Racers target heart health
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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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