First
Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta - Disney,
First Team Boats Lead Way To Ensenada
NEWPORT
BEACH, Calif.—The marquee for the First
Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta May 19-22
proclaims "The World's Biggest, Fastest Sailboats,"
and they showed it last weekend in the world's
largest international yacht race.
Led
by Roy Disney's maxZ86, Pyewacket, the first 10
monohulls to finish the 58th Newport-to-Ensenada
contest were boats that will be racing around
the buoys off Newport Beach next month.
Pyewacket
was followed closely by Doug Baker's Magnitude
80, Mike Campbell and Dale Williams' new Peligroso
and Randall Pittman's 90-foot Genuine Risk. Within
the next 2 1/2 hours came David Janes sailing
the Newport Sea Base's Scout Spirit, Paul Sharp's
Taxi Dancer, Bob Lane's Medicine Man, Mark Jones's
Flash, Ed McDowell's Grand Illusion and
John
MacLaurin's Pendragon IV.
Though
winds to Ensenada were generally light, depriving
him of an opportunity to attack his own record,
Disney said Pyewacket and the others made the
most of what breeze they had.
"These
boats go so fast it's amazing," he said.
"We saw 14 and 15 knots [on the speed instruments]
at times. They're astonishing boats because they
don't make a fuss doing it. You look up and you're
doing 15 knots and you say, 'How are we doing
that?' There's not a bow wave, there's no wake
behind us. At times we were over double the wind
speed with the Code Zero [headsail]. We'd be doing
10 and the wind speed would be 4.8."
Magnitude
80's runnerup effort against larger boats followed
line honors in two previous races to Puerto Vallarta
and Cabo San Lucas.
Peligroso,
smallest of the four leaders, was declared overall
winner among the 466 entries on corrected handicap
time. Also, Lew Beery's It's OK and Craig Reynolds'
Bolt were second and third in PHRF-A class---altogether
a strong outing for 12 of the 20 boats currently
entered in the First Team Real Estate Invitational
Regatta.
Disney,
75, has said he will retire from racing after
this year, and he is bent on going out on top.
On a boat loaded with professional sailors and
other veterans, he drove much of the 125 nautical
miles himself.
But
he also is looking forward to some closed-course
racing as a refreshing change of pace from Pyewacket's
normal fare of offshore races May 19-22.
Disney
said, smiling, "There's something to be said
for sleeping in your own bed on shore at night."
For
the spectator fleet it also be an opportunity
to see something usually seen only at sea: expert
big boat crew work at close hand, hoisting spinnakers
at the windward marks and dousing them at leeward
marks, among other chores.
Boat
for boat, Pyewacket's strongest competition should
come from Genuine Risk, which has been running
in bad luck in its first three outings on the
West Coast---Pittman's foot injury that prevented
him from sailing the February race to Puerto Vallarta,
a broken ram on their canting keel bulb in the
race to Cabo San Lucas in March and, on the way
to Ensenada, something---kelp, trash, whatever---they
collected on the bulb that cost them significant
speed late in the race.
Disney
looks forward to another meeting.
"They
are longer than we are, narrower than we are,
deeper than we are and taller than we are,"
he said, "so we'll just have to work a little
harder than they do."
As
the facilitating yacht clubs, Newport Harbor Yacht
Club and Balboa Yacht Club will provide on-the-water
race management for the regatta. First Team Real
Estate is the title sponsor, playing a key role
in the event preparation and sponsorship support.
Silver Sponsors include Bank of America, Daily
Pilot, Hewitt, Mellon, Merrill Lynch and MKA Capital.
Additional
sponsorship opportunities are currently available.
Event proceeds will benefit Hoag Heart and Vascular
Institute.
About
Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute
Hoag
Heart and Vascular Institute, a designated Center
of Excellence at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
in Newport Beach, Calif., is Orange County’s
highest-volume, highest-rated cardiovascular program
and one of the preeminent cardiovascular centers
on the West Coast. Specialties of Hoag Heart and
Vascular Institute include diagnostic cardiology,
cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, endovascular
diagnosis and treatment,
interventional
cardiology, interventional radiology, electrophysiology,
cardiac rehabilitation, disease management, prevention
services, and research. In 2001, Hoag Heart and
Vascular Institute received Southern California’s
highest rating in the state’s first public
report evaluating hospital performance of heart
bypass surgery, the California Report on Coronary
Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: 1997-1998 Hospital
Data.
About
First In Our Hearts Foundation
In 2004, First Team Real Estate established the
First in Our Hearts Foundation as a company wide
philanthropy created to maximize the charitable
efforts that have been an integral part of the
company since its founding almost 30 years ago.
Because their work brings them so close to homes,
families, and neighborhoods, the tradition of
giving back to the community runs deep among the
sales associates and employees at First Team.
Now, through the focused efforts of the First
in Our Hearts Foundation their impact is greater
than ever. And, in its inaugural year the Foundation
is proud to announce its two-year commitment in
support of Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute.
Entries
to date:
America's
Challenge (Volvo 60), Neil Barth, Newport Beach.
Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport
Beach.
Chayah (1D48), Oscar Krinsky, Long Beach.
Flash (Transpac 52), Mark Jones, San Francisco.
Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), Randall Pittman, San
Diego.
Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), Ed McDowell, Lahaina,
H.I.
It's OK (1D48), Lew Beery, Glendora, Calif.
Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach,
Calif.
Margaritaville (Andrews 52), Jay Steinbeck, Los
Angeles.
Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach.
Peligroso (Dencho 70), Mike Campbell/Dale Williams,
Long Beach.
Pendragon IV (Davidson 52), John MacLaurin, Los
Angeles.
Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh maxZ86), Roy E. Disney,
Los Angeles.
Rosebud (Transpac 52), Roger Sturgeon, Santa Cruz,
Calif.
Scout Spirit (Reichel/Pugh 78), David Janes, Newport
Seabase Syndicate, Newport Beach.
Skylark (Reichel/Pugh 77), Doug Ayres, Newport
Beach.
Stark Raving Mad (J/145), Jim Madden, Newport
Beach.
Taxi Dancer (Mull 68), Paul Sharp, Newport Beach.
Trader (Transpac 52), Fred Detwiler, Detroit.
Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long
Beach.
SPONSORSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
Brian
Turner
714/969-2540
stefturn@verizon.net
RACE
INFORMATION
Jenn Lancaster, NHYC
949/673-7730
racing@nhyc.org
MEDIA
INQUIRIES
Andrea Wood, Hoag Hospital
949/764-5828
awood@hoaghospital.org
PRESS
OFFICER
Rich
Roberts
(310)
835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
