Hamilton, Bermuda, June 21, 2012 – ‘Lilla’, the big red Briand 76 (IRL7600) owned by Simon and Nancy De Pietro of Cork, Ireland and Mattapoisett MA, sailed a fast straight-forward Newport Bermuda Race and won Class 13 in the Cruiser Division. ‘Lilla’ also took first place in the whole Cruiser Division and will be presented with the Carleton Mitchell Finesterre Trophy for first place.

‘Lilla’ led classmate ‘True’, a J-160 owned by Howard Hodgson of Ipswich MA by 1 hr 17 min on corrected time for the win in class and division. ‘True’ was second in both Class 13 and the division. Third place in the Cruiser division went to ‘Odyssey’ a Swan 55 sailed by Glenn Dexter from Halifax NS.

And there is Icing on the cake for ‘Lilla’. In 2011 she raced in the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race and set the 645-mile course record from Marion MA to Bermuda at 68:58:45. That performance last year and her top finish in the Newport Bermuda Race earn her the Bermuda Ocean Cruising Yacht Trophy presented by SAIL Magazine. This special combined competition trophy goes to the captain who has the best performance in consecutive Newport Bermuda and Marion Bermuda races. ‘Lilla’ sailed from Newport this time— a 10-mile shorter course in 63:17:13, some 5 hours and 41 minutes faster.

“The only problem we had,” said navigator Nancy De Pietro, “was getting water to the forward head and shower. The water tank we were using was aft, on the port side [That was the high side on the long port tack all the way down from Newport] and the pump had trouble because it was sucking air up there.”

“The one great thing about sailing on this type of boat is that we get to shower after coming off of every watch,” said Simon De Pietro with a smile.

Not having water for showers would have been a crisis for this cruiser crew… all good friends and family. It was an international crew with sailors from Ireland, the Dutch West Indies, England, Canada, South Africa and the USA. ‘Lilla’ has a comfortable 3-cabin layout and is used for charter as well as offshore racing.

In addition to doing the Bermuda Races, she has also done the Caribbean 600. She is an aluminum yacht with just 8.5-foot draft. She does not go to weather well but on a reach her waterline works and she is good and fast. The De Pietros thought of entering the St. David’s Lighthouse Division but needed to be able to use the power winches.

‘True’ a 53 foot J-160— also in Class 13— finished an hour behind ‘Lilla’ Her navigator Richard Casner of Dedham MA said, “The conditions were perfect for ‘True’ we had entered as a non-spinnaker boat and we think that paid off. We were right next to the Swan 60 ‘Lady B’ when she set a chute and we were able to walk away from her. The double headsail rig we used was just right for this boat in this race.”

The Newport Bermuda Race had 6 divisions and 17 classes. The Cruiser division had 30 entries. More than 100 prizes will be awarded Saturday evening on the lawn of Bermuda’s Government House. His Excellency Mr. George Fergusson the Governor of Bermuda will present the prizes along with Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore John Brewin and the Cruising Club of America Commodore Dan Dyer.

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Going into Monday evening, LLwyd Ecclestone’s ‘Kodiak’ crew was hopeful of winning the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, the most coveted of the three main Newport Bermuda Trophies awarded to the corrected time winner of the large amateur division. Then came ‘Carina’ to steal the show.

It looks as though, Based on provisional results, Rives Potts’ McCurdy and Rhodes 48-foot ‘Carina’ (Westbrook CT) won Class 3 and the silver scale model St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy for first in the Division and probably more loot to boot. ‘Carina’ with Potts at the helm won the same first place trophy in the 2010 race and in 1970 ‘Carina’ won it under Richard Nye. This ties ‘Carina’ with ‘Finisterre’ as the boat with the most lighthouses on her trophy rack. ‘Finisterre’ won three in a row under Carleton Mitchel 1956, 1958 and 1960.

