Celebration’s a Sailing Point in Race : Boating: The party spirit is already aboard today’s 43rd annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race.

The boats are double-parked in the water outside two of Newport’s biggest yacht clubs. From the ropes and riggings fly the brightly colored signal flags of sailing clubs up and down the coast of California.

At noon today, with weather expected to be breezy and clear, the 43rd annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race will get under way. Sailors from all over the United States and Mexico congregate here for this race.

More than 3,000 people, ranging in age from 16 to over 70, will participate, including both novices and sailors as well known as America’s Cup winner Dennis Connors. On Thursday afternoon, the harbor was already crowded with people preparing their sloops, catamarans and schooners for the 126-mile race.

Larry Spencer was making last-minute checks of the riggings on his boat, the Blue Star.

“We’re just fine-tuning things today,” Spencer explained, adding that although his crew sails a lot of club races, this is one of its few overnight races. “For us it’s going to be very competitive. . . . We’re here because of the event of it all, and the chance to see what we can do.”

Tim Coker, who placed first last year in his boat class, is also hoping to do well, skippering the 27-foot Windbreaker. But luck, he says, is the biggest factor in the race, which takes the boats along the coast of Southern California, past the Coronado Islands to the Mexican town of Ensenada.

“Today they’re concentrating on getting their bottoms in shape and getting the rigs tuned properly,” Coker said, gesturing to the crews on neighboring boats. “And the party tonight is going to be another thing to concentrate on.”

“At this race, there’s something for everybody.”

By 4 p.m. Thursday, race festivities were already under way at the yacht clubs.

For John Abernatha, who was trying to find a mooring for his 30-foot boat called the Bad Company, the Newport race is the perfect opportunity to make racing fun. He said he and his family are looking forward to “the whole party thing” and have taken off a week from work so they can stay in Mexico and surf.

“We’re a pretty serious race crew, but this is really like a vacation for us,” Abernatha said.

Another group that takes the racing more lightly are the Prospectors, a group of attorneys and businessmen out of San Francisco. Over the 15 years they’ve been racing the Ensenada, Commodore John Roveda said, the Prospectors have come up with a number of stunts to liven up the race. One year they hired a string quartet to serenade them down the coast. The group also boasts the best meals on a ship, from rack of lamb to filet mignon.

“The crew must eat well, or we can’t get the high-quality people--people who don’t care if the win or not,” Roveda said with a grin.