Nov. 24, 2009
Newport-Ensenada 2010: More fun, fair winds is the plan
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.
Note to West Coast sailors: Still kicking yourselves for missing last spring's 62nd Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race when a moderate but steady breeze for the ages swept the fleet all 125.5 nautical miles on a direct track to the finish and left most of the weekend to party?
Keep the faith. There is only hope of another dream breeze that brought Doug Baker's Magnitude 80 a race record of 10 hours 37 minutes 50 seconds and Cleve Hardaker's humble Sojourn, a Catalina 30 from San Diego, the PHRF overall prize on handicap time, but the onshore fun is guaranteed.
Entries for the 63rd world's largest international yacht race starting Friday, April 23, will be open in early January. Registration, including payment of entry fees, will be available online at www.nosa.org.
The historic race is organized by the Newport Ocean sailing Association (NOSA).
The boat names of those who enter before Jan. 31 will be listed at no charge on the race's commemorative poster. Also, a name will be drawn from each week's entries to receive a gift from West Marine.
Like other major sailing events in the early days of the recession last year, the usual N2E turnout of four to five hundred boats slipped to 270 entries and 260 starters, but only three failed to finish by 4 p.m. Saturday after a single night at sea, leaving the rest of the weekend to enjoy the hospitality of the colorful seaside pueblo.
Like last year, non-sailors also may join in the fun by opting for a Carnival Cruise ship, tour buses or personal ground transportation.
The U.S. now requires a passport for re-entry, but to increase speed, efficiency and security when crossing international borders by land or sea---but not by air---a wallet-size Passport Card is now available. The card contains a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip that points to a stored record in secure government databases, allowing Customs and Border Protection inspectors to access photographs and other biographical information stored in secure government databases as the traveler approaches an inspection station. Details
The fun picks up a beat for 2010. It will start with the pre-race fiesta at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club the Thursday night before the start, continue after the finish with a new program of musical entertainment on the Ensenada waterfront plaza Saturday night, then conclude Sunday with the Fiesta del Vino leading into the colorful awards ceremony Sunday afternoon.
Hardaker and his crew---all amateurs---enjoyed every minute of it last time. It helped that Mag 80 owed him about 12 1/2 hours in corrected handicap time and most of the other boats somewhat less.
"We just don't get the [first-to-finish] gun very often," Hardaker said. "[This time] conditions were good for us. The wind blew with some power all night long, so we didn't lose time to the big boats [that had already finished]."
Altogether, Hardaker, 60, and his crew collected one of the largest hauls in race history: (1) the President of Mexico Trophy for first place overall in the race on corrected handicap time, (2) first among PHRF boats, (3) first in PHRF-K class for the highest-rated boats, (4) first Catalina boat and (5) a $5,000 Corum watch for first overall.
For the next race, NOSA has updated classes and the class breaks to expand the handicap possibilities to even more boats.
As it was, Sojourn's crew never tacked and their only jibe was the left turn into Todos Santos Bay. But Hardaker wasn't sure that one of his crew, Brendan Inglis, who had never done the race, really appreciated it.
"Now," Hardaker said, "he thinks they're all this way."
Notable 2009 prize winners:
OVERALL CORRECTED TIME (President of USA; all PHRF)---Sojourn (Catalina 30), Cleve Hardaker, San Diego, 14:01:44.
ELAPSED TIME (NOSA; all boats)---Loe Real (Jenn 60 trimaran), H.L. Enloe, San Diego, 8 hours 45 minutes 3 seconds.
ELAPSED TIME (Lahaina Yacht Club; PHRF boats)---Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif., 10:37:50 (breaks record of 10:44:54 by Pyewacket III, Roy E. Disney, 2003).
CRUZ (Sec. of Foreign Relations, Mexico; corrected time all Cruz Div. boats)---Windswept, Scott Karlin, Newport Beach, Calif., 13:56:59.
MAXI (President of Mexico; corrected time)---It's OK (Andrews 50), Tres Gordos Sailing, LLC, 15:56:26.
ORCA (President of NOSA; corrected time)---Minnette (Multi Mari), Michael Leneman, Marina del Rey, Calif., 15:26:30.
FIRST ALL-FEMALE (Caroline Starr; corrected time)---Cruz Control (Santa Cruz 27), Annette Cook, Women's Ocean Racing Sailing Assn., 16:02:03.
DOUBLEHANDED (Volvo; corrected time)---Carpe Domani (Catalina 27), Larry Wilson, Navy Yacht Club San Diego), 14:35:50.
HIGHEST CORRECTED (Brass Spittoon; all boats)---C.C. (Columbia 29.2), Chris Meyers, 20:46:24.
Complete results
Event sponsors and supporters include City of Newport Beach, Pirate's Lair, Nordstrom South Coast Plaza, Tommy Bahama, Go Baja, Mount Gay Rum, Traditional Jewelers, Corum Watch, Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, Carnival Cruise Lines, Seven Seas Travel, Orange Coast Magazine and Vessel Assist.
Newport Beach, an opulent seaside community located on the Orange County coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego, epitomizes the quintessential Southern California lifestyle. Known for its picturesque views of the Pacific and one of the world’s largest small yacht harbors, the city is acclaimed for its beaches, yachting community, sophisticated atmosphere, international film festival, three annual epicurean festivals and the oldest holiday boat parade in the nation. Newport Beach was named “one of the top 10 resort towns in the U.S.” by AOL Travel in 2008. For more information, call (800) 94-COAST or visit online
The NOSA website (www.nosa.org) reports about 13,000 hits in April, including 1,083 in one 24-hour period. The hits came from the USA, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, China, Sweden, Germany, France, New Zealand, Spain, Costa Rica, Peru, Japan, Brazil, Jamaica and Bermuda---truly an international yacht race.
MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
Press officer
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net
MARKETING CONTACT
Ralph Rodheim
714.557.5100 ext 13
ralph@rodheim-marketing.com |
The big flag blew all day and night for the 2009 N2E race
Crew of the Catalina 30 Sojourn with its load of awards and Ensenada Mayor Pablo Lopez.
Skipper Cleve Hardaker at left
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