Safety seminar for sailors

The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. (NOSA) hosts a safety and educational seminar Wednesday.

The seminar is from 6 to 8 p.m. at West Marine Newport Beach, 900 W. Coast Hwy. Two more seminars are scheduled for March 27 in San Diego and Dana Point.

Officials say participants will receive safety information and strategies pertaining to the 2013 Lexus Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, which is scheduled to set off from Balboa Pier on April 26.

While NOSA organizes these seminars yearly, the need for them was heightened after four sailors on the Aegean died during the Newport-to-Ensenada race last April.

The seminars are suggested for sailors setting out on an overnight race for the first time.

With safety emphasized, officials will recommend two people on deck at all times. Other topics include watch management, shift schedules, proper provisioning of boats for the race and equipment needed by skippers.

NOSA spokesman Jerry Moulton said in a news release that each seminar is also a venue for 30 to 50 racers, old and new, to mingle and share success stories and mistakes.

“Overnight racing is an amazing experience, and the ability to switch sails in the varying conditions adds to the chess-board-like strategy we all encounter in the N2E,” Keith Magnussen, sales manager of new sponsor Ullman Sails, said in the release.

Representatives from Ullman Sails, which will provide a backpack to race participants, will be at each seminar discussing the choice of the right sails based on wind and weather conditions.

rhea.mahbubani@latimes.com

Twitter: @RMahbubani

If You Go

What: Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.’s Race Seminar

Where: West Marine Newport Beach, 900 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach

When: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday

Cost: Free

Information: (949) 645-1711 or https://www.newporttoensenda.com