‘Carina’ finished at 6:16PM in Bermuda and had a corrected time of 45:08:16. The US Naval Academy’s new Navy 44 ‘Defiance’ was second in Class 3 behind ‘Carina’ and also second in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division. Her corrected time was 45:42:50. The US Naval Academy’s older Navy 44 Class 2 boat, ‘Swift’, was first in her class and third overall for the division with a corrected time of 46:09:04. It was a pretty tight race with just 26 corrected minutes between these top two boats in the division after a 635-mile sleigh-ride.

 

For Potts and crew, this is his second St. David’s Lighthouse win in a row. “We had a fantastic race,” Potts said. “ Pretty straight forward. We powered through the stream and then played two big shifts down the rhumbline further south. We gybed twice and then tacked twice for the finish when the wind got lighter and went forward. We finished under a light #1 headsail.” These gybes and tacks were more than most of the other boats in the race made and probably helped ‘Carina’ win overall.

“The boat just got back from a circumnavigation and racing in the world’s top races three weeks ago. My son and nephew did a great job of getting ‘Carina’ ready for Bermuda. In a race like this, preparation is one key to winning. Crew work is another and we had a family based crew working together.” Potts added.

The crew of ‘Carina’ is made up of four fathers and five sons. One of the fathers, Bud Sutherland, is Rives Potts’ brother-in-law and his son Rives Sutherland is the Captain of ‘Carina’ who took her on her global trek.

Change happened overnight in the Double-Handed Division, too. Perennial double-handed winner Hewitt Gaynor (Fairfield CT) slipped his J120 Mireille into first in Class 15 and first in the division. Joe Harris (South Hamilton MA) who sailed such a fast race in his Class 40 ‘Gryphon Solo2’ was alone on the leader board Monday. Harris had an elapsed time of 60:20:26 while Gaynor’s was 74:12:34. On corrected time, ‘Mireille’ beat ‘Gryphon Solo2’ by roughly 4 hours.

 

The provisional Gibbs Hill Division winner is ‘Shockwave’ a Reichel/Pugh 72 skippered by George Sakellaris of Farmington MA. Sakellaris will win the silver replica of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, a top prize along with the St. David’s Light. ‘Shockwave’ took double silver snatching the North Rock Beacon Trophy, the third important prize for the IRC corrected time winner, which is a silver replica of the 1960-1990 North Rock Light Tower that once warned mariners of the rocky approach to Bermuda from the North.

‘Med Spirit’ sailed by Michael D’Amelio (Boston, MA) in the Open Division is the other winner that seems clear under the provisional results for the Royal Mail trophy. Six boats started in this division that featured boats from 40 feet to 100 feet in length. Their common denominator was moveable ballast, either canting keels or water ballast. The 3 Class 40 boats all had water ballast and were fully crewed so they did not qualify to sail against the 3 Class 40’s that went double-handed in Class 15.

The Wally 100 ‘Indio’ under Mark Fliegner (Monaco) came second. ‘Donnybrook’, in her maiden race skippered by Jim Muldoon (Washington DC) had to retire with damage to her daggerboard and daggerboard trunk. Under corrected time only about 5 hours separated the winning 100-footer and the bottom Class 40.

‘Spirit of Bermuda’, the Bermuda Sloop Foundation sail-training vessel, was the sole entry in the new Spirit of Tradition Division. She finished Monday night at 11:20 ADT.

 

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By John Rousmaniere

As of 1800 Sunday, six boats have finished the race, each of them breaking an elapsed time course record. In finishing order, they are Rambler (Class 10), Bella Mente (Class 10), Shockwave (Class 10), Team Tiburon (Class 10), Med Spirit (Class 16), and Kodiak (Class 8). Shockwave and Kodiak are the current corrected time leaders in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division and St. David’s Lighthouse Division, respectively. Med Spirit is the current corrected time leader in the Open Division.

First to finish Rambler, a 90-foot Reichel/Pugh sloop owned by George David (Hartford, Conn.), broke the course record decisively, averaging 16.06 knots down the 635-mle course in a time of 39 hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds. She clipped 9 hours off the previous course record set in 2004 by Morning Glory, which averaged 13.06 knots for Open Division boats and 14 hours from the ‘Official’ Record. Med Spirit set the new Open Division record of 45 hours, 26 minutes, 28 minutes… three hours faster than the previous record.

