Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race

The Annual Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race is a 125-nautical-mile International Yacht Race. First run in 1948, sailors gather each spring in Newport Beach, California, to take part in one of the West Coast's premier regattas. The Newport to Ensenada yacht Race (N2E) is a race to the city of Ensenada, Baja California.

A well loved and always amazing SoCal event is the legendary Newport Beach to Ensenada Mexico yacht race now in its 69th year. This race was hatched by old school die hard sailors at the Balboa Yacht Club on Bayside Drive, and the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

Humphrey Bogart was among the original instigators of the first official race in 1948, and sailed, along with Spencer Tracy and Errol Flynn (each in their own boats) into the local history books. As one of the largest sailboat races in the nation the ‘The Ensenada Race’ is a top event for a broad spectrum of yachts - classes from day sailors to world class maxi racers. Other notable racers have include: Walter Chronkite, movie producer Milton Bren, well-known actors Buddy Ebsen, comedienne Vicki Lawrence, and Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Paul Conrad, It’s an awesome spectacle to see the coast immediately around the starting line as hundreds of boats jockey for position, and spectators on other boats and on shore line the coast.

Historically the starting point was close to the Newport Harbor entrance in Corona Del Mar, but thanks in part to the heavy boat traffic at the harbor mouth the starting line was re-positioned some years ago to just offshore of the Balboa Pier on the Balboa Peninsula.

The modern Newport to Ensenada race is organized and run by the Newport Ocean Sailing Association. The record for fastest time (6 hours, 46 minutes and 40 seconds) was set in 1998 by Stars & Stripes, captained by America's Cup sailing champion Dennis Conner.

With over 20 classes, the race provides competitive classes for a variety of sea-going sailboats ranging from large ultra-light and maxi-yachts to smaller yachts in non-spinnaker classes.

Doug Baker’s Andrews 80 from Long Beach "Magnitude 80", holds a race record for monohulls of 10 hours 37 minutes 50 seconds—7 minutes 3 seconds faster than the record of 10:44:54 set by Roy E. Disney’s Pyewacket III, a Reichel/Pugh 77 in 2003.

The multihull record of 6:46:40 set by Steve Fossett’s 60-foot Stars and Stripes catamaran in 1998 remains intact as the only boat ever to finish before sundown, although in 2014 two Maxi trimarians finished in under 8 hours, finishing the race in 7:40 & 7:42 respectively: "Orion" followed by "Mighty Merloe".

...
Wikipedia