More than 20 crew on board a racing yacht have been rescued after it capsized off the Irish coast.

The US registered racing boat, Rambler 100, was taking part in the Fastnet Race when it overturned about 12.5 miles from Baltimore, Co Cork, just after 6.30pm on Monday.

The Irish Coast Guard, which co-ordinated the rescue operation, said 16 crew members sitting on the hull of the vessel were airlifted to safety. Another five who were in a life raft were taken on board other yachts.

Ian Loffhagen, racing manager, said the yacht – skippered by George David – capsized between the Fastnet Rock and the Pantaenius Buoy. “All 21 crew have been rescued,” he added.

Some 314 yachts are taking part in the Rolex Fastnet Race and set sail from Cowes on the Isle of Wight on Sunday.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s biennial event takes the fleet 608 miles along the south coast of the UK, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off south west Ireland, before returning around the Scilly Isles to the finish in Plymouth.

The event has a fearsome reputation following the 1979 race which was devastated by strong winds and seas resulting in 15 deaths.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Coast Guard said the seas in the area were not very rough at the time of the capsize, but that the weather conditions were foggy.

The Baltimore RNLI lifeboat was first on the scene, followed by the Shannon and Waterford-based rescue helicopters and the Irish Naval vessel the LE Ciara.

The yacht’s personal locator beacon was activated when it overturned.

 

Follow up on the rescue.

Feel0ng lucky to be alive, Australian Mike Mottl stepped onto dry land at the pier at Baltimore, west Cork to cheers, applause and an emotional embrace.

One of five crew of the Rambler 100 to be separated from the vessel after it keeled over in heavy seas, Mr Mottl and four others spent two hours adrift before they were plucked from the water.

“I’m feeling lucky to be alive, happy to be here and it’s great to see the local people here to greet us,” Mr Mottl said as he stepped into an awaiting ambulance at the pier.

Erle Williams, from Auckland New Zealand was at the helm when disaster struck seven miles north west of the Fastnet.

“I’m sailing all my life I’ve never ended up in the water like this, it was pretty scary. We were very lucky to get out in time, the navigator put out the call just as boat was tipping over and it went over phenomenally fast,” he said.

Foggy conditions prevented other boats taking part in the race from seeing the stricken crew.

“We were yelling and hollering out to them but obviously they couldn’t see us, it was a pretty frantic time,” he said.

A number of the crew members were asleep below deck when the boat keeled over.

“Some of our guys were very lucky to get out from under the boat so we are counting out blessings,” Mr Williams said.

Michael Van Beuren (44) from Portsmouth, New Zealand said the boat capsized within 30 seconds.

“We were going upwind in heavy seas when the keel fin fractured, the seas were quite big. It is such a relief that we all made it ashore.”

Skipper and owner George David was among five crew members set adrift from the vessel. They were plucked to safety by the crew of the diving vessel, Wave Chieftan .

“We could see them drifting away, we spent two hours clinging to the boat thinking and worrying about them, they were our main concern,” Mr Van Beuren said.

Bob Wylie (48) from Lake Quarry in Australia spent two hours on the upturned keel of the yacht.

“My first priority was my own safety and then to try to help the others,” he said.

“I saw the liferaft drifting away so I threw a rope. It just couldn’t reach them and they kept drifting out to sea.”

One woman on board the vessel, the partner of vessel owner Mr David, was airlifted to safety suffering from hypothermia following the incident.

The Rambler 100 skippered by Mr David was first home in the Transatlantic Race earlier this year. The Rambler crossed the finish line on July 10th in an elapsed time of six days, 22 hours, eight minutes, two seconds.

The Rambler established a new record for the 2,975 nautical mile course from Newport, United States, to Lizard Point, South Cornwall, in Britian.

Mr David is the former chief executive of United Technologies Corporation, a conglomerate based in Hartford, Connecticut, whose vast holdings include such diverse companies as Otis Elevator, Sikorsky Helicopters, Carrier air conditioners and aerospace and industrial systems Hamilton Sudstrand. Mr David is an avid yachtsman and racer.

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George David’s maxi yacht, Rambler 100, crossed the finish line in Antigua in the early hours of Wednesday morning in an elapsed time of 1 day 16 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds.

Subject to official confirmation, Rambler 100 has broken the monohull race record set by race rival, Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard by nearly four hours.

Two of the world’s most impressive racing yachts have been locking horns over 600 miles of high-speed action in a fight to the finish. Competing against each other for the first time and battling it out to snatch the record for the third edition of the RORC Caribbean 600.

