12:32 AM Thu 11 Feb 2010 GMT
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'Newport-Ensenada 2009 - The third start sails by spectators on Balboa Pier'
Rich Roberts ©
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Pyewacket, Magnitude 80 and Stars & Stripes, among others, were boats whose names reflect the glory of the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, but it no longer takes a record to share the tradition.
Any boats that enter the 63rd race before Feb. 28 will be part of another classy company with their names placed for posterity on the official commemorative race poster titled 'The Thrill of Victory.'
The 125.5-nautical mile race organized by the Newport Ocean Sailing Association starts Friday, April 23. Online entry is the simplest way to sign up and pay the fee, which is $155 through March 31 and $205 afterward.
Is entering early worth getting your boat's name on the poster? Jerry Montgomery, a former NOSA commodore and a longtime successful competitor in the race, already has his J/N40 Patriot signed up alongside a few dozen others for whom such immortality is usually just a dream.
'Everybody loves his boat,' Montgomery said, 'and they love to see its name in the paper, on the Internet or on the scoreboard after the race, no matter where they finished. But to be on a poster like this is really a neat deal.'
Such keepsakes will hang on the walls at homes and clubs long after this race.
For those seeking to build their knowledge and skills of offshore racing, particularly to Mexico, free pre-race seminars are scheduled throughout Southern California in March, as follows:
Ventura Yacht Club Wednesday, March 3, 7 p.m.
Del Rey YC Thursday, March 11, 7 p.m.
Shoreline YC, Long Beach, Tuesday, March 16, 7 p.m.
San Diego West Marine, Wednesday, March 17, 7 p.m.
Seal Beach YC, Long Beach, Tuesday, March 23, 7 p.m.
Dana Point YC, Wednesday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Bahia Corinthian YC, Corona del Mar, Thursday, March 25, 7 p.m.
The race is open to all craft from high-tech ocean racers to Mom and Pop trailerables. Classes will be established for designated Sport boats, including Melges 32, Melges 30, Melges 24, Farr 30 (formerly Mumm 30), Henderson 30, Turbocharged Hobie 33, Viper 830, Columbia 30-32, Flying Tiger 10M, B 32 and Antrum 27.
The minimum size limits are 18 feet for monohulls and 20 feet for multihulls.
Stars & Stripes was a multihull, recalled as the 60-foot catamaran sailed by the late Steve Fossett in 1998, not to be confused with Dennis Conner's America's Cup monohulls of the same name. Fossett set a multihull record of 6 hours 46 minutes 40 seconds that still stands as the only boat ever to finish before sundown.
That cat was the soft-sail sister ship of the aerodynamic wing-sail version that Conner sailed to dispatch New Zealand's giant monohull in two lopsided America's Cup races at San Diego in 1988. Now the latter is regarded as the forerunner of the giant wing-sail trimaran to be raced, when conditions allow, by BMW Oracle against defender Alinghi in Valencia this week. Racing scheduled for Monday and Wednesday failed to happen because of too little and then too much wind with heavy seas.
If only Valencia were offering breeze like Newport-Ensenada racers enjoyed last year, the fastest race in all 62 years. Driven down the rhumb (direct) line by moderate but steady winds, all boats finished by 4 p.m. Saturday, and Doug Baker's Magnitude 80 set a monohull record of 10 hours 37 minutes 20 seconds, just 7 minutes 3 seconds faster than Roy E. Disney's record set on Pyewacket III in 2003.
Then everybody, plus friends and family who drove down or sailed on a Carnival Cruise ship, also available this year, enjoyed an expanded weekend of revelry organized by Mexican tourism officials and the seaside resort city of Ensenada.
North Sails, the world's largest sailmaker, has just joined the list of event sponsors and supporters that also include City of Newport Beach, Go Baja, The Pirate's Lair, Mount Gay Rum, Firebrand Media, Marriott Newport Beach Hotel and Spa, Connection to Cruise/Carnival Cruise Lines, Vessel Assist, Ruby's, West Marine and Weather Routing Inc.
Logistical support is provided by the Bahia Corinthian, Balboa and Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs.
Event site and Online Entry
www.nosa.org/
by Rich Roberts
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Sailing
