Newport Ocean Sailing Assn

The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.'s 35th annual Argosy Race from Newport Beach to Long Beach and back is scheduled today and Sunday for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet and Offshore Racing Catamaran Assn. boats.

New safety measures will be taken for this year's annual Newport-to-Ensenada boat race following the deaths of four sailors in last year's contest -- the first fatalities in the 66-year history of the race. Nearly 200 boats are entered in this year's edition of the 125-mile race, which in its heyday drew celebrities such as Humphrey Bogart and Walter Cronkite. For the first time, skippers who enter their boats in the cruising class will not be permitted to use autopilot while motoring, either day or night, according to the race's media officer, Rich Roberts.

Organizers of the famed Newport Beach-to-Ensenada sailing regatta were stunned by the mysterious loss of four crew members aboard a 37-foot boat that disappeared in mid-race, marking the first fatalities in the event's 65-year history. While the U.S. Coast Guard was still investigating the accident, regatta organizers said they believed the boat was hit and demolished by a much larger ship - perhaps a freighter or tanker - passing in the dark early Saturday. The boat disappeared from the online tracking system around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

The 42nd annual Newport-to-Ensenada Yacht Race begins at noon today at the entrance of Newport Harbor. But the most impressive vantage point to watch the 600 sailboats will be on dry land. Best views: While scores of spectators will board charter boats to watch the start of the international race, the most spectacular views can be found from the bluffs above Corona del Mar, said Lorin Weiss, general chairman of the race, which is sponsored by the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. Other views: Other viewing spots for the parade of sailboats--many of them multimillion-dollar beauties up to 70 feet long--stretch south from atop the Balboa Pier all the way out to the harbor entrance.

Forget about any records in the 42nd Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race. Mother Nature took care of that Friday night. The race started in a light five-to-seven knot southerly breezes that dwindled to near zero off the Coronados Islands south of South Diego. Dennis Conner, in Stars & Stripes, was spotted off Rosarito Beach, about 75 miles from Ensenada, with no wind. He called the committee boat about 9 p.m. and said he was still sitting off Rosarito Beach with no wind. Doug Wall, Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.

The 42nd Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race dragged to a close Sunday when the last of the 406 boats remaining in the race eased across the finish line shortly before the finish deadline at 11 a.m. How slow was the race? The official report from the sponsoring Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. said that 406 of the 520 starters crossed the line under sail, making it one of the slowest on record. The slowness of the race didn't dampen the spirits of the hundreds who crowded the patio of the Bahia Hotel to witness the trophy presentation that officially ended the race.

The waters off the Newport Beach jetty will be obscured by Dacron at noon today when 555 yachts jockey for the start of the 39th Newport-to-Ensenada race, the biggest international sailing race in the world. Officials of the sponsoring Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.

New safety measures will be taken for this year's annual Newport-to-Ensenada boat race following the deaths of four sailors in last year's contest -- the first fatalities in the 66-year history of the race. Nearly 200 boats are entered in this year's edition of the 125-mile race, which in its heyday drew celebrities such as Humphrey Bogart and Walter Cronkite. For the first time, skippers who enter their boats in the cruising class will not be permitted to use autopilot while motoring, either day or night, according to the race's media officer, Rich Roberts.

Organizers of the famed Newport Beach-to-Ensenada sailing regatta were stunned by the mysterious loss of four crew members aboard a 37-foot boat that disappeared in mid-race, marking the first fatalities in the event's 65-year history. While the U.S. Coast Guard was still investigating the accident, regatta organizers said they believed the boat was hit and demolished by a much larger ship - perhaps a freighter or tanker - passing in the dark early Saturday. The boat disappeared from the online tracking system around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

There were two types of sailors sitting on the dock of the bay Friday morning just hours before the start of the 48th annual Newport-to-Ensenada International Yacht Race. * There were those plotting strategy to win the race, and those who mingled with Bloody Marys in hand, strategizing the quickest way to reach Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada.

The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.'s 35th annual Argosy Race from Newport Beach to Long Beach and back is scheduled today and Sunday for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet and Offshore Racing Catamaran Assn. boats.

The 42nd Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race dragged to a close Sunday when the last of the 406 boats remaining in the race eased across the finish line shortly before the finish deadline at 11 a.m. How slow was the race? The official report from the sponsoring Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. said that 406 of the 520 starters crossed the line under sail, making it one of the slowest on record. The slowness of the race didn't dampen the spirits of the hundreds who crowded the patio of the Bahia Hotel to witness the trophy presentation that officially ended the race.

Forget about any records in the 42nd Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race. Mother Nature took care of that Friday night. The race started in a light five-to-seven knot southerly breezes that dwindled to near zero off the Coronados Islands south of South Diego. Dennis Conner, in Stars & Stripes, was spotted off Rosarito Beach, about 75 miles from Ensenada, with no wind. He called the committee boat about 9 p.m. and said he was still sitting off Rosarito Beach with no wind. Doug Wall, Newport Ocean Sailing Assn.

The 42nd annual Newport-to-Ensenada Yacht Race begins at noon today at the entrance of Newport Harbor. But the most impressive vantage point to watch the 600 sailboats will be on dry land. Best views: While scores of spectators will board charter boats to watch the start of the international race, the most spectacular views can be found from the bluffs above Corona del Mar, said Lorin Weiss, general chairman of the race, which is sponsored by the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. Other views: Other viewing spots for the parade of sailboats--many of them multimillion-dollar beauties up to 70 feet long--stretch south from atop the Balboa Pier all the way out to the harbor entrance.

Steve Jacobson of Newsday recently mused about the recent concern about "exploitation" of student-athletes. The more he looked at it, the better it looked. "If you consider that at a number of schools, an athletic scholarship is good for five years, a full ride can be worth $100,000. Not to mention the value of an education in the marketplace. Maybe there's a chance to be a multimillionaire superstar. Maybe they live in the privacy of athletic dormitories, known familiarly as beast barracks."

There were two types of sailors sitting on the dock of the bay Friday morning just hours before the start of the 48th annual Newport-to-Ensenada International Yacht Race. * There were those plotting strategy to win the race, and those who mingled with Bloody Marys in hand, strategizing the quickest way to reach Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada.

Lorin Weiss has been associated with the Newport-Ensenada International Yacht Race race since 1952--almost from the beginning. But he has never seen it because he has always been in the middle of it--"racing or on the committee," he said. Weiss is general chairman of the 42nd event this year, and he marvels at how it has changed in becoming the world's largest international sailboat race. "In '52, you could get a complete lobster dinner in Ensenada for $2, and a bottle of tequila was 50 cents," he recalled.

Steve Jacobson of Newsday recently mused about the recent concern about "exploitation" of student-athletes. The more he looked at it, the better it looked. "If you consider that at a number of schools, an athletic scholarship is good for five years, a full ride can be worth $100,000. Not to mention the value of an education in the marketplace. Maybe there's a chance to be a multimillionaire superstar. Maybe they live in the privacy of athletic dormitories, known familiarly as beast barracks."