Yacht Field Very Small, but It’s Good

Del Rey Yacht Club’s 10th race from Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta, which gets under way Saturday at 1 p.m., has the lowest entry list in the history of the event.

But what it lacks in quantity is offset by the quality of the racers. Seven of the 14 entries are ultra-light displacement downwind yachts, and that promises a spirited race for first to finish in the 1,125-mile race.

Largest number of entries, 28, was in 1985. Lowest number until this year was 18 in the 1983 and 1987 races. The PV race is run every other year in odd-numbered years, making it a tune-up for some racers for the Transpac race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

The elapsed time record for the race is 4 days 23 hours and 14 minutes set by Dick Daniels’ MacGregor-65 Joss in 1985. Joss averaged better than 10 knots for the course.