The Rambler crew contained the entire compliment of the Puma Ocean Racing team which will be competing in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race, tired but elated, Puma skipper, Kenny Read commented dockside in Antigua:

“That was a lot of fun but hard work for a while, you do something like sail around the world and that is almost easy compared to this, because there is no time to take any sleep, you’re taking so many corners and turns but it is also a gorgeous course, it’s a dream come true type of event. I am glad we came and that George invited me. Probably the most memorable part of the course was at night with a full moon at the top of St. Maarten, big breeze and massive breaking waves, it was huge fun and really cool, we came out of their doing 26 knots, it has been a real adventure and a this course and Rambler 100 is a whole new dimension for sailing.”

Rambler 100′s George David, an avid sailor and member of the New York Yacht Club, has been sailing with Kenny Read for 17 years.

“Rambler 100 is quite a handful, it’s like a Volvo 70 on steroids and this is a big fast race, which favours us,” commented David. “It is part of the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series, the RORC Caribbean 600 has been a great race as part of that series. We never took this win for granted, we have carried out some optimisation towards the IRC rating and we really didn’t know how we would perform, as this is the first time that the boat has been raced to be IRC competitive. Leopard is a powerful boat and they are a good team that has been sailing together for a number of years.

Thank you to the RORC and the Antigua Yacht Club, a lot of people have put a great deal of effort into making this a great race, I think this race is going to attract a lot of competitors, we have a record fleet this year and I can only seeing it growing, I think we will be back next year.”
IRC Overall Provisional Results
 
1.  USA25555  Rambler 100     JK 100            George David   
2.  CAN84248  Vela Veloce     Southern Cross 52 Richard Oland  
3.  GBR115L   Sojana          Farr 115          Peter Harrison  
4.  AUS5299   Jazz            Cookson 50        Chris Bull  
5.  GBR1R     ICAP Leopard    Farr 100  Mike Slade Mike Slade/Clarke Murphy
6.  IRL5005   Lee Overlay Partners Cookson 50   Adrian Lee   
7.  GBR22N    Aegir           Carbon Ocean 82   Brian Benjamin  
8.  GBR4321R  Oystercatcher XXVIII Humphreys 54 Richard Matthews  
9.  NED46     Tonnerre de Breskens 3 Ker 46     Piet Vroon  
10. LTU1000   Ambersail       VO 60             Simonas Steponavicius  
11. US60006   Venomous        Carroll Marine 60 Derek Saunders  
12. USA60271  Ocean’s Seven²  Fauroux 104′ OSML Ltd JP Chomette
13. NED001    Windrose Of Amsterdam Dijkstra 40m Schooner Andrew McIrvine 

 
Follow the rest of the fleet as they complete the race on the Carribbean 600 race tracker brought to you by Yellowbrick
HERE

Rambler 100 Launches off a wave (Photo by Tim Wright)

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Seven days of racing, 147 competing boats, 11 divisions, two National Championships, one North American Championship, 1200 sailors and one great sailing town of Newport. It all adds up to New England’s favorite regatta – New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. Kicking off on Saturday, July 17 with three days of one design and Classic, 12 Metre and PHRF-rated competition, Race Week’s “first half” welcomes the Beneteau 36.7, J/105, J/109, J/122, J/80, Classics, S Class, 12 Metre, 6 Metre and NYYC Swan 42 classes. In all, 109 boats are registered for the first half of Race Week.

After a lay day featuring a classic New England Lobster Bake hosted at the New York Yacht Club’s on-the-water clubhouse Harbour Court, the “second half” is scheduled for four days of racing to determine the Rolex US-IRC National Champion. To date 38 IRC-rated racers are registered for the fourth annual competition. Preliminary entry lists, sailing instructions and daily results can be found online at www.nyyc.org.
The largest One Design Class is the J/105 with 22 boats currently entered including the top three finishers from 2008 Race Week: Eclipse, owned by Damian Emery (Shoreham, N.Y.); Savasana, owned by Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.); and Live Edge, owned by Michael Mountford.

“My team is looking forward to a great event,” said Mountford, who is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “We really enjoy sailing in the New England area as sailing on the East Coast is good training for us. I decided to keep Live Edge in the Newport area this year after sailing in Rye in the fall. The NYYC runs a great regatta, the location is excellent and the people and sailing are terrific.”

The second largest One Design fleet is the NYYC Swan 42 Class with 15 registered boats competing for the national championship. The 2008 Race Week champion Tiburon, owned by Mark Watson (San Antonio, Texas/Newport, R.I.) and 2009 national champion Arethusa, owned by Phil Lotz (Newport, R.I.), are expected to compete.

“Each year, the Swan 42 Nationals represents the premier event for the fleet,” said Paul Zabetakis (Jamestown, R.I.), NYYC Swan 42 class president and owner of Impetuous. “The teams use the regattas prior to this event to prepare for what has become the most competitive racing of the year. The teams consist of some of the most talented Corinthian competitors in the sailing community. The racing is so close that even minor mistakes are very costly – it can mean the difference between first or last at the rounding marks. Clearly, the winner of this regatta is acknowledged by the fleet as the ‘best of the best.’”

