Nauticopa Boat Races
Today was the first day of the Nauticopa Boat Races that are being held here in the Guaymas Bay. The schedule said that the first race was to begin at 1 PM so we headed uptown to the bay to be there in time for that.
We arrived at the Plaza de Pescador and sat around looking out over the water, one of the boats came out and did a few practice rounds. Not long after that the police told everyone that was there that we would have to move over to where they have done the filling, in the bay area. They told us that there were chairs and shade areas and sent us all on our way.
At the new area that they have filled in they had bleachers set up, the usual pop and beer stands and of course some nice large speakers blasting out music. We sat on the bleachers for awhile and then we noticed that people were getting plastic chairs from an area and sitting closer to the fence at the edge of the bay. Roy went over and got us a couple of chairs and we moved as close to the fence as the police would allow. The police were out in force and we noticed what must be the head policeman, sorry don't know what you would call him here. As he approached all his men, they would salute him, so we knew he was a "higher up". A short time later this fellow seemed to be escorting another fellow around, the second fellow was shaking everyones hands and saying hello to all. I didn't realize who he was until the girl next to us asked if she could have her picture taken with him. Then I clued in, it was the mayor of Guaymas, Lic. Antonio Francisco Astiazaran Gutierrez, so now we can say we shook the mayors hand. He is usually wearing a suit and today he was dressed quite casually, so I never thought of it being him at first. There was also a fellow who we assumed was with the state government as he was wearing the usual red shirt with the Sonora logo on that they seem to favor at events.
A few of the boats came out and did practice runs; but they didn't seem interested in starting the races.
A practice run.
Finally around 3 PM, the police all moved away from the fence and there was a big rush by everyone trying to get front row seats. Pretty funny. We moved, along with everyone else and managed to snag 2 spots right in front of the fence. Lucky us.
The fence which we got to sit right in front of, best seats in the place. I took the picture before it got really busy.
The races started and were quite interesting. We had never seen boat races like this before and we enjoyed watching. I have no idea how fast they were traveling; but they were moving fast! There were no crashes while we watched; although we did leave before they were over. An interesting afternoon. More photos here: More Photos
A video of one of the races.
We arrived at the Plaza de Pescador and sat around looking out over the water, one of the boats came out and did a few practice rounds. Not long after that the police told everyone that was there that we would have to move over to where they have done the filling, in the bay area. They told us that there were chairs and shade areas and sent us all on our way.
At the new area that they have filled in they had bleachers set up, the usual pop and beer stands and of course some nice large speakers blasting out music. We sat on the bleachers for awhile and then we noticed that people were getting plastic chairs from an area and sitting closer to the fence at the edge of the bay. Roy went over and got us a couple of chairs and we moved as close to the fence as the police would allow. The police were out in force and we noticed what must be the head policeman, sorry don't know what you would call him here. As he approached all his men, they would salute him, so we knew he was a "higher up". A short time later this fellow seemed to be escorting another fellow around, the second fellow was shaking everyones hands and saying hello to all. I didn't realize who he was until the girl next to us asked if she could have her picture taken with him. Then I clued in, it was the mayor of Guaymas, Lic. Antonio Francisco Astiazaran Gutierrez, so now we can say we shook the mayors hand. He is usually wearing a suit and today he was dressed quite casually, so I never thought of it being him at first. There was also a fellow who we assumed was with the state government as he was wearing the usual red shirt with the Sonora logo on that they seem to favor at events.
A few of the boats came out and did practice runs; but they didn't seem interested in starting the races.
A practice run.
Finally around 3 PM, the police all moved away from the fence and there was a big rush by everyone trying to get front row seats. Pretty funny. We moved, along with everyone else and managed to snag 2 spots right in front of the fence. Lucky us.
The fence which we got to sit right in front of, best seats in the place. I took the picture before it got really busy.
The races started and were quite interesting. We had never seen boat races like this before and we enjoyed watching. I have no idea how fast they were traveling; but they were moving fast! There were no crashes while we watched; although we did leave before they were over. An interesting afternoon. More photos here: More Photos
A video of one of the races.
