MX FDers Sweep 1st 5 at Villa Corona

The first five places in the Fourth International Regatta at Villa Corona near Guadalajara were taken by the light air specialists of Mexico. TERRY DALEHITE led the 26 boat fleet and won in the lightest of air conditions as well as in the heaviest air in the February event that was attended by boats from as far south as Mexico City and as far north as Oregon.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:  1) start at Villa Corona. U.S. sailors Bludworth US30, Brynes US905 and Shanner US940 take short ­lived lead.
2) FDs in two mph wind drift apart. Oetling MX29 heads straight for windward mark.   
3)  "Calma Chicha" or dead calm.   
4) It doesn't look as if Sr. Alvara should be on starboard, but he wins the third race. Overall winner Terry Dalehite MX55 closing ground.


The skippers got a taste of what was to come when paddles were broken out to get to the starting line in time for the first race on Friday. The boats were closely gathered together awaiting the start and, after a postponement, were off in one mile an hour winds from the south. The race committee had waited for the wind to come up, but it appeared that one mile an hour was about all it was going to do. The US sailors did well at the start and were in the lead for a short distance, but at the finish the first ten boats were from Mexico with Los Angeles sailors, BERNARDO MARTINEZ and BOB RILEY saving the 11th position. The wind had shifted to the southwest in the middle of the race to reach a top of 2 mph, and the event took over five hours to complete. The race committee cancelled the 2nd race and the boats started the long paddle back to the clubhouse. However, an hour later a storm came up over the mountains and the winds hit 25 mph. This freak storm was a welcome change even though some of the boats capsized.

The Dutchman sailors were treated to a cock­tail party at the beautiful home of "CHINO" that night in Guadalajara to start off a great weekend of parties. The next day, TERRY DALEHITE kept his boat heeled so far to leeward it appeared at times it would capsize, but it paid off and he edged out three boats from Mexico to win this race. The wind was from the southwest and west from 0-3 mph.
That night there was a fine party at a tequilla factory which was attended by most of the skippers. This must have helped, for the next day in winds from 2-4 mph the Norte­Americanos did their best. Art Lange with Mario Collignon Jr. crewing got a 2nd, Martinez and Riley 3rd, and Halderman 8th. The last day, the winds were up to 5 mph for the reaching start, but dropped to one mile an hour at the leeward mark and came on to 5-6 miles an hour for the finish. The wind had shifted to a beat for some of
the boats by the time they reached the windward mark and then dropped to nothing for the tail-enders, while the leaders were sailing under spin-nakers towards the leeward mark. It did not make much difference though, as everyone waited at the leeward mark for the wind to come back. There were at least 20 boats within a few feet of each other at this mark and before long the tail-enders had reached the leading boats.    US940 (Bob Shanner) was  dead last coming into the leeward mark and when most of the becalmed boats started to move he was on the inside and passed 12 boats on a very short leg to the finish. This was an usual race in that the lead boats finished the race on a reach while other boats 25 yards behind were tacking back and forth on beats. The unusual wind conditions caused many skippers to become astonished. At times during the race a skipper would find himself going towards a mark on a beat and then would look up to see another boat that had rounded the mark and was coming straight down towards him also on a beat -and yet only 10 or 15 yards apart. 

   The US was well represented at this regatta. The past North American Champ, Ron White, was present as were second place finisher Art Lange, and the fourth and fifth place finishers of a year ago,  Martinez and Halderman. Champion sailor of last year, Martin Bludworth, was also taught a lesson by the outstanding group of mexican skippers.  The general chairman of the regatta, Mario Collignon, stated that 10 boats would be coming for the North Americans and it would be no surprise to see anyone of the top ten skippers take the championship. The results of this race indicate that there has been great improvement in the FD sailing in Mexico. 

    Race    Results

  1. Terry Dalehite, MX-55  CYC  3-1-6-1
  2. Jorge Ochoa,    MX-49  CYC  2-2-4-10
  3. Alvaro Fdz. V., MX-39  CRG  5-3-1-12
  4. Angel Franco,   MX-65  CNJC 1-4-13-7
  5. A. Perez Mtz.,  MX-59  CYC  4-8-9-3
  6. Bernardo Mtz.,  US-805 WYC  11-5-3-5
  7. M Vazquez A.,   MX-50  CRG  7-9-7-8
  8. Paco Vigil,     MX-48  CRB  9-dnf-5-4
  9. Bob Halderman,  US-848 ABYC 20-7-8-6
 10. Ron White,      US-923 SPYC 15-12-17-2
 11. Eduardo Ochoa,
 12. Art Lange,
 13. Fernando Sanchez,
 14. Senen Camarena,
 15. Victor Gonzalez. L.,
 16. Bob Shanner,
 17. Beach Riley,
 18. Jorge Oetling,
 19. Jorge Dipp,
 20. Gene Byrnes,
 21. Martin Bludworth,
 22. Pablo Casillas,
 23. Laura Barcenas,
 24. Mario Collignon,
 25. A. Camberos,
 26. Jose A. Silva.



Mario announced that the Mexican Navy had ordered eight FDs so that their young officers would be able to assist in the Olympics. The clubs around Guadalajara have about 35 FOs, with most of them constructed by "Ferro" in Mexico City, Alpa in Italy and Karlish in Germany. The "Ferro" is a well constructed boat that sells for about $2500, -is stiffer than the Alpa, but Chief Measurer Bludworth noted that there is no mast support for the bending procter mast and when the wind comes up it shakes like a leaf.

The race next year will be in March at Lake Chapala, an 8 mile lake near Guadalajara, and this time there is a guarantee of planning winds, no weeds or stinkpots -but who cares, the regattas are so much fun, and the entertainment and hospitality so excellent that the winds could blow zero-zero and all the skippers would be back.