A closer look -- A new image, but old style, for yacht race

June Casagrande

It once was called the Tequila Derby -- a yacht race brimming with

parties that converged into a huge, wild Baja bash.

But now, say organizers, the party boy image of the legendary Newport

to Ensenada Yacht Race has grown up. Its mature, evolved image is now

personified by Tommy Bahama -- a fictional character who strives to

represent the perfect balance between lighthearted outdoor leisure and

upscale dignity.

“In the 55-year history of the race, it’s finally growing up,” said

Ralph Rodheim, president of Rodheim Marketing, which promotes the annual

race. “It’s going from its wild teen years of fun and frivolity to its

more young adult years of class and fun.”

Popularity has never been a problem for this, the largest

international yacht race. From its infancy in 1947 when planners expected

about 30 participants and ended up with 117, the race has been a hit.

Along with some of the best and best-known racers in the world, the event

also draws novice racers and boaters in it mainly for fun. But the price

of its success has been an image of the race that conjures up beer bashes

in Ensenada, Mexico, where “yachties” mixed with motorcycle gangs who

also converged on the peninsula party town for Cinco de Mayo

celebrations.

“It was just a free-for-all for years,” said Gino Morrelli, a Newport

Beach yacht designer who was part of the team that set the Newport to

Ensenada record in 1998 aboard Steve Fossett’s boat “Stars and Stripes.”

“It was known for being pretty wild back in the 1960s and ‘70s.”

Enter a new image

Partly by changing the race dates to avoid the Mexican holiday, and

partly as a result of the passing of time, the race’s wildest years faded

away. But the party image has persisted.

Enter Tommy Bahama, the fictional icon of the Tommy Bahama apparel and

restaurants. The company signed on this year as the event’s first title

sponsor, investing an undisclosed sum into a three-year deal for a mutual

image boost. The race is now named the Tommy Bahama Newport to Ensenada

Yacht Race.

“The Newport to Ensenada we felt was really a good reflection of the

lifestyle of Tommy Bahama -- a guy who loves the outdoors, especially

sand and sun, who loves adventure, loves competition,” said Julia

Jackson, corporate sponsorship director for Tommy Bahama.

Jackson explained that, though Bahama is fictional, the company likes

to emphasize the icon as a living person who embodies a sun-kissed brand

of upscale living.

“We felt the Ensenada race reflected all of that,” she said.

But the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn., which puts on the 125-mile race

each year, isn’t pinning all of the event’s new image on the fictional

character’s shoulders. Race events also now benefit the El Viento

Foundation, which helps children and young adults from the Oak View

community in Huntington Beach develop job skills through sailing and

water activities. A party at Tommy Bahama’s Newport Beach restaurant last

week raised about $10,000 for the charity.

But, proving that fun is a still a top priority for event planners,

the otherwise dignified fund-raiser was called the “Life is One Long

Weekend” party.

“The race is kind of a benchmark in a way for a lot of people who

don’t race very often,” said Morrelli, who has raced the Newport to

Ensenada about 15 times. “It’s one of the few races every year that a

wide range of people will aim at because it’s big, it goes someplace fun,

it’s relatively easy, it’s overnight. It’s an easy race to get to. It’s a

convenient, fun event that’s not super-challenging. Novice racers can get

their taste of ocean racing without heavy air or without too much of a

challenge.”

Still, fun’s a theme

Another draw for the less-than-world-class racer: Unlike races that go

to Hawaii or Australia, there are plenty of spots along the coastal race

route to bail out.

But the Newport to Ensenada also draws serious racers, creating some

some very serious competition. In odd-numbered years, when the Trans Pac

Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii is held, the Newport to Ensenada

serves as a season-opener and warmup for the Pacific competition.

“That’s what’s so unique about this race,” said Scott Zimmer, whose

65-foot sled “Ragtime” finished sixth last year in its ultralight

category. “It draws all kinds. . . . When you get past the jetty, all of

a sudden you see anywhere from 400 to 500 boats out there. It’s an

eye-opening experience the first time you see that. It’s really a sight

and it’s something you normally never see.”

Parties will persist as a hallmark of the race. After, all, the

Newport to Ensenada has a monopoly on fun no one wants to lose. But if

organizers have their way, tequila shooters will continue to fade away in

favor of martinis and mimosas. And, they hope, the result will be the

perfect balance between fun and laid-back maturity.

“We have to put on and continue to improve upon a quality event,”

Rodheim said. “In the long-term, the goal is to continually push toward

quality and not lose the camaraderie, the friendship and the fun.”

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .