San Jeronimito River Regatta

Every year in October, local boating and rafting enthusiasts get ready for the Annual San Jeronimito River Regatta — a fun event that takes place in San Jeronimito, a small community near the town of Petatlan south of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo — with an exciting river race, great food, music and conviviality. At this time of the year the rains are often still falling but without as much regularity as earlier in the rainy season, and the river is high and swollen with water making its way down from the mountains to the nearby sea.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Bridge at San Jeronimito

The Regatta began October 12, 1987, when inhabitants of the community of San Jeronimito, near Petatlán, Guerrero, during a day of hunting, opted use pangas (wooden boats) for transportation along the river as a new hunting strategy.

The new mode of transport, which took them downriver to the San Valentin sand bar, proved to be much more exciting than they expected, and the group decided to repeat the trip the following year.

Through the intervening years, the Regatta spontaneously evolved into an annual event without a great amount of organization even though the participants steadily increased year by year, its arrangements being undertaken with the support of the local community who, waiting the arrival of the boats under the bridge of the River San Jeronimito, delight the tired adventurers with delicious and typical regional foods once they finally pull into shore at this stop.

The Annual San Jeronimito River Regatta traditionally makes 2 stops before arriving at its final destination at the San Valentín sand bar. These stops are the aforementioned San Jeronimito Bridge as well as one made in the archaeological community of La Soledad de Maciel (La Chole) between the bridge and the finish line. The starting point of the Regatta has changed over the past several years in order to take advantage of the many rapids and obstacles that exist up-river, providing a touch more excitement and adventure for the event.

It is important to point out that in originally in this competition no trophies or individual prizes were awarded and the first to arrive was not a winner, rather it was the spirit cooperation and sharing of experiences and the company of others that kept the event going in good faith, year after year.

San Jeronimito Regatta	Crowded riverbank	Regatta participants
Single-man canoe	More participants	Food and fun

Upon termination of the 1999 Regatta, it was decided that an Organizing Committee would be chosen, given the acceptance and expansion over time of the event. The Committee was to be responsible for successfully seeing to all necessities of the XIV Annual Regatta.

Toward this end and in order to lend the Regatta a more favorable and formal tone and image, it was decided that an official Rules of Participation was to be drafted, and to establish a competitive course for the Regatta, which is now the run that lies between the Starting Point and the San Jeronimito Bridge. Three watercraft categories were established:

• INFLATABLE CRAFT
• HARD-BOTTOMED CRAFT
• KAYAKS

Prizes and honorable mentions began being publicly awarded to the first 3 places.

One of the main objectives of this First Organizing Committee was to create a list of participants and sponsors, which serve in the organization of subsequent Regattas, as well as achieve sufficient organizational structure to be considered an option in National Circuits as an eXtreme sport.

ALL THAT IS NEEDED IS A WATERCRAFT, A LIFE JACKET, A HELMET, IMAGINATION AND THE DESIRE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME

San Jeronimito music

The Annual San Jeronimito River Regatta continues as a yearly event. The first time that the event was effected it was a spontaneous act with no organization whatsoever with the sole intention being the celebration of “Dia de la Raza“, counting only on the enthusiasm and friendship between the kids of several of the families of the town of San Jeronimito, and it is they who currently form the event Organizing Committee.

The Annual San Jeronimito River Regatta has already become a tradition with its widespread dissemination, finishing each year with a greater acceptance and higher participation on the part of the citizenry, the authorities, companies and organizations, who with their support make this cooperative event possible.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

• PRESIDENT: CARLOS SOTELO PIRSCH
• SECRETARY: GILBERTO SANCHEZ BUSTAMANTE
• TREASURER: GUSTAVO PEÑA CORTEZ

Extracted and adapted from a press release provided by the Organizing Committee of the XVIII Annual San Jeronimito River Regatta

Photos on this page are from the 2004 San Jeronimito River Regatta