North American championship title is on the line in the J/109 class where 13 boats are registered, including defending champion Storm, owned by Rick Lyall (Wilton, Conn.) and 2008 champion Gut Feeling, owned by Ted Herlihy (South Dartmouth, Mass.).

Elan, John Hammel’s (Arlington, Mass.) Beneteau 36.7, is looking to defend its 2008 victory against an increasingly competitive fleet.  “This year we are fortunate to have six of the eight competing boats traveling to Newport specifically for this event,” said John Hammel, the local fleet captain. “Five are from Long Island Sound and one is from Boston.” The event is one of five events that are used to determine the North East Fleet 36.7 Boat of the Year award. Last year’s winner was Bill Purdy’s (City Island, N.Y.) Whirlwind, which is frequently at the top of Long Island Sound 36.7 events, and finished fourth in the 2006 North Americans, held in Newport, and third overall in 2008. 

Other skippers and boats to watch include Chick Pyle (San Diego, Calif.), 2005 North American Class champion, skippering Kea/Slipstream, a name mixed with his chartered Slipstream and his own, 36.7 Kea.  Lou Mellio’s (Middletown, N.J.) Surface Tension and Junius Brown’s (Ridgefield, Conn.) Resolute are also strong competitors in the Long Island Sound fleet.

In total, 120 boats are registered for the first half of the week of racing, July 17-19, which will take place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.

Second Half of Week to Showcase IRC-Rated Racing

After taking a one-day break on Tuesday, July 20 to allow boats to switch to IRC configuration, the second of half kicks off on Wednesday, July 21 featuring four days of IRC racing with a mix of short course and middle-distance racing planned. To date, 36 IRC-rated boats are entered with George David’s Custom 90-footer Rambler the largest competing. The Rolex US-IRC National Championship will end with a Rolex gala and awards party on Saturday, July 24. 

 Swan 42 Class 2 Weiss New York Christopher Dragon 12204

J-109

Kamisher New York Blue Rider 71

Filippelli Caminos 52202

Kenny / Ames Gossip 274

Herlihy Gut Feeling 72

Jannetti Breakwater Jibber Jabber 272

Gutshall Maddogs & Englishmen 260

Schwartz Manhasset Bay Nordlys 267

Salk New York picante 126

Sweetser New York Rush 51

Vos Skoot 369

Lyall New York Storm 146

Milo Vento Solare 266

 

BLUE FLEET

Class 3 Shachoy Beverly August West 54

 

 Tortorello Partnership 12

Furnary New York Patriot 61220

Murphy Pugwash 60003

Chapman Screaming Eagle 52920

Gold New York Sundari 12235

Boyle / Bruno / Callahan New York Wings 12241

Shaw New York Tumbleweed 52770

Class 1 Clarke Newport Next Wave 31113 36 Farrv395

Tofias Royal Thames Race Horse US-1 42 W 37

Milligan/Roche New York Act One 52915 60 sloop

Rich New York Settler 31200 61 Cust. Peterson 42

Janney Eastern Die Fledermaus 73179 75 J/35

Armstrong St. Croix Good Girl ISV68 82 J/100

Tyler Hyannis Straight Jacket 3333 84 Quest 30

Hall Bluto 53194 89 Evelyn 32

Hyde Freightrain 40926 93 Frers 36

Stookey / Hallowell New York Jest 50686 93 Quest 32

Beneteau 36.7

Class 2 Powers Agora 52475

Palmer New York A C Breakaway 69

Hammel New York Elan 51920

Pyle San Diego Kea/Slipstream 52498

Raczkowski Mischief 93206

Brown Saugatuck Harbor Resolute 230

Melillo Atlantic Highlands Surface Tension 4444

Purdy City Island Whirlwind 52134

J-105

Class 3 Lewis Annapolis Bat IV 328

Bloom Falmouth Bear Spirit 51682

Henderson / Edegran Larchmont Conundrum 170

Wagner Buzzards Dark ‘n Stormy 413

Emery Eclipse 50

Rugg New York Jaded 92

Groobey Annapolis Java 674

Weiderman Kima 300

Esdorn New York Kincsem 324

Mountford Royal Canadian Live Edge 267

Koten Planet Claire 630

Stone St. Francis Power Play 37

Keane Beverly Savasana 523

Brauer/Neff New York Scimitar 526

Mindich LHYC/HYC Shakedown 488

Allen Riverside Strange Brew 175

Weglarz Chicago The Asylum 673

Darlington East Greenwich Tonto 493

Masur New York Two Feathers 344

Beane New York Vixen 657

 

