Roll, roll, roll your boat

Coral Wilson

A strong breeze added to the challenge on Sunday for the 61

laser-class and 9 byte-class small sailboats competing in the 68th

annual Flight of the Lasers race.

The first boats to return to the Newport Harbor Yacht Club were

not the winners, but those that had capsized, dunking their skippers.

“I fell out of my boat and flipped probably seven times and one

death roll,” Nicholas Ramming, 10, said. “I’m only 71 pounds, and it is really windy out, so I kept flipping.”

Undiscouraged by his early return to shore, Nicholas said falling

in the water is all part of the fun.

“It’s fun to go out there, and it’s cool to go fast, and it’s fun

to flip over and go in the water,” he said.

Christopher Segerblom, 11, said the wind was heavy and he and his

brother were too light, causing them to capsize multiple times.

Eventually, they had to call for assistance.

“We sort of just didn’t have the best day,” he said.

Some sailors said they enjoyed the wind, which added to the

excitement.

“It was really fun,” Brooks Clark, 12, said after finishing the

race. “We got a puff going downwind at 20 knots, we started planing

and then we shot off like a rocket.”

The event, co-hosted by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach

Chamber of Commerce and the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, attracts

serious competitors of all ages and many sailors who just wanted to

have a good time.

Blair Belling, 14, and Mary Buckingham, 13, said they didn’t

expect their sailing skills to earn them a trophy, but they hoped to

win for their creativity.

They have won in the past for Best Decorated Boat, but Mary said

“the competition is getting harder and harder every year.”

Decorating their boat with neon flowers, balloons and peace signs,

they also wore neon green and orange wigs and false eyelashes. They

had a bag of candy to throw to people and they painted their neon

T-shirts with puffy paint that read, “Peace, Love, Lasers.”

“Everyone is out there to have a good time,” said 24-year-old Adam

Deermount, second place winner. “It’s not too serious, but there are

some pretty good trophies.”

Deermount, a program director at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club,

said it was fun to compete with many of his past and present

students.

Mike Segerblom, 40, said he didn’t expect to win the entire race,

but after sailing bow to bow with another boat for much of the

distance, he was disappointed when he finally lost to the competing

18-year-old skipper.

“He was young and agile, and I was old and decrepit,” he said. “So

it was a good battle, but I lost it.”

Cindy and Jack Buffa enjoyed the sun while they waited for the

return of their 13-year-old daughter, Karafaye Buffa. Karafaye is the

fifth generation of competitive sailors in her family.

“It’s a passion that’s in the blood, it’s in the genes,” Cindy

Buffa said. “It’s clean living for the kids, because kids today just

need a healthy sport and a healthy environment to live around.”

Like many others, Karafaye arrived wet after capsizing her boat.

But she said sailing has taught her some important life lessons.

“If something happens, just keep going,” she said.

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at coral.wilson@latimes.com.