NEWPORT BEACH

The 43rd annual Prince of Wales Bowl, a four-day regatta of small-boat races, kicked off Wednesday with some of the nation’s best sailors taking to the water off Newport Beach.

The event is considered the championship competition for United States one-on-one match racing, said Chuck Kober, Prince of Wales Bowl chairman for the U.S. Sailing Assn. In four days of racing, the bowl pits 10 three-person crews of Santana 20-class boats against each other, a format that sailors say makes for fast, energetic competition.