Sailboat Racing in Cabo San Lucas

In Cabo San Lucas Susie and got to participate in a mock America's Cup race as crew on a real America's cup yacht with Cabo Adventures. We were on NZL 82, which defended the cup for New Zealand in 2003. For a long-time sailboat racer like me, who doesn't have a much a chance to sail in El Paso, this was a real treat.

The guests/crew provided the muscle for tacks and gybes, as well as for raising the sails. Here are Susie and me hard at work raising the jib. The pro crew were outstanding, including serious Americas Cup veterans and long-distance racers. Just getting to sail with these guys was an adventure in itself.
There wasn't a ton of wind, but we still had a spirited race. Susie worked as a grinder aft.

For the first lap, I handled the port winch; for the final lap, I worked as a grinder while the pros handled the lines.


Our boat ended up second, having to perform a penalty turn after a close crossing. We had a lot of fun, of course, capped off with a cold Mexican beer.

After we headed back to the Coral Princess and our ship was sailing out out of the harbor at Cabo San Lucas, I could see NZL 82 racing again, with its afternoon crew, with the sun's reflection glittering across the waters.

For their excursion, other passengers on the ship had gone whale-watching. We lucked out by getting to see whales from the Coral Princess as we left Cabo San Lucas. My camera was always slower than the whales, but in the lower left of this picture you can see a whale's tail.
Cabo San Lucas is at the very southern end of the Baja Peninsula. As the Coral Princess turned northwest toward Los Angeles, we rounded the cape. In a day and half we'd be back in the USA.