4th Place Finish + International Burgee Exchange in Cascais, Portugal
A huge shout out to Team Zaguero, who secured 4th place in the 2025 J/70 Corinthian European Championship held in Cascais, Portugal. Representing VYC on the international stage, skipper Ignacio Peréz and crew showed their skill, determination, and true Corinthian spirit.
The regatta featured top amateur teams from across Europe and beyond, and Team Zaguero’s impressive finish placed them among the elite in this highly competitive fleet.
Vallarta Yacht Club Beer Can Races Start November 20th!
Attention all fun-loving sailors! Our exciting Beer Can Races are back, kicking off on November 20th and happening every other week until January 29th. They will start again on February 19th and every other week, including a New Year's Day race!
This is the 3rd article in a series of stories and interviews with High-Performance Athletes who train out of Vallarta Yacht Club. The focus this week is on Elena Oetling Ramirez who is a well accomplished Laser Radial Competitor. Elena grew up sailing on Lake Chapala and trained extensively at Lake Chapala Yacht Club. I asked Elena a few questions about her sailing career, then did some research to learn a little more about this amazing athlete.
Elena, when did you start sailing and what class were you sailing in?
I started sailing by myself at the age of 9 in an optimist, (17 years ago) even though I have been sailing for my entire life with my dad and grandpa.
What has been your biggest accomplishment in the past 2 years?
I'm Central American and Caribbean Games Champion, 8th female in North American Championship in Long Beach, California, 4th female in the South American Championship in Paracas, Perú, and National Champion this year at WesMex..
Cristina Ortiz Vivas is the focus of this week’s story on High-Performance athletes who train at Vallarta Yacht Club. Many of you may remember Cris from her days sailing in the Junior Sailing Program here at VYC. I think Cris paints a good picture of the emotional roller coaster these athletes find themselves on as they compete with the top sailors in the world. Here’s her story.
When did you start sailing and what class where you sailing in.
I started sailing when I was 7 years old, in the optimist class. My parents and my brother also sail so it was in my blood to become a sailor. And, of course, my twin sister Andrea was the biggest part of my early sailing years. We were training partners from the beginning. That made us so big in so many ways. We were able to train together and improve so fast; it was amazing how much we could push each other. It also made everything exciting and fun. On the other hand, it also made us learn how to deal with the competition we always had between each other. In the end, we were training partners but in regattas we were competitors.
This was probably what made our relationship grow even more. We learned to be happy with each other’s results. We were proud of our work and our strengths and this bond made us so good at a very early stage. It is definitely one of the greatest things sailing has given me, so many lessons with my sister and such a strong relationship with her.
She is a really big part of what I am today. Although she retired from sailing, she is the person I always call first when I have a bad or a tough day and she always has the right words to get me back on track.
I used to live in Mexico City, so our family getaway was to go every weekend to a lake near the city called Valle de Bravo. In this lake I learned so many things and made so many friends, but the most important thing is that I fell in love with the sport of sailing. Today I’m still amazed at this sport. Every single time I go practice or race, it feels like I’m that little kid having fun and learning as much as possible.