Life vests? Check. Wine? Check.

There are a number of ways to prepare for the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht race next week, but the most important, last year’s winner said with a chuckle, was to have the food and wine fully stocked.

“We consider the Ensenada race a sprint. You sort of stay up until the finish,” said Andy Rose, one of the sailors aboard It’s OK, last year’s winning yacht. “It’s quite a bit different. More sail changes, the hours of activity are probably more intense but there’s few of them.”

Rose and the It’s OK crew are among more than 200 yacht crews slowly making preparations for the 63rd annual race to Ensenada, starting April 23. In recent years, because of a slowed economy, drug violence in Mexico and a competing racing event the same weekend, participation in the Ensenada race has dwindled.

But that hasn’t cut down the enthusiasm. Last year’s top three Maxi-class finishers, with It’s OK on top, are expected to go at it again this year. Last year was the first time in a long time that the top three finishers all took the shortest course to Ensenada, instead of heading farther off-shore for more wind gusts, officials said.

The It’s OK crew doesn’t necessarily expect to repeat as winners because last year’s success gave them a bigger handicap to overcome in the times this year.

Race organizer Rich Roberts said that conditions this year aren’t built for a record-pace to Ensenada, but regardless, it’ll be an exciting finish.

“Just sail your boat better to its potential than the others and you can win,” he said.

The crew has just as much history, if not more so, than the namesake of its boat. Rose and fellow crew members Lew Beery and Tom Purcell have raced in more than 100 Newport to Ensenada races combined, organizers said.

The newest yacht named It’s OK is the seventh generation of the name, which originates from a boat owner who was so relaxed about naming it, that he replied to every suggestion his family gave him with “It’s OK,” said Stephen Fredrick, a member of the crew.

The name stuck.