Conner First to Get to Ensenada; Lack of Wind Leaves Others Behind

Lack of wind has made a shambles out of the 43rd Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, only 30 boats had finished the 125-mile course, and 72 more reported that they were abandoning the race.

First to finish at 7:33 a.m. Saturday was the catamaran Stars and Stripes, skippered by Dennis Conner of San Diego in an elapsed time of 19 hours 33 minutes, four hours slower than he finished last year.

The first monohull to finish was the ULDB-70 Taxi Dancer, skippered by Mitchell Rouse of the California Yacht Club, which finished at 12:10 p.m. One minute behind Taxi Dancer was Roy Disney’s ULDB-70 Pyewachet. Six other ULDB-70’s finished between 12 and 1 p.m.

Winds were light again on Todos Santos Bay, which means a long night for the boats still at sea.