish. Our friends on Beep Beep were first and they asked, “What happened to you guys?”. “Well,” I answered, "for two oldsters we did the best we could”.

Next: Medical Stuff Puts Our Spring Cruise on Hold

We’ve elected to have some medical procedures that are needed, which will delay our cruise this year, (end it, actually). We’re back at the dock in La Cruz and we will most likely be here all summer. We’ll write more later on this subject.

For more photos of Banderas Bay Sailing, Click here

For more photos of Yelapa, Click here

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Pta Mita, Mexico

April 17, Banderas Bay Regatta

jldigital media Leading
(Thank you John Pounder for the loan of your image, I'll buy it from you when we are back together.)

In our preparations for the Banderas Bay Regatta we practiced hard and prepared hard. We pushed the boat, we pushed the crew, and now I was pushing the yacht club, and they were pushing back. It was about the racing class we wanted to be in and it was too much; they weren’t having it.

“Fred, would you just shut up!”

That was the yacht club commodore talking. He’d had enough.

I decided to chill out a bit. I agreed to stay in the class where they wanted us and that was that.

Then came the racing.

This year we had some crew issues. We were constantly trying to recruit new crew to replace people who had boats of their own and wanted to go cruising. To make it worse the other skippers who were planning to compete in Banderas Bay Regatta were also scrambling for crew. It seemed like every good sailor was taken.

We did manage to put together a crew, a good one, and we practiced and practiced, including racing in the Beer Can Races. We also managed to address all the boat issues we’d experienced on the lead up to BBR.  By race day we were ready.

This year’s Banderas Bay Regatta was exceptional. There was wind, plenty of it, and the races were long, longer than usual. We had exhausting days on the water but we never let up on the boat or ourselves in these long windy races.

That practice and preparation paid off. On day one we placed second. It was our friends on Edwina who came in from behind and beat us by a minute and 11 seconds. It was clear that they were going to be tough but we were not giving up.

Then came the second race.  I urged the crew, “OK folks, here we go. We can win this one if we all, every one of us, really concentrate. And Shawn, my man, it’s up to you to keep that genoa perfectly trimmed the whole way. That’s what will win this race.”

They did it.  We won the second race.

Shawn was the star. A new guy on the boat, but a power house. He stayed focused on the jib like no one I’ve seen. He never lost his concentration. We beat Edwina by 18 seconds.

The fleet was having problems though. Two boats withdrew, and then in the third race Edwina blew out a sail and they were struggling.  We got another first.

On day three it was windy, over twenty knots. The race committee decided to run two races. When they announced the second race I groaned, “Geez, another one?” We were tired.

But we stuck with it. “OK folks, one more.”

Again, we pushed everything to the limit. When we got to the top mark and the wind was howling we never hesitated to set the spinnaker. At the bottom marks we sheeted the in sails rock hard. Sometimes it took two men to winch in the jib. And we hiked hard. Stefan urged us, “All the way out, get your cheeks over the side.”

On the last windward leg as we were pounding upwind, Richard said to me, “This is a tough boat Fred, all this punishment and it’s still taking it.”

“It’s a tough crew too, Richard.”

We were flying on the downwind leg. I looked down at Jim who was grinding the spin sheet.  He was grinning like a kid.

We won again.

So, it was a great regatta; three first places and one second place. We were jubilant.

Awards

Everybody contributed. On the foredeck Denny and Eddie were fantastic always getting set up for the next rounding even as the boat tried to throw them off. Rene grumbled about not having enough winches to do everything at once, but she managed it. The trimmers and grinders, Shawn, Luis and Stefan, put everything into it and never quit. Shawn, for his stellar jib trimming, was awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Player), and got to keep the first-place trophy. In the midst of all the chaos, Judy, Rena, Gloria and Dennis, at various times, went below and packed wet spinnakers faster than I’ve seen.

Jim Brainard joined for this regatta and, in addition to trimming and occasional grinding, was a great coach and tactical assistant.

Richard, as he always is, was a rock on main and tactics, plus assisting Gloria on runners. Richard said later that that last day’s races were the best ever.

Gloria handled the running back stays, normally a two-person job, and Judy, my wonderful Judy, was navigator par excellence. She kept our starts perfectly timed, our laylines exact, and kept us pointed to the marks. She has taken real ownership of the on-deck navigation computer and no one has come close to what she can do with that machine. Plus Judy went forward to assist Rene, helped with the spinnaker take-downs, and went below to repack them.

Even I did a good job; the whole crew kept me focused on my driving by nagging continuously if I didn’t keep the steering perfect.

Oh, one more crew addition: Eddie brought his dog Charley. Charlie stayed below while we were racing but he was part of the team.

It was definitely a team effort, three days, four races, and 10 people with total concentration.  I love them all.

Click here for more images.

Fred and Judy, SV Wings, Mexico

Jan. 29, 2022-Good Crew Work Wins Vallarta Cup

wingssail images john mangata Crew Work

“Four minutes to the layline”

It was Judy’s voice from the back of the boat. She was getting data from the “brick”, our navigation computer. She was telling us that in four minutes we could tack and sail directly to the windward mark which nobody on the boat had caught a glimpse of yet.

