Newport-to-Ensenada Racers Ready to Set Sail

If you want to learn how to sail the Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race, ask Vic Stern. He has not missed a single race in the past 29 years. And when the fleet sets sail Saturday, Stern plans to be on the starting line.

“Other people have sailed more races, but not consecutively and in the same boat,” says Stern, whose 43-foot catamaran is the first--and only--boat he has ever owned.

Stern also puts his experience to use helping run seminars for people who will be participating in the famous race for the first time.

The seminars, sponsored by the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn., are held up and down the coast from San Diego to Ventura until a week before the race, according to association President John Long. “First-time sailors attend because they know they will get all the facts about how to handle the race,” he says.

Stern, the seminar chairman and a former UC Berkeley navigation instructor, has put together a program that covers everything from race history to starting and finishing the 125-mile competition. Joining Stern in the presentation are Long, association general chairman Rod Woods and assistant chairman Jim Drury.

All four agree that racers must be prepared and well-organized.

“By organized, I mean not just sails and winches and equipment, but crew and subsystems, scheduling, watches and information flow,” Stern says.

And don’t forget the food.

Stern, who serves as skipper, navigator and chef aboard his boat, says: “My boat is renowned for its gourmet food and three kinds of beer. The whole idea of the race is that it should be reasonably good fun.”

That doesn’t mean that the racers don’t take the event seriously, he points out. After all, Stern has won his class three times. And this year he’ll be giving it his best--even though he’ll be racing in the same class as Dennis Conner’s America’s Cup-winning Stars and Stripes.

“I pay a lot of attention to detail, and I understand the physics of sailing and the mathematics of navigation, and on my boat we like to keep going at all times,” Stern says.

Although entries in the class in which Stern competes are at 32 boats, an all-time high, entries overall are down this year, from an average of 575 to about 475. Although some are blaming the recession for the poor turnout, Stern blames the weather. Racers “were probably disappointed the last couple of years because of light winds,” he says. Those conditions make for a “boring . . . frustrating and agonizing” race.

Even though entries are down, the event, now in its 45th year, is still the largest international yacht race in the world, Woods says. Over the years, the race grew from about 100 boats to a high of 675, eventually leveling out around 575 in recent years.

And during the past 45 years, the start date for the race has changed several times. It was originally the Thursday before the first weekend in May, so that it would be close to Cinco de Mayo. Then it was the last Friday in April. This year, however, race organizers picked a date that would not interfere with the America’s Cup trials in San Diego.

“Next year we’ll be going back to our regular schedule,” Woods says. “We changed it this year to get it in that narrow window between the America’s Cup defender trials and the finals. The (America’s Cup) preliminaries should be over by the time the Ensenada Race sets sail on Saturday.”

And when the fleet does set sail, Woods hopes that racers will remember that getting to Ensenada is only the half of it. “It’s 125 miles down there, but you’ve got to come back too,” he says. “That makes it a 250-mile run.”

The return can be exhausting, demanding excellent preparation as well, Stern is quick to remind seminar participants. To ensure a safe trip back, it is necessary to be ready for everything from calm weather to rough seas and 20 knots of wind.

“One thing we stress is that this is not a tequila derby. You are out at sea, and the sea is a stern taskmaster,” Stern says.

First-time racer Warren Black of Tustin is taking that advice to heart. “I’ve been planning for a year,” Black says. “I want to make sure I don’t forget anything, and I want to be sure and figure out how to get the boat back.”

Black, who says he expects to finish somewhere in the middle of the fleet, says he is entering not so much for the racing but for the experience he’ll gain in making the trip. What worries Black most about the race is “getting everything ready (for) the starting line.”

It is the start that worries Jim Walker too. Walker, who lives in Huntington Beach, who also will be sailing his first race Saturday, says he’s watched the starts and knows how hectic they can be.

“I just hope I can cross the line without getting run into,” he says.

Another new entrant is Bill Barham of Glendora, who will be sailing his Ranger 29. Barham is also worried about the start, but for a different reason. “I’m still not sure I’ll make the start,” Barham says. “I’m still trying to line up enough crew to go.”

Expert Advice. Another longtime Ensenada racer is 81-year-old Jack Baillie of Newport Beach. Baillie, who has sailed a whopping 42 of the races, will be on the starting line this Saturday.

Baillie, who has sailed the race in six different boats, is best known as skipper of NewsBoy, which he has sailed in 24 of the races. And Baillie has his own well-tested race theories: “Contrary to the advice that most people give, I am not in favor of a well-rested crew. You race hard, everybody races hard 60 minutes out of every hour for the whole race.”

But how can Baillie--at his age--keep going for 125 miles without rest? “I rely a lot on the younger guys in their 60s,” he says.

Race Parade. There will be an Ensenada Race Parade at 5 p.m. Thursday around Newport Harbor. It will start and end at the Balboa Yacht Club, 1801 Bayside Drive, Corona del Mar.

The parade is in honor of Mexican dignitaries, sailing association officers, city officials and officials with the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

For information, call the sailing association at (714) 640-1351.

Learn to Sail. If you’d like to learn how to sail so that you can take part in next year’s Ensenada Race, you can sign up for lessons in one of two classes being offered by the Dana Point Harbor Youth and Group Facility.

A class for beginners will meet from 9 to 11:30 a.m. May 16. Instructors promise to have you on the water controlling a boat in one day. Cost is $15.

An intermediate sailing course will be offered May 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cost for that class is $25.

For information, call (714) 661-7122.