Bryce Alderton
Newport Harbor and Balboa yacht clubs often find themselves competing
against one another in sailing competitions, but, at least for one
event, volunteers from both will fuse their energies.
From May 20 to 22 off the Newport Pier, spectators will be treated
to speedy, state-of-the-art yachts navigating a buoy course in the
inaugural First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta, benefiting
Hoag Hospital.
The event, a fundraiser for Hoag's Heart and Vascular Institute,
is expected to draw 20 of the world's top-performing grand prix
racers of more than 50 feet, some owned by influential business
executives such as Roy Disney.
Top-caliber yachts scheduled to race include MaxZ86s, Transpac 52s
and Andrews 80s.
The weekend festivities actually begin May 19 with registration
and a reception at the Balboa Yacht Club.
The regatta is an event almost two years in the making.
In March 2003, Ron Guziak, executive director of the Hoag Hospital
Foundation, approached Jay Swigart, then the commodore at Newport
Harbor Yacht Club, about raising money for the hospital in a way that
took advantage of Newport Beach's location as a sailing hotbed.
Swigart, the event co-chair along with fellow Newport Harbor Yacht
Club member Tim Madden, met with representatives from Balboa Yacht
Club, Hoag and First Team to begin brainstorming ways to raise money.
A competitive regatta further steeping Newport Beach's stature
within the sailing world came to mind.
"The more we talked with [representatives from both clubs], the
more they wanted to help do something that is different and one of a
kind," Guziak said.
Not just the beginning
Big boat sailing is rare here.
It has been at least 10 years since Newport has hosted amateurs
and professional sailors alike from around the world competing on a
big boat buoy racing course staged solely in a restricted area as
opposed to a "start and depart," Swigart said.
"We wanted to have first-class racing," said Swigart, 57, a
Newport Beach resident.
Robbie Haines, a former gold medalist who will skipper Disney's
yacht, "Pyewacket," is among the sailors scheduled to compete.
First Team, which worked with Hoag to raise money for the Heart
and Vascular Institute last year, welcomed the opportunity to be
involved.
"When the opportunity was presented to us to be part of this
exciting regatta, it seemed like a perfect fit," said Cameron Merage,
president and chief executive of First Team. "We have represented
clients in the local yachting communities for nearly 30 years and
