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Dunn: Newport to Ensenada yacht race offers grand viewing

April 16, 2026

For nearly eight decades, the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race has been more than a competition. It’s a rite of passage, a cultural bridge, a weekend of bonding and one of Southern California’s most beloved maritime traditions.

Since 1948, sailors have taken on the iconic 125-mile offshore race from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico.

This year’s race, April 24-26, will also mark a first: Hutchison Ports Ensenada Cruiseport Village Marina will serve as the official reception site for the more than 125 boats expected to sail.

Whether you’re a seasoned sailor, a novice or someone who simply loves watching sailboats fill the horizon off Newport Beach, N2E is must-see theater for locals. Among the best viewing locations for the start of the race at 11 a.m. on April 24 are the Balboa Pier, the Wedge and Corona del Mar State Beach. Bring your binoculars.

What began with the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and 65 hardy finishers battling 25-to-35 knot winds has grown into one of the world’s most recognized international yacht races.

The inaugural trophy, the Governor’s Cup, was presented by then-California Gov. Earl Warren, and over the years the event has attracted the biggest names in sailing, including Dennis Conner, the America’s Cup legend. Conner remains the winningest skipper in N2E history, dominating Best Elapsed Time seven times between 1989 and 1996 aboard the 60-foot catamaran Stars and Stripes. The 60-foot trimaran, featured in the film Waterworld, later renamed Loe Real, claimed top elapsed-time honors in 2009 and 2010.

Last year’s competition delivered one of the closest finishes in event history. The new Newport Ocean Sailing Association perpetual trophy, sponsored by Ensenada’s Club Nautico Baja and open exclusively to Mexican cruising-class boats, came down to a dramatic conclusion between Stellar, a Jeanneau 43 skippered by Captain Manuel Gutiérrez, and Amelia, a Hunter Passage 42 helmed by Dr. Joel Velasco.

After two days of racing, the corrected-time margin between the two boats was less than 50 seconds, with Stellar taking the trophy.

“A race that close could have gone either way,” Gutiérrez said. “We are all friends here in the Ensenada sailing community, and we welcome the close competition this new trophy brings.”

Many celebrities and Hollywood types have participated in the Newport-to-Ensenada race, including James Arness of the hit television series “Gunsmoke.” Arness has his name on the Alice Purcell Trophy and, in 1968, his 58 catamaran Sea Smoke was the fastest in the west.

Actors Michael Landon, Humphrey Bogart and Buddy Ebsen, news anchor Walter Cronkite, comedienne Vicki Lawrence and radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger have also participated, as well as Spencer Tracy, Milton Bren, Paul Conrad, Roy E. Disney and Roy P. Disney.

Bill Ficker and Dave Ullman are the two most locally famous sailors to participate.

The 1980s were the peak of the race in terms of the number of boats entered (400 to 500 each year), with a record 675 in 1983, establishing the event as the world’s largest international yacht race.

NOSA, a Newport Beach-based nonprofit organization that has managed the race since its inception, reaffirmed that the race remains on track despite concerns stemming from recent events elsewhere in Mexico. NOSA Commodore Joe Negron confirmed that conditions in Ensenada remain stable and that maritime and tourism operations continue uninterrupted.

Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.

Orange County Register

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Dunn: Newport to Ensenada yacht race offers grand viewing

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