Yacht race sets sail

Alex Coolman

CORONA DEL MAR -- The 43rd annual Prince of Wales Bowl, a four-day

regatta of small-boat races, kicked off Wednesday with some of the

nation’s best sailors taking to the water off Newport Beach.

The event is considered the championship competition in the country

for one-on-one match racing, said Chuck Kober, Prince of Wales Bowl

chairman for the U.S. Sailing Assn.

In four days of racing, the event pits 10 three-man crews of Santana

20-class boats against each other, a format that sailors say makes for

fast, energetic competition.

“It’s pretty fierce,” despite the humble appearance of the small

boats, said Greer Scholes, who was competing along with teammates Tom and

Marlene Healey for the Island Heights Yacht Club of Island Heights, N.J.

Tom Healey said the compact size of a Santana 20 can make for more

exciting sailing than is possible in bigger vessels.

“We can do a lot in short distances,” he said. “You get a lot of races

in, and it’s a lot more physical. There’s a lot of energy involved.”

The event is run on a match race format, which means only two boats

race against each other in any given competition.

Balboa Yacht Club member Nick Scandone, who was clipping a sail on a

line in preparation for racing as part of UC Irvine’s team, said the

competition format means sailors have to use different techniques than

they would in fleet or team racing, which see large groups of boats

moving at the same time.

Starting techniques, which can often be the factor that determines who

wins and loses the short races, are significantly different than those

used in fleet racing, Scandone said.

“It doesn’t matter how close you are to the starting line as long as

you’re ahead of the other person. In the pre-start maneuvers, you want to

get the other guy in a position where you have the right of way.”

Although the competition is named for the Prince of Wales, Prince

Charles did not attend Wednesday’s opening ceremonies at the Balboa Yacht

Club.

Race organizers noted, however, that they had received a kind letter

from the prince.