Race hits hard times

For a photo gallery of the start of the race, click here.

CORONA DEL MAR — Not even sunny skies or calm waters could hide the cloud hanging over this year’s Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race which began Friday afternoon.

Organizers saw a nearly 20% drop from the average number of yachts racing in the annual trip which traditionally culminates in a party in the Mexican border town.

Due to recent drug violence in towns such as Ensenada, Tijuana, and Rosarito, many sailors and fans have scaled back their plans, or decided not to participate at all.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert earlier this month warning because of the increase in carjackings and armed robberies in the area.

David Beek, the port captain at Balboa Yacht Club, normally travels to Ensenada and gets a room at the Hotel Coral and Marina to enjoy the race festivities.

But he decided to stay home for the first time in 10 years because of the border violence. Beek said he’s been hearing the same sentiment from others stopping by his fuel station on the water.

“I talked to hundreds of people who aren’t going,” Beek said. “It’s 100% the conditions at Ensenada north. I know a lot of boats that would just go down and party, but a lot of them are just crossing the finish line and coming back.”

In the last two days, Beek said he’s fueled 300 boats involved with the race.

“I’m on the water all day, every day and the fuel dock is like the barbershop of the marine industry,” Beek said. “You just sit around and talk and hear all the gossip. If you ever wanted to find out what was going on in a small town, you go to a barbershop. If you ever want to find out what’s going on on the water, go to the fuel dock.”

Unfavorable wind conditions were another reason for the drop in boats this year, said Bill Long II, the spokesman for Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, the host of the event. The Newport-Ensenada race usually fields about 475 yachts on average. This year, that number dropped to 388.

Boats started the 125-nautical-mile race in about six knots of wind, which dropped to four. Still, most boats had their spinnakers up before sailing out of view.

“The last couple of years, the wind has not been great,” Long said. “When the wind is not great, sometimes the sailors decide to skip a year because it takes a lot out of you when there’s no wind. With the economy and the perception of what’s been going on in Mexico, this has been an off year.”

While the largest Maxi boats — notably Doug Baker’s Magnitude 80 and Jim Madden’s Stark Raving Mad III — may require carbon fiber sails that can run upward of $100,000 apiece, the race also attracts boats and skippers which are decidedly less posh.

For them, the downturn in the U.S. economy may have been enough to skip a race.

“Smaller boats might have taken this year off because of the fuel costs,” Long said. “There’s plenty of money still in sailing. You have to have money to race. But for some of the people who do it just to have fun might have taken this year off.

Roy E. Disney’s Pyewacket holds the race record for monohulls (10 hours, 44 minutes, 54 seconds in 2003). The late Steve Fossett holds the record for multihulls (6 hours 46, minutes, 40 seconds in 1998). His was the only boat ever to finish before sundown.

Boats must finish before the deadline at 11 a.m. Sunday to be officially scored as finishing.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].