A racing history for Newport

John Blaich, Special to the Pilot

A 62-foot sloop with an impressive racing record, Infidel was built in

Auckland, New Zealand in 1962. She was designed and built by John

Spenser.

Her narrow beam, deep draft and plywood construction was a radical

departure from conventional yachts being built at that time.

In 1970, after a very successful racing record in New Zealand, Jack

Hall of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club purchased Infidel. He changed her

name to Ragtime and brought her to Newport Harbor, where she was home

ported until 1979.

A syndicate of owners from the Long Beach Yacht Club then purchased

Ragtime and moved her to Alamitos Bay.

Her racing record included six transpacific yacht races, in which she

always finished either first or second. She also has raced in several

Newport-to-Ensenada races and many local regattas. Her jet black hull and

racing number are respected and feared by competing racers.

In 1991, a major redesign and refit were completed. A scoop transom

was added, increasing her length from 61-foot-8 to 65 feet. Her keel was

replaced with a larger, deeper one that included a lead bulb at the

bottom. This increased her draft from 9-foot-6 to 11-foot-6. Her mast was

lengthened to 70 feet, a very lofty rig from a boat with a beam of only

11-foot-6.

Ragtime returned to Newport in 1983 with Dennis Durgan as owner and

skipper. Discussing the boat, Durgan reports that she hit 30 knots as

they raced down the Molokai Channel to finish the 1983 Trans Pac Race.

Her present owner, Scott Zimmer of the Balboa Yacht Club, purchased

Ragtime in 1997 and has raced her in many local races as well as the 1997

Trans Pac. She is a frequent visitor to Balboa Yacht Club, but due to her

draft, is home ported at Alamitos Bay.

Two area residents, Patricia Steel and Owen Minney, chartered Ragtime

from Zimmer and entered her in the 2001 Honolulu Race -- the boat’s

seventh time in that race.

She held on to a favorable racing position until the fleet got into

the heavy trade winds, which favored larger yachts with longer waterline

length.

Still, Ragtime finished sixth in her class -- a good showing for a

39-year-old wooden sailboat.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: John Blaich is a Corona del Mar resident and

volunteer at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. About once a month, he

writes histories of interesting boats that graced Newport Harbor.