Start of the Sunrise Regatta at Elephant Butte Lake

Fleet panorama as the ten- and twenty-five-mile-race boats start. In between the Catalina 25 in the middle of the picture and the C&C 29 Nessie at right can be glimpsed Kettletop Mesa in the distance. Land to the east beyond Kettletop is part of one-time famous sailor Ted Turner's Armendaris Ranch, one of his many conservation-oriented holdings in the region.

Boats at the start of the Sunrise; the J/24 Hot Flash follows some cruisers. Mountains and mesas in the background are part of the scenery we get to enjoy in the mountain desert of southern New Mexico. A few miles away are hot springs once used by the Apache leader Geronimo.

Columbia 26 II and Grampian 23 at the start of the Sunrise Regatta, October 3, 2009, at Elephant Butte Lake.

Columbia 26 II Imagine.