Sailors had vivid descriptions of high-speed, extremely rough conditions on the long, fast reach that prevailed from start to finish. Scott King, Team Tiburon, reported that after starting under a spinnaker, once the boat cleared the Narragansett Bay entrance buoys the crew set a double-headsail rig with a topsail over a jib. They then took in and shook out reefs in the mainsail as the conditions warranted, with one or two sailors always working the mainsheet.

Team Tiburon sailed Wizard a 74-foot sloop designed by Reichel/Pugh and chartered by Mark E. Watson III, a Bermuda business CEO. They covered 385 miles in her first 24 hours in the race, averaging almost 17 knots. “She felt slow when the speed dropped to 11,” King said. “I’ve been in boats where 11 knots was not even part of the plan.”

King said the water was always rough, with some waves 8 feet or higher and water constantly on deck, pushing sailors around. The Gulf Stream crossing was not as rough as he expected, he said, but it was spectacularly beautiful.

“Just before we entered the Stream we saw a long streak of phosphorescence in the water, as though a full moon was out and shining right down on it.” The phosphorescence disappeared when the boat charged into the main body of the Gulf Stream, but reappeared. “Dolphins were torpedoing through all this, right in front of us,” King said.

As they neared Bermuda on Sunday morning, Team Tiburon sailed into a series of rain-squalls with stronger winds that pushed the boat to over 20 knots as she crossed the finish line off St. David’s Head.

 

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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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By John Rousmaniere

This is crunch time for last minute preparations by owners and crew for this 635-mile classic challenge of sailor against the wind and sea. By late afternoon June 15th some 2000 sailors will be hunkering down on 168 racing yachts getting ready for their first night at sea, anticipating the currents and fickle seas in the Atlantic Gulf Stream. Winners and losers will be made in the hours to come; but one thing is for certain, Newport Bermuda 2012 will be an adventure for all.

This Newport Bermuda Race entry summary by race historian John Rousmaniere is meant to provide a guideline for this year’s race and provide background to help everyone understand the tradition and heritage of racing to Bermuda. You can find all the details from entries, scratch sheets and crew lists to links where you can track the racers to Bermuda and get results and prize lists for Newport Bermuda 2012 on website http://www.bermudarace.com/.

Bermuda Race Entries Summary as of June 1.
As of June 1, there are 167 entries for the 48th Bermuda Race sailed since the race was founded in 1906.

St. David’s Lighthouse Division, 96
Cruiser Division, 30
Double-Handed Division, 18
Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, 16
Open Division, 6
Spirit of Tradition, 1

The Fleet
This is a typical fleet with the usual mix of sizes: 21 boats are smaller than 40 feet LOA (length overall), four are 90’ LOA (length overall, from stern to bow) or larger, and the average length is 48’ LOA.

This is a seasoned fleet with many returning boats and crews, including more than 70 boats that raced in 2010. In addition there are a number of first-timers, with 49 boats sailing their first Newport Bermuda. Carina (2010 St. David’s Lighthouse winner) holds the record for most Newport Bermuda Races at 19. Six other entries have raced in 10 or more Newport Bermuda Races.

The smallest entry is Christopher A. Palabrica’s 33’ LOA sloop Sailor Bandido (Carmel, Indiana), sailing in the Double-Handed Division (boats sailed by two sailors, one may be professional).

The largest boat entered is Spirit of Bermuda, 118’LOA, entered by her Captain, Scott Jackson (Hamilton, Bermuda), in the new Spirit of Tradition Class. Spirit of Bermuda is a six-year-old sail-training vessel owned by the Bermuda Sloop Foundation based on schooners built in Bermuda by blacks and whites between 1810 and 1840.

