Teen sailors ready for Newport to Ensenada adventure

For 15-year-old Kitty Brough, sailing isn’t simply a sport, it’s a great adventure.

When you’re on the open sea, even the most well-laid plans can be blown off course because of seemingly minute alterations, such as a change in the weather or a shift in the wind.

Learning to adapt — pushing past personal limits — is one of the greatest lessons of sailing, especially when competing in overnight races, Kitty said.

Kitty has built a fondness for sailing since she took her first class at the Newport Sea Base five years ago.

The youth sailing school on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach provides a variety of courses and oversees a sailing team for teenagers. Kitty, a resident of Orange, is vice president of the team.

“During my first overnight race, I was so nervous,” Kitty said of the Islands Race in Catalina and San Diego last month. “Now that I’ve done that, I’m more confident. I’m still a bit nervous, though, because you just never know what’s going to happen.”

This weekend, Kitty and six of her peers, ages 14 to 18, will take to the high seas with four instructors from the sea base for the 68th annual Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, traveling alongside more than 200 other boats.

The young crew will hop aboard The Apprentice, a 38-foot racing yacht, on Friday morning in Newport Beach and sail 125 nautical miles to Ensenada, Mexico. This is the first time in about a decade that the sea base has invited students to participate in the race.

Tom Hartmann, executive director of the sea base, named the boat The Apprentice after the seamanship rank.

“It seemed appropriate, seeing as we’re using this boat to teach,” he said.

The boat has more amenities than others its size, with four cots, a two-burner stove, a sink and a toilet. The crew will sleep in shifts.

The teens have spent weeks preparing the menu for the trip — quesadillas, sandwiches, hummus, vegetables and cereal, among other items — as well as creating a list of duties for each sailor.

The students will spend the majority of the trip on deck, managing the sails, taking the helm and acting as lookouts.

“It’s like having your own little castle,” Hartmann said of sailing.

Hartmann, who will be one of the adults on the trip, expects that the crew will be sailing 24 to 27 hours to get to Ensenada. When they arrive, the sailors will have just enough time to get off the boat, grab some grub and stretch their legs before setting sail back to the States, a voyage that likely will take 20 hours.

Unlike many longtime participants who spend the weekend after the race lounging in the Baja port city, indulging in cerveza and local cuisine, Hartmann’s students must be back in Newport for school Monday morning.

The Newport to Ensenada race draws a mix of sailing enthusiasts. Since 1948, the event has brought together serious sailors, weekend racers and those who simply love to sail.

With two storms expected to move in this week, race officials are forecasting winds of 14 to 17 knots through the weekend, which could result in some longstanding records being broken.

For the teen racers, the event will be more about practicing, endurance and fostering a love of the sport.

“I’m a huge proponent of not only racing boats but sailing just for the joy of it,” Hartmann said.

Kitty just hopes the crew members will be able to work together to make it to the end. For some, it will be their first overnight sailing experience.

“When you’re running on a couple hours of sleep, people have a tendency to get cranky, but learning how to sail at night is a huge part of sailing,” she said. “I hope there’s nice wind throughout the weekend and that everyone stays safe and learns a lot from the experience.”