Class 1 Kane New York Bolero 134 48.5

Fetter New York Black Watch 71 48 

 1

 Class 2

Cholerton-Brown Manhattan America II US 46

 Heckman New York USA US 61

Isham / Auersperg New York Courageous US 26

 Williams Corinthian Victory 83 K-22

Swift New York American Eagle US 21

 Class 3

6 METRE

C

S Class 

 

 

 

Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail #

Class 5

 Davis Aquila 51

Sloan New York Argument 22

Silken Firefly 7

McCaffrey Newport Osprey S8

Herreshoff New York Lady Luck 2

Patterson Pirate 63

Hutchinson RIYC Shona 15

Hagen Sturdy Beggar 17

Roy Newport Surprise 5

Boylan Whistler S3

Migliaccio Wistful 14

PHRF 2 

 

 

 

Skipper Yacht Club Boat Sail # Rating Model

Class 6 Lavin East Greenwich Dirty Harry 40561 111 J-29

Nauber Wolverine 41354 111 Frers 33

Rasadi New York Showdown 31628 111 J-29

Walters IYAC Poia 22956 121 Catalina 38

Mentelos Park Place 41976 150 O’Day 34

  CRF 2

 2 Metre

Towbin New York Sumurun 14 58

Class 1  

Colburn New York Apparition 4235

Lotz New York Arethusa 4216

Fisher New York Bandit 4208

Brownyard New York Barleycorn 4224

G. Rojek New York Better Than… 18

Culver New York Blazer 4243

Gefter New York Celeritas 42021

Cahoots Syndicate New York Conspiracy 4201

Hele New York Daring 4214

Darden / Williamson New York Hoss 4227

Zabetakis New York Impetuous 4206

Kane New York Mutiny 4204

Widmann New York Quintessence 4210

Watson New York Tiburon 4223

Halbert Vitesse 4240

 

 

Rodes New York Ranger US112

Towse / Towse New York Syce US14

Fair New York Madcap US21

Loughborough New York Belle L24-2

lass 4

 

Glassie New York Fortune 312 36.6

Pearsall New York Chips 13 36.1

Croll New York Angelita 18 34.9

Colie Mantoloking Silent Maid T 82 29

 

 

 

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Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk in the Open Division for cant-keel boats. Speedboat, owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record.  Rán, the Fastnet and Sydney Hobart race winner, finished first in Class 10 and is a strong contender for the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy.

Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. “We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line,” Watson said. “We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us.” Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race.  “This was the easiest Bermuda Race I’ve ever done and I’ve done a few.”  

Photos of Bermuda Race Start By George Bekris  HERE

PUMA Ocean Racing’s IL Mostro (Photo by George Bekris)

  Rán, Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, is the provisional winner in Class 10 for big professional boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division after being pushed hard by Tom Hill’s Titan XV for more than 600 miles. George David’s Rambler matched up with Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste and took line honors for these fixed-keel boats. “I’ve never sailed a Bermuda Race when you’re head to head with another boat for so long,” said Rambler’s tactician, Jerry Kirby.  “It came down to the last tack to St. David’s Light.”
 
Vanquish, co-skippered by Bermudian Buddy Rego and Americans Russell Lucas and Jamie Hilton, crossed the line first in Class 8 for the big boats in the amateur St. David’s Lighthouse Division, but Gus Carlson’s Aurora is the provisional class winner. Some smaller boats have a good shot at winning the division. Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, has a 60-mile lead over her Class 3 competition. In the highly competitive Class 1, Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 and the two-time defending St. David’s winner, has sailed farther west than anybody and is fighting for the lead with David Dickerson’s Lindy.
 
In the Double-Handed Division, iBoattrack showed Michael Hennessy’s Dragon at the head of the pack, 160 miles from the finish, with the four-time winner Lora Ann not far behind. The Cruising Division’s leader, Clover III, was about 70 miles out on Saturday afternoon with a healthy lead on the 80-footer Nirvana.

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The lead boats entered the Gulf Stream at around sunset Saturday, heading upwind into a moderate southwesterly wind with as much as 4 knots of favorable current in the long, hot meander that they have been steering for since the race start on Friday afternoon. Speedboat, at 100ft the largest yacht in the fleet, was making more than 12 knots over the bottom. The earlier “champagne conditions” were behind them as they pounded into big, square, confused seas.

iBoattrack  positions at 11 AM EDT Sunday showed Speedboat averaging almost 11 knots with 175 miles to the finish. At this rate she is behind the  48-hour elapsed time race record for cant-keel, Open Division boats – She has to average 13knots for the whole race to beat this time.

Rán was 38 miles back. Following close on the heels of this English boat in the Gibbs Hill Division were Titan XV, Beau Geste, Bella Mente, Rambler, Il Mostro, Vanquish, and Genuine Risk. This tightly bunched pack of eight has been separated by only a few miles since the start.

