Kelpie Is Out; Challengers Are Up : Sailing: The two-time defending champion is out with structural damage, opening the race to others with hopes of winning the America’s Schooner Cup regatta.

With two-time defending champion Kelpie out with structural damage caused by an accidental grounding, this weekend’s America’s Schooner Cup regatta on San Diego Bay has been characterized by one competitor as wide open.

“There should be a lot more parity this year,” said Todd Schwede, skipper of the Bagheera and the founder of the Schooner Cup. “This might have been the best thing that could have happened to the America’s Schooner Cup. All of a sudden it’s a new ballgame.”

The regatta begins at 11 a.m. Saturday with more than 20 schooners, divided into four classes, parading to the starting line along San Diego Bay.

The 10-mile course begins just off of Rueben E. Lee restaurant and runs alongside Harbor and Shelter Island, then back down the bay to the Rueben E. Lee.

The top two finishers in Saturday’s “A” fleet race, which begins at 1 p.m., will meet Sunday at noon for the fourth Schooner Cup. The third and fourth-place finishers will meet for the consolation title.

Kelpie, an 82-foot-schooner from Dana Point, was forced to withdraw because of extensive damage to the boat’s structure. It is undergoing rebuilding, including replanking and reframing work, but it is expected to be ready for the 1991 Schooner Cup.

Schwede, whose boat finished a distant third last year, said Kelpie would have been difficult to beat.

“The owners (Jim Dobrott, Coby Keller, Kelly Marlin) are very good sailors,” Schwede said. “They race it on a regular basis, and it’s probably the fastest boat on the West Coast.”

Richard Straman, whose schooner, Astor, won the 1989 fleet race but lost to Kelpie for the Schooner Cup, said this year’s race will probably be left in the hands of Mother Nature.

“All the boats are built for different weather conditions,” said Straman, who belongs to the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. “The star of the day will probably be dictated by how the weather acts.”

Straman said Astor will steal the show if Saturday is a stormy or windy day.

“Last year we had a stormy day on Saturday and we beat the field decisively,” Straman said. “She likes the wind. Sunday, the wind let us down and we lost to Kelpie. If the air is light this year, we’ll be in trouble again.”

In which case, Schwede and Bagheera, a 73-foot staysail schooner, will probably be the favorite.

“We’re praying for a calm day,” said Schwede, who finished third in last year’s fleet race.

Other schooners that figure to challenge Astor and Bagheera are Dauntless and Rose of Sharon.

But it’s doubtful Astor and Bagheera will be challenged in the age category--both schooners were built in 1924, six years before any other boat in the race.

The Bagheera, named after the black panther character in Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” was built in East Boothbay, Maine. It was designed by John Alden.

“The myth is, for the first 10 years of its life, it won every race it entered on the East Coast,” Schwede said. “Then it raced in the Great Lakes for about 25 years before it came to California.”

In 1986, Schwede transformed the Bagheera from a gaff-rigged (square sail) schooner to a Marconi-staysail (triangular sail) schooner.

“When I found it, it was sinking at the dock, said Schwede, a marine surveyor. “I rebuilt 60% of the hull and gave it an all new deck. I gave it a new bow and all new electrical and plumbing.”

The Astor, designed by William Fife, was built for the personal use of an Australian surgeon. Most schooners, which are double-masted sailboats, were used for fishing and transporting goods up and down the East and West coasts.

After spending most of its life in Australia and winning the prestigious Sydney, Australia-to-Hobart, Tanzania race, the Astor came to the United States in the late 1960s.

Straman purchased the boat for his family and an occasional regatta.

“Racing is a good excuse to work the boat,” said Straman, who was also entered in the Downwind and Billy Bones regattas this month. “I race for the fun of it. Nobody can be too serious about this, because you’re sailing 60- to 80-year-old boats.”

The idea of sailing older boats came from Schwede.

“At the time, we were searching for an event that could be associated with our new yacht club (the Kona Kai),” Schwede said. “We started talking about a schooner race one night when we’d had a little too much to drink. It was a joke a first, but suddenly everybody at the yacht club liked the idea.”

Then Schwede decided he would make it a charity event--this year it benefits the Navy Relief Society.

Eventually, Schwede said his goal is for the Schooner Cup to be a lead-in to the America’s Cup, which is expected to be held in San Diego in May, 1992.