Catch The Action At The Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, By Leroy Worley

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. 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." Legends like the Pyewacket, Magnitude 80 and Stars & Stripes, and others, were boats whose names reflect the glory of the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race. Now, it's time for a new boat to claim the fame in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race!

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.

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." And, these keepsakes will later hang on the walls at homes and clubs long after the race.

Plan Your Trip

To learn more about the Yacht Race and other events visit the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau at www.visitnewportbeach.com  or call 1-800-94-COAST.

For details on attractions, current events, and lodging visit the California Travel & Tourism Commission site at www.visitcalifornia.com.