The fore and aft of a yacht race

The Newport to Ensenada race is one of the world’s largest international yacht races. The race, which covers 125 miles, is a sporting venue for boats of all sizes and skippers of all ages and levels of ability. Kicking off with a spectacular, start and ending with a Mexican fiesta, this race is one of the racing world’s most colorful events. Even those who don’t own a boat can experience the Newport to Ensenada race, thanks to an exhibit at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.

“One of the things the museum must do is put this all in context ? here’s the trophies, but what do they mean?” said museum director David Muller.

For the third year in a row, photos and artifacts from the race’s 58 years are on display for all to see.

The exhibit runs through April 26, and the 59th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race kicks off April 28 in Newport Beach.

Most of the exhibit material was compiled by the National Ocean Sailing Assn., the organization that runs the race, said association commodore Jane Benson.

The exhibit includes the 48 trophies that are presented to the winners in the various classes. Other than at the winners table in Ensenada, the museum exhibit is the only time the trophies are displayed together. Winners usually keep the trophies for one year.

“They’re all so neat and they’ve all got such history with them,” Benson said of the trophies.

Each trophy is different: a sculpture of a breaching whale or a sparkling crystal bowl. Many have been donated by race sponsors over the years and reflect the donor. Tommy Bahama, which served as race sponsor several years ago, contributed a trophy shaped like a bowl filled with pineapples, in keeping with the company’s tropical motif.

“This hardware is actually artwork, and sailing is a part of Newport’s heritage,” Muller said.

New to the exhibit this year is a display of safety equipment boat skippers must carry onboard, including medical supplies and flare guns. The items illustrate the balance between the fun and the risks of the race.

“These guys don’t take on the ocean too lightly,” Muller said.

The exhibit and collaboration with the National Ocean Sailing Assn. is just one of the ways the museum is seeking to forge alliances with local groups.

Once the museum moves across the harbor to its new location at the Fun Zone on the Balboa Peninsula, Muller hopes to partner with other sailing organizations.

Museum visitors, he said, could be guided over to a real sailboat at the Newport Sea Base or the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship.

“That completes an experience that when they get home that’s all that they’re going to talk about,” Muller said.dpt-24-water-dl-CPhotoInfoLQ1P984Q20060324iwm62mknDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)David Muller, director of museum, David Garcia, vice-commodore, and Jane Benson, NOSA commodore, left to right, find nostalgia in the Newport-Ensenada race as they look at old trophies.