And away they go

Alex Coolman

NEWPORT BEACH -- It was one of the more remarkable beginnings in the

53-year history of the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race.

It just wasn’t remarkable in the way its organizers had hoped.

Problems with the orange plastic buoys that were used to designate the

starting line held up the beginning of the race for more than an hour

Friday as organizers scrambled to salvage what was originally intended to

be a faster start than in previous years.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in racing yachts circled listlessly off

Newport Harbor while contest boats picked up and dropped the buoys,

trying to position them in a way that would prevent them from drifting.

At one point, an official boat motored back into Newport Harbor to pick

up anchoring cinder blocks that had been accidentally left on the dock.

Finally, at about 1:15 p.m., the 53rd annual race got underway. The

spectacle for which the event is known replaced the atmosphere of queasy

anticipation that had been afflicting many a boater.

At the offshore starting line, the biggest of the big boats cruised

smoothly, their golden Kevlar mainsails full in the wind.

Ultra-fast yachts like Pyewacket, America’s Challenge, Merlin, Christine

and Ragtime pressed together like so many floating skyscrapers.

The boats will sail for about 11 hours -- depending on the wind -- on the

125-mile voyage to Ensenada. Winners will be announced at a

south-of-the-border award ceremony Sunday afternoon.

The problems with this year’s start were the last thing organizers

wanted. The 2000 event was the first to feature three starting lines

instead of two.

The point of the additional line, ironically, was to make the start more

efficient. But the snafu with the buoys meant that some classes of boats

didn’t get a chance to cross the starting line until late in the

afternoon.

Despite the difficulties with the course, Friday’s race offered beautiful

sailing conditions. An early morning overcast layer burned off by midday

and the fairly light wind began to pick up by the time the race actually

started.

With the benefit of these conditions, the tall masts of the boats soon

shrank down to white sails on the horizon, Ensenada-bound.

REFER: For additional coverage of the 53rd Newport to Ensenada

International Yacht Race, see Terrance Phillips’ Harbor Column on Page

A15.