Newport Bermuda Race To Start June 20th

The 49th Newport Bermuda Race is scheduled to begin on June 20, 2014 off Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport Rhode Island. Boats will be finishing off Bermuda’s St. David’s Lighthouse anytime from June 22 to as late as June 26.

The 635-mile biennial Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, one of very few international races, and also one of just two of the world’s scheduled races held almost entirely out of sight of land. Founded in 1906, the Bermuda Race is being held for the 49th time in 2014

A spokesperson said, “Approximately 170 boats sail the race every year. The average crew has ten men or women. The race starts off Newport, Rhode Island in front of many spectators, on the third Friday of each June. It takes more than two hours to get all those boats started in their six divisions and 17 classes.

“Depending on the weather and the currents in the Gulf Stream, and the boat’s size and speed, the race takes two to six days. The first boat arrives at the finish line at St. David’s Light on Sunday or Monday, and the smaller boats arrive between then and Wednesday or Thursday.”

The race is demanding, with the official rules saying, “the Newport Bermuda Race is not a race for novices.”

“The race is nicknamed ‘the thrash to the Onion Patch’ because most Bermuda Races include high winds and big waves, a combination sailors call ‘a hard thrash,’ and because Bermuda was once an agricultural island where large onions thrived.

“While the race is not dangerous, it demands good seamanship, great care, and a boat that is both well built and properly equipped. The boats must meet stringent equipment requirements and undergo inspection, and the sailors must be experienced and undergo training in safety.”

Start of the Gibbs Hill Division off Newport, Rhode Island during the 2012 Race

“Since 1926, the race has been run by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Volunteer Bermuda Race Organizing Committee composed of members of the two clubs manage the race.

“There are six divisions, each for a type of boat. The race has no single winner, only divisional winners, yet the winning St. David’s Lighthouse Division boat, the division for normal multi-purpose cruising-racing boats, is regarded as the race’s top boat. This division is the largest at approximately 90 boats. There are limits on the number of professional sailors in these boats, and only amateurs are allowed to steer.

“The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division is for all-out racing boats. These are lightweight boats sailed largely by professional sailors. About 12 boats usually enter this division.

“The Cruiser Division, for boats that normally cruise, not race, is sailed by amateur crews. The Cruiser Division usually has about 30 boats.

“The Double-Handed Division, for boats sailed by two sailors, see approximately 20 boats each year.

“The Open Division is for racing boats with movable ballast, cant keels or water ballast, which move from side to side, making the boat more stable and able to carry more sail for greater speed. About five boats usually sail in this division.

“To date, the Newport Bermuda Race has been sailed 48 times, with 5,025 boats and approximately 50,000 sailors traversing approximately 3,200,000 mile of water.

“Trophies and other prizes, more than 100 in all, will be presented by Bermuda’s Governor at a ceremony at Government House, overlooking Bermuda.”

The full 2014 Newport Bermuda Race calendar can be viewed below [PDF here]:

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