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Wednesday, May 27, 1998

Galveston to Veracruz Regatta changes sailors' lives

By JOEY RICHARDS / The Galveston County Daily News

GALVESTON, Texas -- Listen to Frank Tuma talk about the Galveston to Veracruz Regatta, and you can tell he's aching to get out of his office in Florida. The sea and Mexico are calling.

He talks about the cleansing of the soul you undergo sailing on the open waters, and then there's Mexico and the people of Veracruz. Tuma recalls the singing and dancing.

"It's like a different planet when you reach Veracruz," Tuma said. "It's such a shock. It's a different way of living."

And wonderful.

Tuma, who expects nearly 100 sailboats for this year's race, said whole families make the 630-nautical mile trip to Veracruz, and they keep coming back for the event.

"It's become a family-type thing," Tuma said. "The families schedule two weeks for this regatta. We'll have about 1,000 people in Veracruz."

Sailors and families gather in Galveston every two years for the event, which started 30 years ago. This year's race begins May 29.

"It's a good way to get people to use their sailboats, instead of sitting in the dock," Tuma said. "So we organized something that would allow people to feel comfortable sailing in the ocean by sailing with this large fleet. We give them training and encouragement."

Tuma said the race features 15 different classes of sailboats, ranging from all-out racing boats to slow cruisers.

"They're very competitive, but it's supposed to be for fun, of course," he said.

Once they leave Galveston, the boats will sail due south across the Gulf of Mexico, and they won't see land again until they reach Veracruz.

Tuma said it takes the faster boats about 80 hours to reach Veracruz, while the slower boats will make the trip in about 130 hours.

Tuma said Veracruz is a large, modern city.

"It's marvelous," he said. "It's not your normal tourist place. It's not like Cozumel or Cancun."

After a week in Veracruz, the boats then race northwest to Tuxpan, a sleepy little village along the Tuxpan River.

After a few days in Tuxpan, the boats head 50 miles north of Tuxpan to a tiny palm-studded tropical island that's surrounded by a reef. A few days of snorkeling and diving, and then the boats head back home.

Tuma said the adventure takes about two weeks, including three weekends.

He said those who make the trip return with a different outlook on life, ready to make the trip again and again.

"Once you do it, it changes your life," he said.

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Distributed by The Associated Press