The Newport Bermuda Race, commonly known as the ''Bermuda Race'', is a biennial, 635 nautical miles (1175 km)
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
yacht
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
from
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
to the British island of
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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. According to its website, the Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, and one of two regularly scheduled races "held almost entirely out of sight of land."
Indian Harbor Yacht Club
The Indian Harbor Yacht Club is a U.S. boating organization, based at 710 Steamboat Road in Greenwich, CT, with access to Long Island Sound. The club, founded in 1889 in New York City, is based mainly around personally owned yachts and pleasure ...
has recorded more entries in the Newport Bermuda Race than any other yacht club in the world.
[
]
In a typical race, the fleet enters the Atlantic and the
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...
, with rough water, giving the race its nickname, "The Thrash to the Onion Patch." Once through the rough Gulf Stream, the sailors press on to the finish off
St. David's Lighthouse, then winding channel to
Hamilton, Bermuda
The City of Hamilton, in Pembroke Parish, is the territorial capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination. Its population of 854 (2016) is one of the sm ...
to the
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) is a private yacht club that was established as the ''Bermuda Yacht Club'' on 1 November, 1844, after the sport of racing yachts had become established in Bermuda primarily as a pastime of idle officers of the ...
.
Along with
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales, on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately . The race is run i ...
and the
Fastnet Race
The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France.
The race is named after the Fastnet ...
, it is considered one of the classic big offshore races with each distance approximately .
To quote
Gary Jobson
Gary Jobson is a sailor, television commentator and author based in Annapolis, Maryland. He is a Vice President of the International Sailing Federation. Gary has authored 19 sailing books and is Editor at Large of ''Sailing World'' and ''Cruising ...
, "It’s a feather in every sailor’s cap to have done the race, and many consider the Lighthouse Trophy the most coveted trophy in distance racing."
Early history
![Rambler1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Rambler1.jpg)
The very first Bermuda Race was an act of rebellion. In 1906, the Establishment believed that it would be impossible for amateur sailors to race offshore in boats under 80 feet.
Thomas Fleming Day, editor of ''The Rudder'' magazine, disagreed, insisting, "The danger of the sea for generations has been preached by the ignorant." Certain that an ocean race would be enjoyable and safe – and also develop better sailors and better boats – Day founded one on his own.
The
Brooklyn Yacht Club started the race in New York Bay, in Bermuda, the RBYC finished it off at
St. David’s Head.
The smallest entry then (and in Bermuda Race history) was the 28-foot sloop ''Gauntlet''. She was notorious for her size, and also for her crew because it included a woman, 20-year-old
Thora Lund Robinson. Having outpaced ''Gauntlet'' and another boat which dropped out, and the winner was the 38-foot yawl ''Tamerlane'', with Thomas Fleming Day himself as sailing master. The yacht club provided a special anchorage off
White’s Island for the race boats, set aside rooms for the skippers and navigators in the clubhouse, and laid on many parties culminating with a traditional turtle dinner at the prize banquet.
There were four more races before the sailors decided it was too much to ask that the race be held annually.
After World War I, RBYC Vice-Commodore
Eldon Trimingham Eldon may refer to:
Places Australia
* Eldon Range, Tasmania, a mountain range
Canada
* Eldon, Alberta, a locality
* Eldon Parish, New Brunswick
* Eldon Township, Ontario, a former municipality
* Eldon, Ontario, a former railway stop
* Eldon, ...
went up to New York to stir up a revival of the race, to much agreement. After 22 boats started in 1923 at
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, and every boat finished. Three years later, the RBYC and the
Cruising Club of America The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is an international organization of cruisers whose objects are to promote cruising and racing by amateurs, to encourage the development of suitable types of cruising craft, to stimulate interest in seamanship, navi ...
teamed up to host the race.
Since 1923 to this day, the task of inspecting boats, arranging for trophies, the starting and finishing lines, and maintaining the race’s emphasis on safe seamanship falls on volunteer members of both clubs. In 45 races over a century, only two boats have been lost, one on Bermuda’s reef, and the other in a deadly fire in 1932 that also claimed the Bermuda Race’s only loss of life.