By this morning the ‘big boat’ leaders were clear of the Stream and entering the 250-mile stretch of often confused wind and currents between the Gulf Stream and Bermuda. Race veterans wryly call this “Happy Valley,” for it is where the race is often won and lost.              

Chris Museler, on Titan XV, filed this report just before midnight:
“Now this is what we came for! The boat is literally crashing into waves close reaching onto the Gulf Stream and the water temperature has leapt into the 80s. It’s getting darker and the Aramid rigging has been humming and groaning, and the deck bounces from each loud crack when a sheet or the traveler is eased. This wild ride comes from being in a positive eddy heading south, straight into it! (Wind and current collide to stack up the seas that the boats are crashing into.) This is getting to be fun after losing a bit to competitors this afternoon. The bright sun and the flat water sailing are gone. Can’t write anymore, quite hot and uncomfortable down here. So I’m on watch and will be seeing you in the morning. Knew I wouldn’t want to sail a Bermuda Race without a proper ‘thrash,’ as Mr. Rousmaniere calls it!”

The Smaller Boats

By dawn today, Rán was out of the Stream, and the team was speculating in their blog whether the smaller boats – a hundred miles astern, and just entering this zone – have had consistently more wind than the big ones.

In Class 1, the St. David’s Lighthouse Division class for boats of about 40 feet, Sinn Fein, the two-time defending St. David’s champion, has chosen a course well to the right of the fleet leaders, and her close class rivals sistership Gone with the Wind and the Tartan 41 Aurora, and charting a route 50 miles west of the rhumb line.   

In the Double-Handed Division, two of the light-displacement Class 40s, Dragon and KamoaE, have a healthy lead on elapsed time, but Richard du Moulin’s Lora Ann remains in contention. 

The Cruiser Division leader is the 56-foot Clover III, well ahead of the bigger boats in this Division.      

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The Newport Bermuda Race fleet made their upwind starts in 16 classes over a period of more than two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. There now are 183 boats, after Avatar didn’t start. In addition, Blue sailed back to the shipyard to get her broken centerboard cable fixed; she’s expected to start again after the repair.

The start found some skippers were surprisingly aggressive. Apparently forgetting that this isn’t a day race but a 635-mile marathon running several days, they also seem to have experienced a touch of amnesia about the tide table.  As the new ebb tide ran with every great velocity out of Narragansett Bay, it pushed them inexorably toward Bermuda, but also over the starting line a little earlier than their tacticians had planned.

Of the 13 boats in Class 4 (St. David’s Light Division, 45-55 footers), four found themselves over early at the pin end, with Star Chaser getting what one of her crew called “the best start in the fleet” in an email to media@BermudaRace.com. “We were at the committee boat end of the line with some of the J-Boats but higher and faster. We all chose to be slightly late on the gun: no use being OCS  on a race of 635 nm!”

In Class 8 (St. David’s Light, 65-footers) two boats were premature. One was Aurora (with Gary Jobson in the afterguard), and she had to pick her way back to the line, losing at least three minutes in the process.

The current new on the Newport Bermuda Race  is that  Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west.  Two boats set Code Zeros.

For current boat positions click HERE

 Chris Museler reports from Titan XV:  a collision, a Code Zero, and a champagne wake

 Friday, 2045 EDT.  What an incredible day we’ve had! When I woke up to clear skies and glassy conditions, I knew the sea breeze was setting up nicely. After our delicious hot lunch aboard Tom and Dotty Hill’s Titan XIV, we set out in a relaxed mood, everyone smiling about the conditions. The spectators were all smiles and cheers. There were so many people camped out on the Castle Hill lawn that you couldn’t see any grass.

We started well to weather of the other mini maxis in Class 10 (Gibbs Hill Division) and from then until sunset (a few moments ago) it’s been champagne sailing conditions – sailing at 13-15 knots in a steady wind.   We’ve been the lead boat for a few hours, but now as it’s getting dark, Speedboat is passing us to leeward.  She started at 4:30, an hour after we did, and it’s now after 8.  Rán (in our class) isn’t far behind.

At about 5:30 we hit a large marine animal of some kind.  It may have been a basking shark, maybe as long as 20 feet. The hit was soft and we almost stopped. The fish made a few squiggles, spun off, and swam away in our wake.  The boat appears to be undamaged.

We’ve switched to a Code Zero, and as our grinders are getting busy they look a lot bigger than before. Mark Strube, who finished second at the Star Class Europeans two weeks ago, is 250 pounds of muscle.  The crew has just had dinner – hot rice and chicken with pineapple, which took an hour to cook in two large pots, plus the usual Snickers and Pringles for snacks . . . and apples, too.

