Countdown to 75th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race

Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race © Lisa Bronitt Photography

Hosted by the Newport Ocean Sailing Association, the beloved 125-mile Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race sails Friday, April 28 for the 75th time.

140 sailboats, an eclectic mix of serious sailors campaigning multi-million-dollar yachts racing alongside recreational cruisers - from 30 to 85 feet - will cross the start line starting at 11 a.m. off the Balboa Pier. Skippers hail from nine different states and one from Ontario, Canada, and one from Mexico.

Racers will sail on one of two courses - the extended San Diego run around the Coronado Islands and the perennial favorite; the classic course to festive Ensenada. Sailing enthusiasts, friends, and family can watch the action from the end of the pier.

N2E has long been known as a family event. Sailing on Jerry Fiat's trophy-claiming Farrier 32 SRX Taniwha will be Peter Sangmeister. At 21, Sangmeister was tasked to pull the boat out of storage and put it together in preparation for Friday's ORCA class start. Just 10 minutes before the ORCA start will be the UL-MAXI Class in which Sangmeister's father John will be competing. John Sangmeister, a NOSA board member and speaker at last week's Yachtsman's Luncheon will helm Rock N Roll, an Andrews Dencho 68.

Returning for just his second year aboard a new L30 is Charles Ullman; son of sailing legend and Ullman Sails founder Dave Ullman, and grandson of NOSA founding member Charles Ullman. The eldest Ullman was the first handicap committee chairman and devised two racing categories; Long-Distance Racing and Arbitrary classes.

Last year Ullman sailed the first L30 in California in the Dana Point race. The boat, now named Dartt, is stepping up to the San Diego course. A sister ship, last seen on a trailer in Arizona, is registered for the Ensenada course. The skipper of that boat will be Rodion Luka, the brainchild of the L30 brand and a decorated Ukrainian yachtsman. Luka is a 2004 Olympic Games silver medallist, the 2005 Class 49er World Champion, a European Champion, a Volvo Ocean Racer, and President of the Sailing Federation of Ukraine.

Weather conditions are not projected to be akin to last year's near-gale conditions. Those 25+ knot winds blew Manouch Moshayed's Rio100, a custom Bakewell White, into Ensenada before sunset for a record-breaking elapsed time of 07:02:17. Not far aft in Rio100's wake, all but one in the Maxi fleet also broke the old record. Although John Brynjolfsson's TP52 Saga, missed the old record by mere minutes, he won the battle for best-in-class honors and left Mexico with three trophies.

2023 entry list available here.