Andrews a popular name in boating

Elia Powers

Crowds at the First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta last month

couldn’t help but notice some repetition on the water.

Racing entrants included Magnitude, an Andrews 80 boat; America’s

Challenge II, an Andrews 67; and Medicine Man, an Andrews 61.

The man behind those boats is Alan Andrews, a familiar name in

Newport Beach’s recent nautical history.

Andrews was born in Pasadena and moved to Newport Beach with his

family around 1960.

His summers were spent in sailboats on Newport Harbor. Whether it

was through the Newport Beach Parks and Recreation Department or the

Balboa Yacht Club, Andrews learned how to maneuver on the water.

Both of his parents had a sailing background; they were racers

earlier in their lives.

“It was a natural activity for me,” Andrews said. “During the

summer, I sailed five days a week. As I got older, I got very

competitive.”

Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, Andrews had his eye

on sailboat design. During school, he sketched drawings of boats. In

shop class, he made models of the vessels.

He spoke to people in the boat design industry -- they cautioned

him about entering it because of the competitive nature of the

business.

That didn’t stop Andrews.

He graduated from Newport Harbor High in 1973. Many of his

classmates went right into the boating industry in Newport after

graduation. Andrews went on to college at Stanford University, where

he majored in mechanical engineering and was an All-American on the

sailing team.

Still, he never considered making a career out of racing.

“Sailing professionally wasn’t really an option,” he said. “Very

few people were making a living that way. I was always interested in

the design of boats I was riding.”

Andrews’ first job came at Dencho Marine, Inc. in Long Beach,

where he worked for a year-and-a-half.

He spent time doing independent design consulting before opening

Long Beach-based Alan Andrews Yacht Design Inc., in 1979.

He kept a small staff -- always less than five people -- and

decided to keep the company focused on design.

“It would be difficult to stay on top of everything if you were

trying to build boats on top of it,” Andrews said.

The first racing yacht Andrews designed was Details, a 30-footer

that was owned by eight people, himself included. The boat won the

1982 Midget Ocean Racing Club International Championships. It is now

docked in Santa Cruz.

He still calls upon Dencho Marine to build many of the performance

cruisers and yachts and new powerboats he designs.

Andrews, now 49, lives in Corona del Mar and sails with his wife,

Molly Lynch.

And he still competes in races. This year, he was on the boat that

finished first in a race to Puerto Vallarta. For July’s Governor’s

Cup Regatta, run by the Balboa Yacht Club, he designed the new fleet

of boats, called the Governor’s Cup 21 -- the third consecutive year

he has done so.

He said he has noticed some major changes in Newport Harbor.

“There are so many more boats now, and the number of large

dinner-cruise yachts has risen,” Andrews said. “Development around

the Harbor has been a big story. Tall buildings change the wind

patterns and affect sailing conditions.”

One constant: Andrews’ passion for boat design.

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