Photos By George Bekris

More Photos Of The Newport Bermuda Race Start by George Bekris click HERE

 The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm.  Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda.  Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead.  There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.

By John Rousmaniere

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Down in Bermuda, the best spot to watch the yachts finish in Bermuda is from the grounds of St. David’s Lighthouse. Visitors will find that the Finish Line Committee is very hospitable and depending on the finishing traffic, they may be invited up into the tower for a tour. It is a straight up climb and not for people afraid of heights. The view from the lawn is almost as good and worth the trip to St. David’s.

The HD Gateway Finish Line Cam is new for 2010.  From the high definition camera mounted on the St. David’s Lighthouse tower, finish line action will be streamed worldwide 24/7. Spectators can use iBoattrack to follow their boat of interest to the finish, then actually watch them cross the line when they arrive.

In Bermuda, digital spectators can watch boats finish from the comfort of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. A Gateway ‘SMART Board’ will be available for viewing in the Calabash Lounge and a smaller HD TV monitor will be available over the Terrace Bar.

 by Talbot Wilson

New Bermuda Race Entrants

Yacht	Yacht Type	Division	Captain
ANGEL	Ctm 84	CD	Edward T. Anderson
ATALANTA	Little Harbor 54	CD	James F. Volkwein
ATTITUDE	Beneteau 423	CD	Shawn Dahlen
AVATAR	Ranger 37	CD	Janusz Kedzierski
BERMUDA OYSTER	Oyster 435	CD	Paul B. Hubbard
BLE U	C&C 51xl	CD	Dan Epstein
BLUEBIRD	Migrant 45 Ketch	CD	Harry Bird
BONSPIEL	Nordic 44	CD	James J. Richter
CADENCE	Apogee 50	CD	R. David Warters
CETACEA	Hinckley 59	CD	Christopher J. Culver
CHECKMATE	Alden44	CD	Frank J. Flores
CLOVER III	Swan 56	CD	Neal F. Finnegan
CONVERGENCE	Jeanneau 43 DS	CD	James Linsley
EAGLE	J-40	CD	Dana Oviatt
ECLIPSE	Hinckley 59	CD	Barbara & Robert Cavanagh
FOX	Swan 53	CD	Ruth M. Pecherek
FREEDOM	Sabre 452	CD	Cary W. Thomson
HAERLEM	Swan 55	CD	Hendrikus (Henk) P L Wisker
I’LL THINK ABOUT IT	Beneteau 523	CD	Marc Tandourjian
ISOLA	Baltic 52	CD	Howard M. Eisenberg
KALUE	Wooden Ketch	CD	Rudy Schreiber
LAURA B	Island Packet 45	CD	Joseph R. Triggs, Jr.
LIBERTY CALL	HR 43	CD	Matthew G. Pilon
LILLA	CNB 76	CD	Simon M. De Pietro
MANANA	Swan 48	CD	Michhael V. Johnson
MISTY	Little Harbor 54	CD	Eric G. Thorkilsen
NIRVANA	Maxi 80	CD	Charles F Kiefer III
NOSTOS	Alden 44	CD	Lorenzo D. Weisman
NOVA	Swan 56	CD	Mark DiStefano
PILGRIM	Alden 44	CD	Mark Rice
POESKE	First 42	CD	Richard Donn
RESTIVE	Alden48 Ctm	CD	George P Denny III
RUTAINE	C&C 37/40+	CD	David P. McLoughlin
SCEPTRED ISLE	Ctm 63	CD	Rex G. Herbert
SHEARWATER	Morris 40	CD	Conrad Hall
SHINDIG	Pearson 39-2	CD	Kevin G. Flannery
TEMPTRESS	IMX-45	CD	Arent H Kits van Heyningen
WHISKEY GIRL	Hinckley 70	CD	Michael McAllister
WINDWALKER II	Lyman Morse 60	CD	Daniel Levangie
ALIBI	J-120	DH	Gardner L. Grant, Jr.
BOLANDS MILL	Class 40	DH	John Ryan
CHOUCAS	Jeanneau SF36	DH	Frederic Cosandey
