Wind is no friend

The wind was neither strong nor steady outside Newport Harbor Friday, but it was enough to fill the sails and get the boats on their way for the 59th annual Lexus Newport to Ensenada race.

More than 400 boats, ranging in size from 25 feet to 96 feet, took off on the coastal trip from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico, on Friday. Depending on winds, the first boats could reach Ensenada by this morning.

For everyone involved, the event touted as the world’s largest international yacht race is always fun.

“It brings two countries closer together in a spirit of outdoor enjoyment, competition and camaraderie,” said marine artist Scott Kennedy, who has done paintings of the race since he was 13 years old.

A few hours before the start of the race Friday, the yacht clubs along Bayside Drive were bustling. Crews in matching vests and jackets ran around the docks as they made last-minute preparations to the racing yachts. Boats of all sizes made their way out the mouth of Newport Harbor to position themselves for the staggered start times beginning at noon.

Minutes before the first start, the water just outside the Newport Harbor jetties was packed with hundreds of boats dancing around one another ? the skippers trying their best to avoid collisions.

When the gun went off at noon, the big Maxi class boats pushed through the start line, some just feet apart. The crew members were hurrying around the deck, yelling commands as the boats slipped past the spectators and headed out to sea.

Most onlookers, race organizers and boaters agree that the race start is a spectacle, but it’s more about bragging rights than strategy.

“It’s more important for the showmanship of it because it’s a 120-mile race and anything can happen,” said Lynn Noah, director of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

Artist Guadalupe Gaos has seen the race finish more than a dozen times, but Friday was her first glimpse at the start.

“It’s very different,” said Gaos, who lives in Ensenada.

Gaos specializes in copper plate etchings, and much of her artwork focuses on boats and the Newport to Ensenada race.

“The boat is very important to me,” Gaos said.

When the boats come in for the finish, spectators watch from the bluffs in Ensenada, and it’s hard to get a close-up look, Gaos said. After watching the start from a boat Friday, Gaos said she’ll capture the image in her mind and create an etching.dpt.29-newport-ens-4-BPhotoInfo381QFAMO20060429iygo5dncPHOTOS BY MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)dpt.29-newport-ens-3-CPhotoInfo381QFAKH20060429iygo93ncPHOTOS BY MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, members of Pyewacket’s crew stand on deck as the boat makes its way out of Newport Harbor before the start of the Newport to Ensenada race. Below, Dorthy Heranic or Orange watches boats prepare to leave the harbor.