Len Bose has been a part of 29 editions of the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, the next of which is set for this weekend.
Bose will be part of the 125-mile trek down the coast once again after skippering his crew through some scary moments at the end of last year’s run in a 35-foot sailboat christened the Linstar.
The vessel had made good time since it left Newport Harbor more than 12 hours earlier, but conquering the last few miles to the finish line was a battle. Winds approaching 30 knots pounded the boat as it neared the end of the 125-mile race in the dark of night.
The sea air was “the kind of cold that gets in your bones,” recalled the 54-year-old Bose.
The founder of boat broker Bose Yachts in Huntington Beach ducked his head against the driving rain and joined the rest of the crew in the fight to keep the boat on course.
“It was very intense,” he said. “We had a difficult time. It wasn’t just the wind and the rain. The seas were getting very rough. It was so dark that we didn’t know what else might be in the harbor. And the entrance to the harbor itself is very small—we had to pick the right beacon and head towards it.”
The crew opted to take down the spinnaker, a special three-cornered sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind—great for speed, Bose says, but it can make the sailboat more difficult to control when winds get very strong. The sailboat was somewhat easier to control with the spinnaker furled, but they missed the finish line anyway, coming in on the wrong side.
“Luckily, with the spinnaker down, we could turn quickly. It took us less than a minute to get back on course,” Bose said. “We ended up finishing third in our category. It was very exciting.”
The Linstar came in with a respectable time of 15:30:46.
His team is ready to compete in this year’s race in a boat named The Horizon.
Focus, Strategy, Tactics
Bose discovered sailboat racing as a college student.
His love of the sport led him to become a coach at the Orange Coast College Sailing Center in Costa Mesa, to enter the yacht industry as a broker in 1989, and to open Bose Yachts in 1992. His clientele include business executives and community leaders.
It was through one of those relationships that he became the general manager of the Linstar Racing Team, which this year added a third sailboat, the 52-foot Horizon, which won last year’s President of USA trophy in the Newport to Ensenada race.
Bose, as the general manager of the team—he declines to reveal the name of the boat’s owner—oversees all of the logistics, arranging travel accommodations, food preparation, and fuel purchases and use. He said he also tracks the weather forecast and develops the strategy for the race.
“My strategy revolves around the wind strength and staying on the rhumb line, which is the path of shortest distance between two points,” he explained. “As we get about four days from the start, I will take a glance at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and SailFlow websites and start to fine-tune my strategy.”
Strategy and tactics are something avid sailors Kari and Peter Bretschger, the married co-presidents of the IMW Agency in Costa Mesa, know a lot about. They founded the full-service marketing and public relations company 22 years ago and together have grown it into a multimillion-dollar company with clients that include Sunkist, Yokohama Tires, Irvine BMW and Volkswagen. They have been racing sailboats together for most of their 30 years of marriage. She grew up sailing in Corona del Mar; he started at the age of 4 on Long Island Sound in New York.
“We got our own boat 16 years ago,” he says. “A 40-foot-high performance J-120 sailboat. When we bought it, it was called the Adios Pantelones. We changed it to The Adios.”
They sail The Adios with a crew of seven, including Peter as captain and Kari handling the main sheet, or sail. Their son has also sailed with them in the Newport to Ensenada race. The crew plans to compete in this year’s race.
“We’ve taken second place twice,” Peter said, “and been third a number of times.”
Peter explained that during a race, as opposed to an afternoon cruise, the crew settles into a rhythm hour after hour. At night, the crew sleeps in three-hour shifts, with two people up top at a time.
“Sailing at night is simply marvelous,” he said. “It’s very peaceful.”
Respect for the Sea
Several components contribute to the success of a race, Peter said.
“The level of skill makes a real difference. Some people are great day sailors. But at 10 p.m., it’s cold. You want to hunker down. Or you can choose to actively sail the boat, do what you need to do to hit the target speed.”
Knowing what to do when wind conditions change is vital.
“Perhaps most importantly,” he said, “You have to identify your competition and strategize the best way to win.”
Bose concurred: “The race can be won or lost as night falls and crew members start to get cold and tired. Extra effort has to be given to sailing your boat at its best performance to the wind’s strength. All your attention is placed on staying in the breeze and watching the wind direction.”
The Bretschgers have raced in other events, among them the Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race and the Ahmanson Cup. They, like Bose, have faced challenges on the water. Peter described a harrowing night during an 800-mile race to Cabo San Lucas two years ago when the Adios got caught in a storm.
“The wind was 60 miles an hour,” he says. “Waves were 40 feet high, crashing onto the boat. We secured ourselves with Kevlar straps and waited it out. I was there with my wife, my youngest son, and our two best friends.”
He paused.
“It really makes you think.”
Spirit of the Race
The Newport Ocean Sailing Association organizes the Newport to Ensenada race, which is expected to have almost 250 boats in the competition this year.
“This is more than a race,” says group Commodore David Shockley. “It’s really an icon in the Southern California boating community. We work very hard to make sure everyone has a great time.”
For Bose, even with 29 races under his belt, the great times are just beginning.
“I love everything about racing,” he said. “I love the strategy and all the elements that go into it. Racing is a physical and emotional challenge. And it’s an unforgettable experience.”
He added, “Life’s just too short not to own a boat.”
