George David"€™s 90ft maxi Rambler has smashed the 635 mile Newport Bermuda race record, clipping a massive 14 hours off the previous best time set 10 years ago by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket. The new record now stands at 39hr, 39 minutes, 18 seconds (subject to ratification) - an average speed of 16knots(Photo by Barry Pickthall/PPL)

Dateline: 07:09:18 ADT Bermuda: George David’s 90ft maxi Rambler has smashed the 635 mile Newport Bermuda race record, clipping a massive 14 hours off the previous best time set 10 years ago by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket. The new record now stands at 39hr, 39 minutes, 18 seconds (subject to ratification) – an average speed of 16knots.

A delighted George David said. “These were perfect conditions. The most exciting moment was when we hit 26 knots. I’m so pleased with our performance. We have reduced the record by 25% – Not bad for a boat that is now 10 years old. This Rambler is the best boat I have ever owned!”

Rambler not only slashed the race record, her crew also spanked their rivals, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente crossing the lighthouse line 1 hour 43 minutes behind, followed 3 minutes later by Shockwave skippered by George Sakellaris.

On corrected time however, Shockwave beat Rambler by 33 minutes, followed by Belle Mente in 3rd and Team Tiburon 4th. Two yachts in class 10 are still racing.

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The Bermuda Sailing Foundation’s sail-training schooner Spirit of Bermuda will join the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race fleet, sailing as the sole entry in the new “Spirit of Tradition” Division. Because of Spirit of Bermuda’s three-mast schooner rig, she is unable to be fairly and officially rated for competition against the modern design boats that make up the rest of the fleet, and so will sail in a class by herself. Her “Spirit of Tradition” Division will highlight both her traditional design and the prevalence of the schooner rig in yachts racing in the early years of the Newport Bermuda Race. http://www.bermudasloop.org/ (Photo by John Wadson)

By Fred Deichmann

Spirit of Bermuda enters Newport Bermuda Race in a Class of Her Own 
The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee is pleased to announce that the Bermuda Sailing Foundation’s sail-training schooner Spirit of Bermuda will join the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race fleet, sailing in the new “Spirit of Tradition” Division. Her participation is expected to provide a demonstration of her sailing prowess in the spirit of the seafaring traditions of the Islands of Bermuda. 

Because of Spirit of Bermuda’s three-mast schooner rig, she is unable to be fairly and officially rated for competition against the modern design boats that make up the rest of the fleet, and so will sail in a class by herself. Her “Spirit of Tradition” Division will highlight both her traditional design and the prevalence of the schooner rig in yachts racing in the early years of the Newport Bermuda Race. 

Spirit of Bermuda is a purpose-built sail-training vessel owned by the Bermuda Sailing Foundation (www.bermudasloop.org) and based on civilian Bermudian-type schooners built in Bermuda by blacks and whites between 1810 and 1840. The original hull shape was adapted from the Bermuda-built Royal Navy “Shamrock” class: fast dispatch/patrol vessels that ran from the Royal Naval Dockyard northwest to Halifax and southwest to Jamaica to contain the rebel colonies. 

In nearly six years of operation since September 2006, Spirit has provided a character development program based on experiential learning to over 2,600 young people and has sailed over 38,000 miles in overseas voyages to 17 ports in 10 countries. 

Alan Burland, Chairman of the Bermuda Sailing Foundation, said, “The opportunity to participate in the Newport to Bermuda Race will help us to achieve our goal of providing experiences that instill Bermuda pride in our youth. We are honoured to be launching the new Spirit of Tradition Division.”

Spirit of Bermuda was designed by noted naval architect Bill Langan of Langan Design Associates of Newport, RI, built by Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine and launched in 2006. Built to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standards and operating to United Kingdom regulations under the Bermuda flag, she is 86 feet on deck and 118 feet overall including her bowsprit, and displaces 230,000 lbs.

The “Spirit of Tradition” Division in the 2012 race is an invitational demonstration division developed to experiment with the re-introduction of traditional schooner rigged vessels to the Newport Bermuda Race. Whether this Division will be present in future races will depend on the experience of Spirit of Bermuda in 2012 and the likelihood of developing enough interest to provide competition and to warrant development of a suitable rating system for such vessels.

Malabar VII, sailed by her designer John G. Alden, won the 1926 Bermuda Race sailed in that year from New London CT. She took the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Bermuda Race Trophy as her prize. This was the first year the Cruising Club of America teamed up with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club as co-organizers. In 1936 the starting line was moved to Newport RI and the race became the Newport Bermuda Race as it is known today. (Photo courtesy of Alden Yachts)

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