Hashtag: #JohnRousmaniereReports
First Chinese Entry Completes Newport Race
[Written by John Rousmaniere] The Newport Bermuda Race’s international race course has long attracted sailors and boats from many countries. The 185-boat entry list in early June included sailors from 23 countries and 21 boats with non-US sail numbers. Fifty-five of the crews included sailors from outside the USA. The Chinese crew on the J44 Spirit... Read more of this article
Newport Bermuda Race: Challenge And Variety
[Written by John Rousmaniere] The Newport Bermuda Race has long been well known for the variety of the challenges it throws at sailors. Sometimes there are calms, at other times storms, often there’s overcast, and occasionally there is the distraction of a stunningly beautiful night. This year, a full moon rose over the fleet with such brilliance... Read more of this article
Newport Bermuda Race: High Noon Honours
[Written by John Rousmaniere] As the Newport Bermuda Race fleet rushed to the finish line on Monday in the wake of the first-to-finish boat, the powerful 100-foot grand prix Comanche, to the surprise of many they were led by an unusual boat and crew.High Noon, at 41 feet, is fully 59 feet shorter than Comanche and tens of feet shorter than many other... Read more of this article
“Comanche” On Track To Break Newport Record
[Written by John Rousmaniere] Less than 24 hours into the race, Comanche is already through the Gulf Stream and pressing to break Rambler’s elapsed time record from 2012. “We’re in Champagne conditions, making 20-25 knots,” said skipper Kenny Read. At press time 7:00PM in Bermuda, Comanche was 213 miles from the St. David’s Lighthouse finish... Read more of this article
Weather For The 2016 Newport Bermuda Race
[Written by John Rousmaniere] As nearly 1,700 sailors who will soon race to Bermuda make their preparations, loading food and gear into their boats and lining up to pre-clear Bermuda customs and immigration, all of them have one question in mind: “What will the weather be?” And one answer: “I just hope it’ll favor my boat.” The 50th thrash... Read more of this article
Sailing: 2016 Newport Bermuda Race Preview
[Written by John Rousmaniere] Action starts at 3:00pm EDT Friday, June 17 from Newport Rhode Island. The 635-mile biennial Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, one of very few international distance races, and [with the Transpac Race] one of just two of the world’s regularly scheduled races held almost entirely out of... Read more of this article
Newport Bermuda Race Offer New Youth Awards
[Written by John Rousmaniere] The Newport Bermuda Race is well known as a long-distance ocean adventure with a special appeal for ambitious young sailors. Many of today’s skippers, navigators, and watch captains first went to sea as teenage deck hands in a “Thrash to the Onion Patch,” or in a return delivery from Bermuda. Today, those Bermuda... Read more of this article
Rousmaniere Looks Back At 46th Thrash
[Written by John Rousmaniere] When I wrote my history of the race, A Berth to Bermuda, in 2006, one theme wove its way through the narrative: Anyone who wishes to win the oldest of all ocean races must be prepared to be bold in choosing strategy and tactics. Richard B. Nye, who with his father and three Carinas won two races and almost a third, told... Read more of this article
50th Newport Bermuda Race To Use One Rule
[Written by John Rousmaniere] When the Newport Bermuda Race is next sailed in 2016, it will be scored by one handicapping system, the Offshore Racing Rule [ORR]. The ORR calculates each boat’s speed potential based on its dimensions, using a Velocity Prediction Program [VPP]. The ORR has been used in the Newport Bermuda Race since 2006, following... Read more of this article
Actaea Takes St. David’s Lighthouse Division
[Written by John Rousmaniere] Actaea, skippered by Michael and Connie Cone from Philadelphia, PA and Shockwave, a 72-foot Mini-Maxi sloop owned by George Sakellaris from Framingham, MA, are the big winners in this year’s 49th Newport Bermuda Race. The 635-mile race across the Gulf Stream had 164 starters on June 20 at Newport, RI, in five divisions,... Read more of this article
Newport Bermuda Sailing Race Gets Underway
[Written by John Rousmaniere] Who would have thought that spinnakers would be flown at the starts of two Newport Bermuda Races in a row? The race did not gain its well-known nickname, “The Thrash to the Onion Patch,” because it’s usually a downwind sleigh ride, like the Transpac. The 2012 start was a fast run before a fresh northerly for every... Read more of this article
165 Boats Enter Newport Bermuda Race
[Written by John Rousmaniere] With the June 20th start of the Newport Bermuda Race fast approaching, 165 boats are entered for the 49th sprint to the finish off St. David’s Head, Bermuda. The start will be off Castle Hill, in the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the 635-mile Newport... Read more of this article
180 Boats Apply For Newport Bermuda Race
[Written by John Rousmaniere] As of the April 1 deadline, 180 applications for entry have been received for the 2014 Newport Bermuda Race that will start on June 20 off Castle Hill in Newport. Broken down by the biennial race’s five divisions, the entries are: St. David’s Lighthouse, 91 boats; Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, 10; Cruiser, 36; Double-Handed,... Read more of this article
Evacuation At Sea: Lessons Learned
[Written by John Rousmaniere] The Newport Bermuda Race is closely followed by an onshore team of race officials who alternate four-hour watches as they monitor emails, satphone and radiotelephone calls, and the online tracker that identifies entries and their positions. At a little after 2000 EDT on the 2012 race’s third night, June 17, watch-stander... Read more of this article
International Jury Penalizes Newport Yacht
[Written by John Rousmaniere] The International Jury for the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race has penalised the yacht Carina 15 minutes in elapsed time because a professional sailor briefly steered the boat during the race. The rules of the St. David’s Lighthouse Division in which Carina sailed (and which the boat won) require that only amateur sailors steer... Read more of this article
Naval Academy Boats At Top Of Race fleet
[Written by John Rousmaniere] Each of the three United States Naval Academy boats finished in the top three of her division. Swift, a first-generation Navy 44, won Class 2. Defiance, a second-generation Navy 44, finished second in Class 3. And Invictus, a grand prix TP 52 designed by Botin and Carkeek, finished third in Class 8 and was also top boat... Read more of this article
