By LEN BOSE
For me and quite a few other people, it is all about the Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s Cabo Race which started yesterday (Thursday) for the boats that are smaller or pushing a little more weight through the water. Today’s (Friday) start has the Santa Cruz 50+ division along with a mix of boats from 40 to 60 feet. Then the big boys hit the starting line on Saturday with the 70s raters, and then a mix of 52s to 100 feet plus two crazy multihull boats.
Our harbor has nine boats participating with Seth Hall’s J-124 Marisol in ORR 5 class which started on Thursday. ORR stands for Offshore Racing Rule which is a handicap system in which the participants compete in. Friday’s starters in ORR 4 class are John Shulze’s Santa Cruz 50 Horizon and ORR 3 John Raymont’s Andrews 40 Fast Exit and Dan Gribble’s Tripp 56 Brigadoon. On Saturday, it’s Dave Clark’s Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion, Jim Bailey’s Trans Pac 52 Destroyer, Cal Maritime’s Andrews 77 and Manouch Moshayedi’s Bakewell White 100 Rio, the largest boat in the fleet
Kind of a boring story so far, huh? Well, if you are participating, it is anything but boring, specifically from a boat manager’s point of few. Most of my readers have read before that I manage the Santa Cruz 50 Horizon. The planning and preparation started back in October 2018 confirming the boat’s racing and maintenance schedules. New sails were ordered, crew recruiting started along with boatyard scheduling. At the start of the year, we haul the boat out and redo the boat bottom paint, inspect the mast, pull the rudder out and check the rudder bearings. Once the boat is back in the water, we have to go through the electrical and mechanical systems; this normally requires scheduling two technicians and one mechanic. All this leads to a growing task list.
There are also some logistics involved such as hotel rooms and air travel. Keep in mind that not all of your crew lives in town, so you have to fly a couple into town before the race starts. I almost forgot, there is also a delivery crew that needs flights to Mexico and rooms along with arrangements for the delivery gear to be transported to Mexico. Most teams also have crew gear such as team shirts and hats, sizes differ and the boat name is embroidered. Let’s not forget the safety gear, life rafts need to be repacked, flares need to be replaced and EPRIB (emergency location beacons) need to be re-registered. Mexican boat visas and insurance need to be forwarded to the Mexican authorities. Upholstery needs steam cleaning and sleeping bags need to be washed along with boat bilges needing to be scrubbed. Cooking utensils have to be accounted for, the stove detailed, and refrigeration and water maker exercised to encourage continued use. I don’t like it very much when my wife says, “FYI: Remember that with three females aboard, you will need more toilet paper than you normally do,”...and I thought I had this.
The last four days, I have had to go to the canvas person because we needed new covers – you guessed right – I didn’t get all the measurements correct on the first go around, as all the sail bags needed repair. Meals prepared and frozen, the weather forecast is calling for light winds that will add as much as two days which leads to more meals. Then, there is always something that breaks the last minute. For me this year, it was the boat’s bilge pump that needed repair. Oh, my mother just called and told me that her neighbor’s bathtub has overflowed, and she has a mold and asbestos problem she needs me to take care of today.
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| Cabo 1985 |
Wednesday night was the send-off party, where you have to have your good sportsmanship hat on and mingle with the competition, explain your mistakes in the previous Islands Race, and how you are still encouraged with your boat’s performance.
Now, I am down to the short strokes. My first task is to pick up our navigator at the train station at 10:30 a.m. and get her to the boat, then head to the fuel dock. Once back to the dock, it is time to provision, run two errands and try not to yell at the vendor that has been promising our wheel cover for the last three weeks. Next, I place the provisions onboard then head to a safety meeting at 5:30 p.m., with a team meeting at 7 p.m. After that, I pick up a crew member at the airport at 8:30 p.m. My mother just called to remind me of the dangers of mold in her drywall…I have to go. Wish us luck.
By the way, thanks for the good wishes for the Harbor 20 Championships. We beat our goals and finished 5th.
Sea ya!
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Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.
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