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Racers target heart health

Bryce Alderton

Newport Harbor and Balboa yacht clubs often find themselves competing

against one another in sailing competitions, but, at least for one

event, volunteers from both will fuse their energies.

From May 20 to 22 off the Newport Pier, spectators will be treated

to speedy, state-of-the-art yachts navigating a buoy course in the

inaugural First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta, benefiting

Hoag Hospital.

The event, a fundraiser for Hoag’s Heart and Vascular Institute,

is expected to draw 20 of the world’s top-performing grand prix

racers of more than 50 feet, some owned by influential business

executives such as Roy Disney.

Top-caliber yachts scheduled to race include MaxZ86s, Transpac 52s

and Andrews 80s.

The weekend festivities actually begin May 19 with registration

and a reception at the Balboa Yacht Club.

The regatta is an event almost two years in the making.

In March 2003, Ron Guziak, executive director of the Hoag Hospital

Foundation, approached Jay Swigart, then the commodore at Newport

Harbor Yacht Club, about raising money for the hospital in a way that

took advantage of Newport Beach’s location as a sailing hotbed.

Swigart, the event co-chair along with fellow Newport Harbor Yacht

Club member Tim Madden, met with representatives from Balboa Yacht

Club, Hoag and First Team to begin brainstorming ways to raise money.

A competitive regatta further steeping Newport Beach’s stature

within the sailing world came to mind.

“The more we talked with [representatives from both clubs], the

more they wanted to help do something that is different and one of a

kind,” Guziak said.

Not just the beginning

Big boat sailing is rare here.

It has been at least 10 years since Newport has hosted amateurs

and professional sailors alike from around the world competing on a

big boat buoy racing course staged solely in a restricted area as

opposed to a “start and depart,” Swigart said.

“We wanted to have first-class racing,” said Swigart, 57, a

Newport Beach resident.

Robbie Haines, a former gold medalist who will skipper Disney’s

yacht, “Pyewacket,” is among the sailors scheduled to compete.

First Team, which worked with Hoag to raise money for the Heart

and Vascular Institute last year, welcomed the opportunity to be

involved.

“When the opportunity was presented to us to be part of this

exciting regatta, it seemed like a perfect fit,” said Cameron Merage,

president and chief executive of First Team. “We have represented

clients in the local yachting communities for nearly 30 years and

admire the unique combination of independence and teamwork it takes

to win at this sport.”

The regatta also offered an opportunity to work with the

community-oriented Hoag Hospital, said Debbie Lewandowski, the luxury

marketing director for First Team, who is also the manager of the

company’s Newport Beach office.

“We wanted to partner with an organization like Hoag who really

makes a difference, that serves, and where we can bring forth our

resources,” she said. “Since [Hoag’s] location is in Newport Beach,

we wanted to work with the two yacht clubs to put together an event

unlike anything on the West Coast.”

The races will provide sponsors an opportunity for exposure and a

little first-person experience.

“The idea is for corporations to buy a boat for the weekend and

put their name on the side of it to call their own,” Swigart said.

“From the sponsors’ perspectives, two people could ride in the back

of the boat and see first-hand what is going on.”

A course to see

The buoy courses restrict boats to a certain area, making races

spectator-friendly, Swigart said.

“You can watch from the beach or spectator boats,” Swigart said.

“It’s not like [racing] to Cabo [San Lucas] or Puerto Vallarta, when

you don’t get a sense of watching a race,” Swigart said.

Swigart said it would be difficult convincing boat owners and

sailors to make special reservations for a first-time regatta, so

some planning was involved.

Organizers scheduled the regatta between the annual

Newport-to-Ensenada race, scheduled April 22-24, and the Transpac

Yacht Race, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in July.

Racers in the Transpac, a biennial event, journey from Los Angeles

to Hawaii.

“The boats are in the area anyway,” Swigart said. “The [regatta]

will be a convenient addition and valuable part of the big boats’

West Coast sailing calendar.”

Yachts, if heading downwind, can reach speeds of 30 knots, or

almost 35 mph, Swigart said.

Swigart was part of a committee that selected the boats. Committee

members consulted rating systems such as the Performance Handicap

Racing Fleet rankings. The rankings are a locally administered

handicapping system that rates a yacht’s speed potential based on its

size.

“The boats have to be fast and we picked the ones we knew were

competitive and are the bigger boats,” Swigart said.

Yachts will be divided into three classes. As of Thursday,

Swigart said he had 15 entries, but he added that the number may rise

to 20.

Sponsors may purchase a boat for the weekend and place a name or

logo on the yacht’s exterior. If a boat has space, spectators may

ride along.

Where will they dock?

Newport Harbor Yacht Club is handling organizational duties for

the event while Balboa is responsible for handling race issues.

The two clubs plan to switch duties when the race is held again in

two years.

“One of the things that came out of the initial brainstorming

process was that this would be a community event, not a competition

between the yacht clubs,” Swigart said.

One of the biggest logistical questions faced thus far is, “Where

will some boats dock?”

Swigart said the entrance to Newport Harbor restricts access for

some boats. He estimated six to eight boats will have to dock at

temporary sites near the Balboa Yacht Club.

An estimated 25 dedicated people comprise the race committee, said

Swigart, who mailed volunteer request forms to the clubs to recruit

even more help.

“I would like this to become as big as [the Toshiba Senior

Classic],” said Swigart, referring to the annual Champions Tour golf

event held at Newport Beach Country Club each March that has raised

more than $1 million for Hoag for five straight years.

“We hope to have someone on each of the boats and include color

commentary,” Swigart said. “One of the corollary benefits [in

planning the regatta] is it’s gotten people at the clubs to talk more

and get to know each other.”

* BRYCE ALDERTON covers sports. He may be reached at (714)

966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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