CORDELIA	Valiant 42	DH	Roy F. Greenwald
CUTLASS	Class 40	DH	Alex / Nick Mehran / Halmos
DAWN TREADER	Swan 48 MK II	DH	Lawrence G. Cohen
DELAWANA	Swan 51	DH	Hans F. Himmelman
DIRIGO	C&C 41	DH	Eric M. Johnson
DRAGON	Class 40	DH	Michael S. Hennessy
ESMERALDE	Sabre 386	DH	Bruce R. Beard, Jr.
GREAT SCOT	J-35	DH	Darren T Garnier
HERON	J-120	DH	Greg R. Leonard
KAMOA’E	Class 40	DH	Eric Lecoq
KILLUA	Aphrodite 101	DH	James G. Binch
KIVA	Hinkley SW51CB	DH	Mark Stevens
LORA ANN	Express 37	DH	Richard T. du Moulin
MIREILLE	J-120	DH	Edwin Gaynor
NEXT BOAT	Morris 45	DH	Mark Ellman
OCEAN WANDERER1	Montivideo 43	DH	Erwin Wanderer
PALADIN	J-35	DH	Jason A Richter
PLUM CRAZY	Sabre MK II	DH	Michael R. Berg
RESOLUTE	J/122	DH	D. Scott Miller
SEABISCUIT	J-46	DH	Nathan C. Owen
SIR EDMUND	Ctm 49	DH	Fredrick R. Holt
TOOTHFACE	Akilaria Class40	DH	Michael W. Dreese
WHISPER	Hinckley 48	DH	Thomas J. Vander Salm
BEAU GESTE	Farr 80	GHL	Karl Kwok
BELLA MENTE	Mini Maxi	GHL	Hap Fauth
CAPTIVITY	Farr 60	GHL	Samuel T. Byrne
CATAPULT RACING	SouthernCross 52	GHL	Marc Glimcher
HOI AN	Custom 50	GHL	Heilner Marc
NATALIE J	TP52	GHL	Philip D. O’Niel III, D.D.S.
NOONMARK VI	Swan 56	GHL	Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy
RAMBLER	Ctm 90	GHL	George David
RAN	JV 72	GHL	Niklas Zennstrom
RIMA2	R/P 55	GHL	John Brim
SNOW LION	Ker 50	GHL	Lawrence S. Huntington
TITAN 15	ctm75	GHL	Tom Hill, Mr.
VELA VELOCE	Southern Cross	GHL	Richard H Oland
GENUINE RISK	Dubois 90	Open	Mark E / USMMA Watson III
ILMOSTRO	VOR70	Open	Ken Read
SPEEDBOAT	Maxi	Open	Alex Jackson
ACTAEA	Hinckley B40	SDL	Michael M. Cone
AKELA III	Swan 43	SDL	Djoerd Hoekstra
AKUBRA	J44	SDL	Reginald H. Goodday Dr.
AMADEUS	IMX-40	SDL	Jack R. Yaissle
AMERICAN GIRL	King 40	SDL	Daniel Galyon
AMIGO VI	J-42	SDL	Bernie P. Coyne
APSARA	J-109	SDL	Mike Sleightholme
ARBELLA	First 44.7	SDL	James P. Shaughnesy
AURORA	Tartan 41	SDL	Andrew F. Kallfelz
AURORA	Reichel/Pugh 66	SDL	Gus Carlson
AVENIR	C&C 41	SDL	Joseph T. Murray
AVRA	J/120 Mod	SDL	George Petrides
BABE	Swan 46	SDL	Colin E. Couper MD
BACCI	Swan 53	SDL	Lorenzo Vascotto
BARLEYCORN	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Brendan J. Brownyard
BEAGLE	J-44	SDL	Philip H. Gutin
BEAUSOLEIL	Beneteau 456SD	SDL	Richard A Parent
BELLE AURORE	Cal 40	SDL	R Douglas Jurrius
BIG BOOTY	Lutra 42	SDL	Patrick Eudy
BOMBARDINO	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	James W. Sykes
BRAND NEW DAY	J-65	SDL	James C. Madden
BUZZ	Sydney 38	SDL	Richard E. Stevenson, Jr
CARINA	CTM 48	SDL	Rives Potts
CHARLIE V	J-44	SDL	Norman H. Schulman MD
CILISTA	J-130	SDL	Jeffrey L. Eberle
CONVICTUS MAXIMUS	Farr IRC 42	SDL	Donald W. Nicholson
CYBELE	IMX-45	SDL	Richard M. Burnes, Jr
CYGNETTE	Swan 441	SDL	William J. Mayer
DENALI	Nelson Marek 70	SDL	Michael A. D’Amelio
DOGSLED	Kaufman 47	SDL	Todd F. Barnard
DOLPHIN	J-42	SDL	Henry S. Morgan
DONNYBROOK	Ctm Sloop	SDL	James P. Muldoon
FEARLESS	Farr 395 OD	SDL	Shaun J. Ensor
FINESSE	J-42	SDL	Newton P.S. Merrill
FLIRT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US NAVAL ACADEMY
FLYING GOOSE	Ctm 56	SDL	Daniel C. van Starrenburg
FROLIC	Sabre 362	SDL	Peter G. Brown
GLORY	J-44	SDL	Jack Neades/ USCGA
GOLD DIGGER	J-44	SDL	James D. Bishop
