Raise mains; let season begin

Southern California sailing season is said to start with this weekend’s friendly race. From junior training boats to big 70-footers, the waters of Newport Harbor will be filled with more than the usual number of boats this weekend.

The hubbub can be attributed to the 77th annual Midwinter Regatta, held Saturday and Sunday in Newport Harbor.

Yacht clubs from Ventura to San Diego, including four from Newport Harbor, will participate in the regatta.

“Pretty much it’s set up so that everybody has an opportunity to come out and play,” said Mike Dwight, chairman of the race committee at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

Although yacht racing takes place all year in Southern California, the Midwinters -- as the regatta is known in the racing community -- has been considered the official start to the season since its inception in 1928.

“The idea is to get everybody out in all the various classes of boats to race on the same weekend,” Dwight said, “from the kids in the 8-foot sabots to the multi-zillion-dollar 70-foot boats, and everybody in between.”

Individual yacht clubs are responsible for hosting races in the various classes, said Jerry McClellan, a member of the racing committee at the Balboa Yacht Club.

“It’s really quite a huge event,” he added.

Although a few competitive sailors always show up, the atmosphere at Midwinters is mostly about fun, McClellan said.

“There’s not a big hoopla, big publicity about any one of the yacht club races,” he added.

The regatta is sponsored by the Southern California Yachting Assn., whose website claims it is the largest regatta in the United States.

The races are open any skipper who belongs to a yacht club that is a member of the Southern California Yachting Assn., the U.S. Sailing Assn. or the American Model Yacht Assn.

This year, four Newport Beach clubs will host Midwinter races: the American Legion, Bahia Corinthian, Balboa and Newport Harbor yacht clubs.20060217iusz4gnc(LA)Youngsters sail sabots, one of the boats included in Saturday and Sunday’s Midwinter Regatta on Newport Harbor.