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Newport to Ensenada race celebrates 70 years with a sunny start

1/23

Racers in the PHRC class including Holua, Medicine Marn and Pyewacket, from right, get their start in 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday. The race, which dates to 1948, started under sunny skies and light 8 knot breezes.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
2/23

The crew on Zephyrus starts in its class in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
3/23

Boats including the Renegade PHRC gather before the start of the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
4/23

A crew member takes watch on the Ren as the crew prepares for the start of the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday. The race began under sunny skies and light 8 knot breezes.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
5/23

Phaedo, a tri-hull ORCA class racer, moves through the water as the crew sets sail in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
6/23

The crew prepares to start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
7/23

Phaedo, a tri-hull ORCA class racer, prepares for the start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
8/23

The Encore II and Indigo, from left, set sail in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday in a light 8 knot breeze.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
9/23

The crew of T-N-T waves to another crew in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
10/23

The crew of T-N-T waves to another crew in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
11/23

Crew members of Lodgehall, wearing matching orange hats, prepare to start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
12/23

The crew of T-N-T waves to another crew in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
13/23

The USA 678 Pyewacket sets sail in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
14/23

A crew watches 5 foot swells as they prepare to start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
15/23

The crew of Medicine Man prepares to start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
16/23

The crew prepares to start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
17/23

A worn Bob Marley flag flies from a boat in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
18/23

Rylacade is among the boats setting sail in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
19/23

The Prima is among the boats preparing for the start of the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
20/23

Two boats jockey for position as they await the start of the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
21/23

The crew of Occam’s Razor of Dana Point readies for the start of the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
22/23
Phaedo, a tri-hull ORCA class racer, moves through the water as the crew prepares for the start in the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.   (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
23/23

The all-female crew aboard the Pole Dancer prepares to start the 70th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race in Newport Beach on Friday.

  (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)
By Hillary DavisStaff Writer 
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A brilliant spring sky greeted sailors Friday as they set out in the 70th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race.

More than 185 boats set a course south, vying to be the first to cover the 125 miles to the Baja California coastal city. Among them were trimarans that glided like sea gulls into the horizon, and the wooden Cheerio II, with its nearly 90-year-old owner, Dick McNish.

Aboard the Hylas True was Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Commodore Chuck Wert, continuing his 40-year onboard-chef tradition with celebrity chef and cookbook author Rocky Fino.

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Meanwhile, the all-female crew on the Pole Dancer raised the sails while decked out in pink shirts emblazoned with the hashtag #charliestrong in honor of accomplished mariner Susan “Charlie” Arms, who is battling breast cancer.

All the while, sailors waved and cheered amid the gull chatter just off the Balboa Pier.

The Newport to Ensenada race is presented by the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. A trophy ceremony is planned for Sunday at Ensenada’s Hotel Coral.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD

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Hillary Davis

Hillary Davis covered the city of Newport Beach for the Daily Pilot until she left in August 2020. She joined the Pilot in February 2017 after spending 10 years reporting for newspapers across Arizona, where she was a six-time finalist for the Arizona Press Club’s Community Journalist of the Year. She earned a master’s degree in mass communication from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona.

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