Those islands off of San Diego are well known and are part of every darn discussion that anyone has that is doing the Newport-Ensenada race.... the key question is always "inside or outside."

Every racer that has done the race at least once knows of those islands... verses this atoll out in the middle of nowhere. The guys that ran into that island on the Ensenada race had done the race before, and KNEW the islands were there. Why they set a waypoint right for the island is beyond me. Every time I have done the race**, we set a waypoint outside the islands, and usually, long before we arrive, there is the "inside outside" discussion... always predicated on where the wind is coming from... offshore or onshore.

This is also part of the discussion that folks have after the race, while chugging copious margaritas in Ensenada... "so, j'go innside or owwsside..."

**(OK, not every time, as I have done the race a few times with nothing but a paper chart and compass... GRIN)