Gypsy makes it to Ensenada

Coral Wilson

At 5 a.m. the finish line for the Tommy Bahama Newport to Ensenada

yacht race was already in sight, but it was still a long way to the

end. Gypsy bobbed slowly on the water and the waves gently tickled

her sides.

In a bleary-eyed state of exhaustion, it is easy to forget that

seconds might make all the difference. Time seems to be in abundance

but experienced skippers know that the passing minutes count.

As the crew struggled with lines and sails and watched for signs

of wind, nature remained unsympathetic to human impatience. The crew

submitted, gratefully accepting every puff.

“Come on Gypsy girl,” Camille Daniels urged the boat on.

Under a crescent moon, Ensenada’s lights reflected on the glossy,

black water. The faint red and green lights of boats speckled the

horizon. In the early morning haze, the boats floated like ghosts in

the night, with large white sails and colorful spinnakers.

Suddenly, the sailboats appeared with the light. They were

everywhere.

“Pretty weird, you are all alone for all that time and here’s

everybody,” watch captain Seth Morrell said.

Through binoculars, Daniels was able to identify some of the

competition. Boats Cadenza and Amante hovered nearby. Gypsy, a

30-year-old, 52 foot, Columbia sailboat was in the company of much

larger, faster boats.

Moving wave by wave, inch by inch, the sailboats moved steadily

toward the finish line. Excellent conditions and feisty winds had

brought the boat this far but the race had come to a painful

standstill. The knotmeter hit zero.

On his 24th time sailing the race, Skipper Steve Washburn warned

his crew that, less than a mile from the finish, the race still might

take hours.

Gypsy was a well-sailed boat under six previous owners but this

race was its second, skippered by Washburn. The previous year, the

steering gear broke and the race ended abruptly at Dana Point.

This year, determined to put together the best crew to make a

winning team, Washburn, 46, collected crewmembers from his years of

past sailing experience.

Two college sailing team friends from UC Irvine, Morell of Chicago

and Tom Burton of Minnesota, flew in for the event. Past colleague

from Dallas, Neale Hickerson and his 19-year-old son Marc Hickerson,

joined in. Longtime friend Daniels of Seal Beach offered years of

sailing experience. Emmet Holden arrived Friday morning from Chicago.

And Washburn brought his 13-year-old son, Steve (Stevie) Washburn Jr.

“Steve is a well-known and accomplished sailor so when a guy like

Steve asks you to go sailing, it is usually a good deal,” Morrell

said.

For Washburn, he said the boat is as special as the people he

chose to crew it. Gypsy is similar to a boat Washburn sailed as a

child with his father. Now he lives on his boat and is happy to share

the experience of sailing with his three sons.

“It’s a dream come true, it really is,” Washburn said.

Hours at sea passed quickly, making new friends, catching up with

old ones and recalling stories of the years gone by. Over and over it

was said how fast the time had passed.

“It’s strange,” Morrell said. “I don’t feel very old.”

“Sometimes don’t you just look at the mirror and say, ‘Oh my, what

happened?’” Daniels said.

“This is part of every race, men talking about their mortality,”

Holden said.

Although Washburn, Morrell and Burton had gone on to win national

sailing titles, they hadn’t come together to race since their days in

college.

“I still see the same qualities, maybe more maturity, more life

experience, wiser,” Burton said.

They each had children, some gray hair and more wrinkles.

“The things that made us like each other and be friends back then

still exist,” Morrell said.

The sailboat sliced through the water at a rapid pace -- 10.9,

11.4, 11.8 knots.

“We hit 11.8!” Morrell announced loudly to those sleeping below

deck.

Following a restless night of taking down the spinnaker, changing

sails, standing watch, steering the course and an eventful jibe, the

entire crew gathered on the deck for the crawl to the finish line.

When a sailboat silently crosses the finish line, there isn’t the

same initial celebration that exists with some other races. But the

victory is just as gratifying.

A single horn pierced through the morning air, followed by pats on

the back and congratulatory remarks. Arriving at 6:15 a.m., Washburn

said it was his fastest sail for the Ensenada race.

Gypsy motored into the marina just as the sun became visible.

“This is a classy arrival,” Seth said as Gypsy joined the likes of

larger boats. “We are looking pretty spiffy right now.”

The crew opened the beers, cleaned up and greeted new arrivals.

Washburn started breakfast, Stevie asked if there was a Taco Bell in

Mexico before settling down with his Nintendo, Holden and Burton

unsuccessfully searched for coffee and others took refuge and slept.

They would find out the final results later. For now, the crew

agreed, they were just going to enjoy the moment.

Gypsy finished at 14 hours, 6 minutes. It placed second in its

class, only 10 minutes behind Between The Sheets.

Pyewacket was the first monohull to cross the line at 10 hours, 44

minutes, beating Alchemy and setting a new course record for

monohulls.

Final sailing results can be viewed at www.nosa.org.