Slideshow: Marion to Bermuda Yachts
The 2011 Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race started on June 17th in Marion, Massachusetts and finished off St. David’s Head, Bermuda. Lilla, 76 ft Briand, set a new Marion Bermuda Race course record [72 hours] – with elapsed time of 68:58:45 and corrected time of 71:48:26.
Lilla was skippered by Simon De Pietro, and had 12 multinational crew members hailing from as far and wide as Ireland and South Africa. Lilla started the race at 1:30pm EDT from Buzzard’s Bay Marion, Massachusetts on Friday June 17 and officially crossed the finish line at St David’s Head, Bermuda at 11:28am on Monday, June 20.
All of the top three boats, including Lilla, hail from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Pescatore (Class A), a Hinckley SW 59, Skipper George Tougas, arrived in Bermuda with an elapsed time of 86:50:57 and corrected time of 78:20:17. Skipper Chip Johns brought Margalo across the finish line with an elapsed time of 87:43:42 and corrected time of 78:46:48.
Upon arriving in Bermuda, the sailors engaged in some much need rest and relaxtion. Photo slideshow below courtesy of John Manderson:
The Marion Bermuda has been sailed in alternate years since 1977, and covers the 645 miles between Marion and Bermuda. This year one of the smallest boat registered for the race was a Westsail 32, Patchwork, owned by Robert Mitchell of Connecticut, while the largest boats entered were the two 67-footers: Illusion, owned by Gerald Rosen of the British Virgin Islands; and Voyager, sailed by former talk show host and now Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera.
