A Brief History of the Regata del Sol al Sol

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In 1966 the Past President of Mexico, Miguel Aleman, then Secretary of Tourism, called together yachting principals from the gulf coast of the U.S. to meet with himself and his longtime friend, Jose Jesus de Lima, Secretary of Sports. At this meeting regattas were organized from Houston, New Orleans, Pensacola, St. Petersburg and Venice, Florida to destinations of Vera Cruz, Isla Mujeres, Progresso and Cozumel. Of these only four persist, the St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres, the Pensacola to Isla Mujeres and the New Orleans to Isla Mujeres. The Regatta de Amigos is still being run every even year from Houston to Veracruz.

The first race of the series organized by P/C Tom Downs was the Regata Del Sol al Sol in 1969. It has been sailed each year since and this, the 35nd annual regatta will be sailed on Friday, April 25, 2003.

The hospitality of the Island of Isla Mujeres cannot be exceeded by any race destination. The Jose de Jesus family has been instrumental in keeping this event a viable, fun regatta. The race is handicapped on the Performance Handicap Rating Formula for a distance of 500 nautical miles and is a navigators race in that the course crosses three major current complexes.

A highlight of the event for many is the Regatta Amigos, the post race sail around the "Island of Women," the yachts overloaded with native youngsters having the time of their lives. Many of the children who raced many years ago are now leaders of the Island and all have many wonderful memories of this experience.

A close second in popularity is the on-the-spot basketball tournament between the Isla Mujeres team and U.S. crew members.

Memories of the Mexican Race are legion. Take the inaugural race in 1969 aboard George Dryden's Lita. Lew Crowe drew galley duty, which was bad enough. But the range and oven were directly under a leaky skylight, and Crowe, dressed in foul weather gear from head to toe, somehow managed to turn out three meals a day. Dryden holds the participation record, having sailed in all but one of the first 20 Mexican Races.

The 20th running of the Mexican Race in 1988 was a near disaster. The Friday start in light breezes gave nary a hint of the events to follow. A low-pressure system moved through the Gulf on Saturday, producing winds in excess of 50 mph and seas up to 20 feet. Late Wednesday, nine of the near-record fleet of'37 boats were unaccounted for. Eight reported in by noon Thursday, most having dropped out of the race at Key West or the Dry Tortugas. Still missing was Shenanigan IV, a Tartan-33 skippered by Dr. Francis Traun, a retired physician in his early eighties from Ruskin, and two crew members. Friends and relatives had many anxious moments before the U.S. Coast Guard reported Shenanigan IV safe in Isla Mujeres at 2:30 a.m. Friday morning, eight days after starting the 456-mile race in St. Petersburg.

Many yachts have participated in nearly all 35 years of racing and the contestants look forward to the hospitality and relaxation of the Island community as opposed to the "high frequency" life of Cancun or Cozumel. This is indeed one of the few remaining family fun events in the yacht racing world.