The second largest boat entered is Indio, a 100’ LOA Wally 100 entered by Mark Fliegner (Monaco), in the Open Division (for larger, specialized boats sailed by professionals). The third largest entry is Med Spirit, 92’LOA, entered by Michael D’Amelio (Boston, Mass.) in the Open Division.

The fourth largest entry is George David’s (Hartford, Ct.) 90’ LOA Rambler, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division (for professional sailors). She replaces the 100’ LOA Rambler 100 that David sailed in 2011 when she capsized during the Rolex Fastnet Race in England, fortunately without loss of life. (The 100’Rambler was first on elapsed time in both the 2008 and 2010 races when the boat was named Speedboat.)

Representation
This is the usual broad-based fleet. The crew representatives who filed the entries hail from 18 states of the United States and six countries, including Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and Monaco.

U.S. service academy representation totals eight boats with entries from the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the Maritime College of the State University of New York.

Winners and Prizes
This classic ocean race has five divisions, most of which have two or more classes. The boats race for more than 100 prizes that will be awarded at the traditional ceremony at Bermuda’s elegant Government House on June 23. Division and class winners and other top finishers win perpetual trophies (some of them historic) and keepers. The Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) is the primary rating rule. In addition there are prizes for boats rated under the IRC rule.

The top three prizes are named for lights guiding vessels around Bermuda’s reefs and into port. They are the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy, and the North Rock Beacon Trophy.

The St. David’s Lighthouse Division. No single boat ‘wins’ the Newport Bermuda Race, but the winner of the St. David’s Lighthouse Division is generally regarded as the top boat because that division, for amateur crews, is the largest and carries on the founder’s aim to get amateurs sailing offshore in cruising-racing boats.

St. David’s Lighthouse winners of the last three races are returning: Defending winner Rives Potts’ 48’ LOA sloop Carina (Westbrook, Conn.) was also overall winner in 1970, making her one of only four boats that have won two or more Newport Bermuda Races. Carina also holds the record for most Newport Bermuda Races with 19. Since the last race she has sailed around the world, making more than 30,000 miles, in order to race in two other great races – the Rolex Fastnet Race in England, and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in Australia.

Also returning is another multi-race winner – Peter S. Rebovich Sr.’s 40’ LOA sloop Sinn Fein (Metuchen, N.J.), St. David’s Lighthouse winner in 2006 and 2008. She was 7th overall in 2010. A sistership, Thunderbird, won the 1966 race.

There were eight classes in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division in 2010, and seven of the winners of those classes will be back this year (in the eighth class, the 3rd place boat will be back). This says a lot about loyalty to the “Thrash to the Onion Patch.”

The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division is for boats with professional crews (and amateurs who want to sail against them). Second place in this division in 2010, Snow Lion (Larry Huntington, New York, N.Y.) will sail again. She did well last time even though her mainsail ripped at the start and took many hours to repair. Huntington won the 1990 Bermuda Race in another boat, Denali.

The North Rock Beacon Trophy is awarded to the corrected time winner from the combined St. David’s Lighthouse and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Divisions as scored under the IRC Rule. Carina also won in 2010.

The Cruiser Division’s top prize is the Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy, named in honor of the skipper and boat that won a record three straight Newport Bermuda Races in 1956, 1958, and 1960. The second largest division, it requires amateur crews, permits automatic steering and power winches, and imposes restrictions on the sail inventory.

The Double-Handed Division is for crews of two sailors (one of whom may be a professional). The top three finishers in 2010 will be back in 2012, led by winner Jason A. Richter’s Paladin (Setauket, N.Y.).

First to Finish
In the 2006 race, Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn.) was first to finish in his sloop Bella Mente. This year he’s back in a new 72-foot Bella Mente. Speedboat, first to finish in 2008 and 2010, is not back (see Rambler entry under “Smallest/Largest”).

Two Classic Yachts
The spotlight this year will be on two of the most famous and beloved boats in the history of ocean racing, both wooden yawls over 70 years old and designed by the famous yacht design firm, Sparkman & Stephens. Both will sail in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division.