Recent history
165 boats started the 48th Newport Bermuda Race in 2012. A new elapsed time record of 39 hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds was set in 2012 by
George David
George Alfred Lawrence David (born April 7, 1942) is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Technologies Corporation. David was elected UTC’s President in 1992 and Chief Executive Officer in 1994. He joined UTC’s Otis Elevat ...
's 90-foot ''Rambler'',
which averaged over 16 knots under perfect sailing conditions. The corrected time winner for the second straight race was Rives Potts' 48-foot ''Carina'', which also won the race in 1970.
Again 165 boats the 49th Newport Bermuda Race in 2014. ''Shockwave'' took line honors and first overall corrected time winner in one of the slowest races in recent history in far from perfect sailing conditions.
All race results are posted at the Bermuda Race website.
2016 Race
At 4:22:53EDT on 19 June 2016,
James H. Clark
James Henry Clark (born March 23, 1944) is an American entrepreneur and computer scientist. He founded several notable Silicon Valley technology companies, including Silicon Graphics, Netscape, myCFO, and Healtheon. His research work in comput ...
's 100-Foot ''Comanche'', with skipper
Ken Read
Kenneth John Read (born November 6, 1955) is one of the most respected sport leaders in Canada. This World Cup alpine ski racer from Canada was a specialist in the downhill and a two-time Olympian. He won five World Cup races during his ten-year ...
and navigator
Stan Honey
Stan or STAN may refer to:
People
* Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name
** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy
* Stan (surname), a Romanian surname
* Stan! (born 1964), American author ...
, crossed the finish line in Bermuda with an elapsed time of 34h 52m 53s, breaking
George David
George Alfred Lawrence David (born April 7, 1942) is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Technologies Corporation. David was elected UTC’s President in 1992 and Chief Executive Officer in 1994. He joined UTC’s Otis Elevat ...
's ''Rambler'' record by more than 4h 36s.
The 2016 Bermuda Race was the 50th running of the race. More than 195 boats were sanctioned by the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee as qualified entries in the 50th Newport Bermuda Race. An International fleet competed in the biennial race that began on 17 June. There was also the Onion Patch Series, a parallel inter-club and international team-race event.
The 2016 Newport Bermuda Race had seven divisions, each with its divisional and class prizes. The race has no single winner. Except Super Yachts, each division is rated under the
Offshore Racing Rule
Offshore may refer to:
Science and technology
* Offshore (hydrocarbons)
* Offshore construction, construction out at sea
* Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well
* Of ...
(ORR).
2022
In the first race since 2018 Jason Carroll of
Larchmont Yacht Club
Larchmont Yacht Club is a private, members-only yacht club situated on Larchmont Harbor in the Village of Larchmont, in Westchester County, New York.
History
The club was founded in June 1880 by Frank L. Anthony, Fred W. Flint, William C. F ...
and the crew of the MOD70
trimaran
A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...
''Argo'' won line honors and established a new overall race record when they completed the 52nd edition Saturday night local time. Argo’s elapsed time of 33 hours, 0 minutes, 9 seconds. This was fast enough to achieve the first-ever Saturday night finish in the history of the Bermuda Race.
Current Classes
*St. David’s Lighthouse Division: cruiser-racers with amateur helmsmen.
*Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division: racers with professional helmsmen permitted.
*Finisterre Division cruisers/passagemakers with amateur helmsmen.
*Double-Handed Division: one crew may be a professional.
*Open Division: cant-keel racers with professional helmsmen permitted.
*Super Yacht Division: 90-plus feet long, International Super Yacht Rule.
*Spirit of Tradition Division: replicas and other traditional boats.
Winners
St. David's Lighthouse Trophy
Line Honors
Environmental commitment
In 2012, it was announced that the Race had committed to seeking certification as a "clean regatta", encouraging participants "to adopt a number of best practices for the health of the oceans, including reducing plastic bottle use, following a leave-no-trace approach to dealing with trash, promoting the use of non-toxic cleaning products and bottom paint, and preventing oil spills."
References
External links
Newport-Bermuda Race Official WebsiteBermuda Race documentary made for 100th (2006) Race narrated by Gary Jobson
{{Offshore sailing races
Recurring sporting events established in 1906
Yachting races
Sailing competitions in Bermuda
Sailing competitions in the United Kingdom