ON THE WATER -- A race to inspect

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Sandy Mills looks at it as a good excuse for a

thorough spring cleaning.

An avid sailor who has participated in the Newport to Ensenada

International Yacht Race for 20 years, she knows that the regulars

usually have all the necessary equipment on board and just have to get

organized.

But not everyone who enters the world’s largest international yacht

race spends as much time out at sea. And that’s why Mills and about 40

other volunteers inspect boats in harbors from San Diego to Santa Barbara

to make sure that everyone’s heading to Ensenada with their safety taken

care of.

The race “attracts lots of people that only race once a year,” Mills

said Wednesday while readying to inspect another boat. Altogether, she

checked out about 40 ships this year.

“It’s important to make sure that they have what they need,” she said.

Mills has had a thing for sailing ever since she met her husband,

Doug, as a 5-year-old in a yacht club in Northern California. Both of

them had dinghies with outboards and bonded over fishing, she said.

She’s been a member of the Newport to Ensenada race committee and

somehow just got involved in safety inspections a few years ago.

Mainly, it’s a fun thing to do, she said, adding that she gets to meet

lots of people and their boats.

Then it was time to follow Carolyn Hardy out to her Mischief to do her

inspection work.

“Did they pass you, Gene?” Hardy yelled down the bay to a neighbor

busy working on his boat.

“They had everything but the soft plugs, and they were in the car,”

Mills jumped in.

So much for the neighbors. Hardy’s boat passed the outside inspection

with no problems at all, having railings in place around the entire deck

and a blue and yellow class flag displayed in the back. That’s important

for the send-off, Mills explained, to make sure no one tries to sneak

into a different class.

Climbing down to the boat’s interior, Mills continued down her check

list.

“You’ve got a bilge pump... Have to have a first aid kit... A ship

compass... And a spare -- we need flashlights,” she said, with Hardy

pointing out the items requested.

“I see you got a lot of chips there,” Mills went on. “Life vests for

the crew?”

Mischief passed the inspection without any problems. Even less vital

items, such as a Mexican flag that gets hoisted in Ensenada as a courtesy

to the hosts, were on hand.

That’s not always the case, Mills said, adding that random follow-up

checks happen at the end of the race to make sure people kept everything

on board.

The required two anchors, which add weight to the light race boats, is

a case in point.

“They don’t like to carry anchors,” Mills said. “But if something

should happen, you need them.”

And with her duties on the Mischief completed, Mills handed Hardy a

certificate. That’s the only way boats can get in the race.

“It’s an ax we’re holding over their heads,” she said, laughing.