GONE WITH THE WIND	Cal 40	SDL	William M. LeRoy
GRACIE	Ctm 69	SDL	Stephan A. & Simon W Frank
GREY MATTER	Hanse 470e	SDL	Brian R. Parselle
GREYGHOST	Zaal 38	SDL	Philip W. Parish
HAKUNA MATATA	Cal 39	SDL	Christopher J. Andrews
HIGH NOON	Tripp 41	SDL	Colin Rath
HIRO MARU	Swan 43 Classic	SDL	Hiroshi Nakajima
HOUND	Ctm 60	SDL	Eberhart Frank
INVICTUS	TP52	SDL	US Naval Academy
JACKNIFE	J-133	SDL	Andrew Hall
JACQUELINE IV	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Robert S. Forman, Jr
JADE	J-42	SDL	Robert W. Thuss, Jr.
KALEVALA II	Grand Soleil 37	SDL	Tapio O. Saavalainen
KODIAK	Swan 601	SDL	E. Llwyd Ecclestone
LAPIN	Benn Frst 40.7	SDL	Christopher Clark
LINDY	Peterson 38	SDL	David G. Dickerson
MAGIC	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	Kenneth Laudon
MERLIN	Swan57	SDL	John H Duerden
MISCHIEVOUS	Ctm 65	SDL	Albert J. Fitzgibbons
MISTY	J-40 WK	SDL	Fred A. Allardyce
MOJOE	Peterson 43	SDL	Joseph M. Naroski
MORGAN OF MARIETTA	Centurion 42	SDL	Colin G Golder
NASTY MEDICINE	Corby 41.5	SDL	Stephen J. Sherwin MD
RAGANA	Cape Fear 38R	SDL	Darius Peleda
RAINMAKER	Swan40	SDL	Kenneth P. Hylwa Mr.
REGATTA	CARTER41	SDL	Constantine G. Koste
REINDEER	Morris 47	SDL	Peter/Tony Driscoll/Parker
RELATIVITY	Beneteau 53F5	SDL	Hall Palmer
RESOLUTE	J-44 WK	SDL	Fred Madeira
RICOCHET	J-120	SDL	USCGA
ROCKET SCIENCE	J-120	SDL	Rick F. Oricchio
RUNAWAY	J-44	SDL	Lawrence R. Glenn
SAILOR BANDIDO	Quest 33	SDL	Christopher A. Palabrica
SARAH	X-41	SDL	Gregory B. Manning
SFORZANDO	Ker 55	SDL	Clayton G. Deutsch
SHINNECOCK	J-120	SDL	James C. Praley
SINN FEIN	Cal 40	SDL	Peter S. Rebovich, Sr.
SIRENA BELLA	J44	SDL	Joe Murli
SIRENSONG	J-133	SDL	Thomas J Carroll
SLIDE RULE	First 44.7	SDL	Scott Bearse
SPIRIT	Baltic 38DP	SDL	A. John Gregg
STAR CHASER	Swan 51	SDL	Wijnand (Boogie) van den Boogaard
STARLIGHT	Simonis Voogd 56	SDL	Michael Dybvik
SWIFT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US Naval Academy
TEMPTATION	Taylor 45	SDL	Arthur & Peter Santry
TERRAPIN	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	Jonathan Litt
THEJACKAL	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	John DeFilippo
THREEBEANS	Santa Cruz 37	SDL	Christopher Rosow
TIGER	Swan 46	SDL	Thomas & Nancy Grieb
TRIPLE LINDY	Swan 44 MK II	SDL	Joseph Mele
TRUE	J-42 (mod)	SDL	Howard B. Hodgson, Jr.
UPGRADE	Farr 395	SDL	Peter Gibbons-Neff
VALKYRIE	First 44.7	SDL	David Andril
VAMP	J-44	SDL	Leonard J. Sitar
VANQUISH	STP 65	SDL	Rego / Riker Lucas / USMMA
VORTICES	J 145	SDL	Christopher L Saxton
WAZIMO	Aerodyne 38	SDL	W. Barrett Holby, Jr.
WESTRAY	Concordia 39	SDL	John D. Melvin
WHISPER	Canning 48	SDL	Sheldon Brotman
WHITE RHINO	Swan 56	SDL	Todd Stuart
WINDBORN	J-120	SDL	Richard W. Born
XCELSIOR	IMX-45	SDL	Alice O. Martin
XENOPHON	Swan 44 MKII	SDL	Jeffrey V. Rabuffo, MD
ZEST	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Brian E. Swiggett
ZWERVER	S&S 57′ Berm Cut	SDL	Frans van Schaik

The above list subject to change.

 

For More Photos of the Newport bermuda Race 2008 by George Bekris click  HERE

 From the June 18^th start in Newport to finish in Bermuda 635 miles later, this classic ocean race is almost a spectator sport.

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