The 52’ yawl Dorade, owned by Matt Brooks (San Francisco, Cal.) was built in 1929 and raced in the 1930 Newport Bermuda Race (the 10th race) finishing 5th overall.

The 68’ yawl Black Watch, commanded by Joseph C. Robillard (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) was built in 1938 (74 years old). Her first Bermuda Race was in 1938, when she was 4th.

The Onion Patch Series

About 35 Newport Bermuda Lighthouse Division entries are expected to sail the Onion Patch Series, a tough triathlon of offshore racing. These Onion Patch racers will form the core of the RBYC Anniversary Regatta presented by Butterfield Group. Information is online at www.onionpatchseries.com.

The website— www.BermudaRace.com— carries Newport Bermuda Race rules, news, videos, photos, history, and expert advice. Race news is also posted on the Newport Bermuda Race 2012 Facebook page and on Twitter at @BdaRace.

 

Displaying the burgees of the race’s organizers, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and Cruising Club of America, the top Newport Bermuda Race prizes are named for lights guiding vessels around Bermuda’s reefs and into port. They are (L-R) the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy, the North Rock Beacon Trophy, and the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy. Credit Barry Pickthall/PPL

Convictus Maximus, a Farr IRC 42 owned by Donald W Nicholson of Scotch Pines NJ, prepares to tack for the finish line off of St. David’s Lighthouse in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race. She is returning in 2012 with hopes of a better perfromance after finishing 14th in Class 7 in 2010. Credit Charles Anderson/RBYC

 

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The Newport Bermuda Race Safety at Sea Seminar on March 17-18 introduces a new approach to safety education. The seminar serves sailors in the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race as well as delivery and crews returning from Bermuda and other offshore sailors. It is also perfect for skippers and crews on coastal racers plus ocean and coastal cruisers, too. This Cruising Club of America seminar is at the Newport (RI) Hyatt Regency Hotel on Goat Island.

Register at http://www.bermudarace.com/EntryProcess/SafetyatSea/tabid/190/Default.aspx in advance. Or for those who choose to register at the door in Newport, walk-ins are welcome

On Saturday, March 17, the seminar offers two tracks. The morning �refresher course� is for anybody who has attended two or more US SAILING certified safety seminars since 2002. Participants may then do hands-on, in-water survival training in the afternoon. They will earn an ISAF Approved Certificate in one day. The other track is the All-day Safety at Sea seminar for people who have not attended a safety seminar recently.

On Sunday, there are two all-day courses� the Practical, Hands on Training Safety Seminar that combines with Saturday’s all day Safety at Sea Seminar to award the ISAF Approved Offshore Personal Survival Course certificate and a Red Cross First Aid and CPR training course. In addition, a Newport Bermuda Race Preparation Seminar aimed specifically at Bermuda Race sailors will be held in the morning.

More information about the CCA Safety at Sea Seminar and a link to direct registration and details about the Newport Bermuda Race are at www.BermudaRace.com.

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Every offshore sailor worth his or her salt dreams of doing the Newport Bermuda Race. Sheila McCurdy has sailed 15 of them and will do number 16 in 2012. McCurdy, from Middletown, RI, is the immediate past Commodore of the Cruising Club of America (CCA), co-organizer of the race with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC). She has sailed nine of her Bermuda Races on Selkie.

Her first three Newport Bermuda Races— 1986, 1988 and 1990— were as navigator for her dad, James A. (Jim) McCurdy, chief designer at McCurdy & Rhodes, Naval Architects. In 1985 he designed the 38’6” Selkie for his family. Sheila has sailed six other Newport Bermuda Races as Selkie’s skipper and navigator, as well as four races in other boats including a stint as advisor aboard a US Naval Academy entry.

The only recent races McCurdy missed were in 2004, when she sailed trans-Atlantic with a crew of Navy midshipmen, and in 2010, when as Commodore of the CCA, she and RBYC Commodore Peter Shrubb had to stay ashore, prepared to address emergencies. Unable to stay away from Bermuda, she sailed Selkie to Bermuda in 2011 for the CCA cruise in the waters of the archipelago.