We were sailing off to the right of the course with our arch rivals off to leeward. We were ahead of them and nobody wanted to tack away and let them go to the new wind everyone expected from the right-hand side. But if Judy was correct then we had them; we could tack and if they continued off to the right they would overstand.

But if she was wrong and we tacked away they could get a bit more of the new wind and might catch up.

Where is that bloody mark?

We couldn’t see it yet.

The hell with it, I thought, Judy has been all over her new job as navigator, it’s time to trust her. “OK. Let’s tack” I called.

“Ready”, from the genoa crew.

“Tacking”.

We made our turn and then, as if by magic, the mark appeared right on our bow. I looked behind; our rivals had tacked right on our course. We had them.

That was the way it went for the Vallarta Cup this year: Judy did her job; everybody did their job. We had excellent all-around crew work and the results showed it: four races and three first places and one second place. We won the Vallarta Cup.

Actually, we probably had the best crew we’ve had for years. Foredeck was Terry and Dennis: hot shots on the bow. At the mast and feeding tactical information back to the afterguard was Jim Brainard, magician of the yacht Brainwaves. Rena held down the halyards with Cristine helping. John from Mangata and Russ from Jazz were trimming and Pat tailing made a solid center of the boat. In the back, Richard excellently trimming main and calling tactics, Sherri doing runner and all-around assistant, me steering and Judy navigating. Superstars all!

So the boat was hot, the crew was hot, and the racing was great. In the end when we had two wins under our belt and one second place it all came down to the last race. Our rivals had one win and two seconds. Whomever won that race would win the regatta.

We were right on their tail, meaning we were winning, as we charged towards the finish line of the last race.

Then the wind died. I mean completely died. They drifted across. We had about four minutes to finish to be able to beat them, but we were stopped.

We dropped off the heavy spinnaker guys and manually jibed for the line, barely moving.

I watched the clock and I watched the committee boat. What would come up first, the line or the time limit? There was not a sound on the boat nor a movement. We caught a slight puff and crossed the line. It was 22 seconds to go, just soon enough.

wingssail images fredrick roswold Happy Crew

So it was a happy boat onboard Wings as we sailed back to our berth in La Cruz. The second big race of the year and our second first place. We’re doing well and it felt great.

wingssail images fredrick roswold Trophy

Click here for more photos. Fred & Judy, SV Wings, La Cruz Mexico

Dec. 22, 2021-New Racing Season

wingssail images-judy jensen

Sailing to windward

Richard turned to me with a smile on his face, “It wasn’t much fun sitting there for an hour with no wind but it sure was nice when the wind filled in and we won!”

“Yep.” 

We’d just come in first on the first day of the Banderas Bay Blast, the kick-off race of the season but it wasn’t easy.

Oh yeah, we got a good start but all the smaller or slower boats had already gone before our start was called. So we started behind. 

But we were fast and we immediately started passing them. That was fun. 

 Then the wind died. 

I mean zero wind. Everyone stopped including the one boat still ahead of us, a Gulfstar 50, and several fast boats who were close behind. Whoever got the wind first would win. We tried our lightest spinnaker. So did the Gulfstar. So did a couple of boats behind. Our the ancient ½ oz kite sort of filled. Same with the boats behind, their kites filled slightly, looking like deflated balloons, but nobody moved. 

Boats started to withdraw. There was a parade of boat motoring past, headed for home. 

“It often is flat calm like this for a while then the wind springs up all of a sudden.” I tried to cheer up the crew, and maybe I was reminding the wind gods that we were still out here. 

But it worked! The wind came in; we all got it at the same time and we were off. It was a northerly and that meant it was a beat to the finish; our strong point. We pulled out from the boats behind and closed in on the Gulfstar. They tried to cover us. Finally, we broke out of their wind shadow and passed them from leeward, pointing on them and sailing faster. Soon they were directly behind us. 

wingssail images-judy jensen

Happy Crew

First place was very sweet. 

That was day one of a three day regatta, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. 

After Saturday’s race the following two days looked to be repeats. We would start behind all the boats (except a few which were deemed to be faster than us, but weren’t; they started behind.) and then try to pick them off one by one. On Sunday we did just that. We sailed well and were first by a mile, literally. We’ve sailed that course before and this wasn’t a record but it was close. We finished in one hour and 41 minutes. The best we’ve done was 1 hour and 31 minutes. Comparing the tracks for that day in 2019 and this race we could see what cost us the extra 10 minutes. It was a little less wind and much less of a right hand shift. The Gulfstar was second. 

On Monday the Gulfstar stayed ahead all the way to the finish but we won our class and won overall and that sewed up the regatta: First in class and first overall. 

After that we’ve been racing Beer Can Races and doing well, so the season is off to a good start. 

I give a lot of credit to the crew and a lot to Judy who has taken over the navigation role and she is doing great. Judy needed to move off of running backstays and while she didn’t want the navigator job it was the right move for her and she stepped up. It's more work for her because she still has to do her old role of being crew boss. She's a busy lady but she's handling it well. 

From now on however, the racing gets tougher. 

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, La Cruz Huancaxtle