The 2001 cayuco racing season got underway on February 18 with
a new event, the Copa Club de Yates de Balboa. The race went from
the Balboa Yacht Club's pier to Naos Island and back, on a day
when the Amador Causeway was also host to a mini-triathlon and
a health walk. As it's early in the season, only about half the
number of boats that are expected in this year's ocean-to-ocean
race participated in this event.
The Club de Remo de Balboa got the right permits from the National
Environmental Authority to legally acquire the right-sized logs
to make six new cayucos for this season. If last year's races
signaled the survival of a tradition started by the Canal Zone's
Boy Scouts of America, this season looks likely to be the start
of a new era of growth for this sport, which now attracts crews
and news media from the United States.
The first Copa Club de Yates to Balboa went to Carioca, which
finished the course in 58 minutes and 23 seconds. Runners-up were
Sudden Impact (58:58), Rio Señales (59:16) and Rapid Transit (59:17).