Her best Bermuda Races were in 1994 and 2008. In both races Selkie finished 2nd in Class and 2nd in the St. David’s Lighthouse (amateur) Division. In 1994, CCA Commodore Kaighn Smith’s Swan 38 Gaylark snatched the Lighthouse Trophy out of her grasp, winning by a mere 15-minute margin after 635 rhumb line miles of hard ocean racing.

After 15 races, with two as bridesmaids, Sheila has high hopes for 2012 and her 10th race on Selkie— “I keep doing the Newport Bermuda Race because I love the rhythm of sailing at sea for days.” Sheila said in a recent interview. “I love the fun of being with friends and family, pushing hard to get top performance from the boat.”

A true seafarer, Sheila added, “I love the complexity of developing a strategy and tactics based on the boat, the crew, the weather, the Gulf Stream and the boats in our class. I love seeing old and new friends in Newport and Bermuda. I love the elegance of the prize giving ceremony at Government House and the bugler at the ‘Sunset and Colours’ routine. I love the relaxed sail home and introducing the ocean to coastal sailors.”

When asked what was special to her about this particular ocean race, one that has been such an important part of her life, she replied, “The Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club have kept Newport Bermuda Race as a race designed mostly for very good amateurs, one that is organized by experienced volunteers who have had a connection to the race over the decades. The race has history and tradition at its core.”

“It is a race that generally rewards good all-around sea boats more than the boats specialized for around-the-buoys.” McCurdy added, “It is a family race for me. Between Dad, my brothers Jim and Ian, my husband Dave, and me, we probably have sailed 50 races. Dad was the Race Chairman in 1982 and CCA Commodore from 1986 to 1987. The race is a family habit or maybe you could better describe it as a chronic condition.”

John Rousmaniere, Newport Bermuda Race Historian and a top offshore sailor in his own right, was a watch captain on Selkie in 2008. He has also sailed with Sheila to the Azores. Rousmaniere has high praise for McCurdy, “She was the person in charge, no doubt about it, and quiet about it. She’s exceptionally well prepared and knowledgeable, a talented racing sailor with a very good feel for a boat, a terrific leader, and also extremely experienced with well over 100,000 miles behind her. I’d sail anywhere with her on a moment’s notice.”

With those 100,000 miles of salt water in her wake, McCurdy is highly experienced and knowledgeable. She is one of five authorized moderators for US SAILING certified safety at sea seminars. She served on the panel for US SAILING’s inquiry into a fatal accident in the 2011 Chicago Yacht Club’s race to Mackinac Island on Lake Michigan.

At the March 17-18 Cruising Club of America Safety at Sea Seminar in Newport RI on March 17-18, Sheila will make the presentation on the crucial topic of damage control. This seminar has an imaginative new curriculum option, a new schedule, and a new seminar attendance rule, plus special hotel room rates for attendees. For more information go to www.BermudaRace.com.

The 2012 Newport Bermuda Race starts Friday afternoon June 15th just off of Castle Hill in Newport RI. Applications for Entry into this invitational adventure are being taken under <Entry Process> on the race website at http://www.bermudarace.com. The classic 635-mile race offers racing in five divisions— The St. David’s Lighthouse (amateur) Division, The Cruiser (amateur) Division, the Double Handed Division, the Gibbs Hill (professional) Division and the Open (professional) division. There is great competition for all levels of commitment and experience.

About 40 of the two Lighthouse Division entries are expected to sail the Onion Patch series, a tough triathlon of offshore racing. Boats compete in the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta in Newport, then race to Bermuda, and finally sail in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta. Information is online at www.onionpatchseries.com.

 

The race website— www.BermudaRace.com— carries Newport Bermuda Race rules, news, videos, photos, race history, and expert advice on inspections, the Gulf Stream, and preparing for the classic 635-mile race across the Gulf Stream to St. David’s Light. Race news is also posted on the Newport Bermuda Race 2012 Facebook page and on Twitter at @BdaRace.

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