Showing the stuff winners are made of

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Four things set apart the winners in the annual

Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, four crucial factors that turn

world-class competitors into first-place winners: “Preparation,

preparation, preparation and luck.”

The Tommy Bahama Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, which will begin at

noon today, owes much of its success to its popular appeal. Its theme of

fun and camaraderie draws entries from the ranks of boaters who usually

would never dream of pitting their sails against the likes of Steve

Fossett or Roy Disney.

But, while in some ways the race is a floating party, at the same time

it’s an amazing, dead-serious competition -- one only the best can win.

“One area is boat preparation -- you have to be in good repair,” said

Fred Slocum, vice commodore of this year’s race. “Then there’s crew

preparation. The more serious people go out sailing regularly before the

race to get ready, to do practices. The third aspect is preparation

regarding the weather.”

While it may seem like everyone’s in the same boat (so to speak)

weather-wise, the truth is this universal factor really has a way of

separating the best from the rest.

By checking weather patterns twice a day for the week before the race,

skilled sailors can make what may be the most crucial decision in the

race: whether to stay close to the shore or head a few miles farther out

in hopes of catching some favorable winds. It’s always a trade-off,

always a gamble, because a boat adds several miles to its trip by heading

farther out to sea.

Last year, the gamble paid off. Sailors who raced to Ensenada from a

position 15 to 30 miles offshore, near the Coronado Islands, were

rewarded with winds between eight and 16 knots.

Stark Raving Mad, James Madden’s J160 from the Newport Harbor Yacht

Club, sailed to the spot of overall winner on corrected time last year

after sailing about 13 to 14 miles outside the Coronado Islands.

But winds, especially in this part of the world, are unpredictable at

best. This year’s conditions are looking favorable: The National Weather

Service is predicting that by Friday night, northwest winds will be 20 to

30 knots, waves will reach 3 to 5 feet high and a northwest swell will be

9 to 12 feet at 10 seconds.This seems to spell a big departure from last

year’s race, when ideal breezes helped Roy Disney’s Pyewacket cross the

finish line first. The 73-foot Reichle/Pugh, however, was not a

first-place winner on corrected time.

Corrected time, of course, is everything in this race.

“The winner is not necessarily the boat that finishes first. It’s the

boat that is sailed best according to that boat’s performance

capabilities,” Slocum said.

And though this criteria serves to give all the sailors a fighting

chance, everyone knows that the high-performance catamarans and the

ultralight displacement boats rule the race.

Nonetheless, the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn., which puts on the race,

continues to add to its 20-plus classes, giving even more sailors a

chance to win. The double-handed class first introduced last year is just

for two-person teams. Entries in that category have nearly double this

year to about 16.

Also new in recent years is the Carolyn Starr trophy, awarded to

all-female crews. This year, at least three women-only crews are expected

to compete for that trophy.

But across all categories, don’t be too surprised if the winner is an

internationally known sailor. After all, this year’s 450 entries include

world-class sailors Dennis Conner and Gino Morrelli, Southern California

favorites like Bill Gibbs and Fred Preiss, and Transpac-winner Seth

Radow.

This year, they are all expected to show what kind of stuff winners

are made of.

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

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