Seminar organizer Ron Trossbach and Dan O'Connor demonstrate liferaft deployment a previous seminar. (Photo by Leslie Schneider)

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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Cetacea Bow in Newport Bermuda Race (Photo by Talbot Wilson)

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.

Sheila McCurdy's family boat Selkie powers upwind at the start of the 2008 Newport Bermuda Races. Selkie will see her 10th Newport Bermuda Race in 2012. McCurdy has been aboard on all the races, 3 as navigator for her father Jim McCurdy, the boat's designer and 6 as both skipper and navigator. In 2008 Selkie finishes 2nd in class and 2nd in the St. David's Lighthouse Division. (Photo by Talbot Wilson)

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 at Helm (Photo by Richard Pisano)

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.

Newport Bermuda prizegiving at Government House in Bermuda. His Excellency the Governor of Bermuda Sir Richard Gozney and special presenters awarded 113 trophies and prized to the top performers in the 183-boat fleet sailing in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race and the Onion Patch Series. (Photo by Talbot Wilson)

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Carina (Photo by George Bekris )

Newport Bermuda 2012 entries on pace with past fleets

Three weeks into the entry process for the 48th Newport Bermuda Race®, applications for entry for the 2012 race continue to roll in at a rapid rate for the 106-year-old biennial ocean-racing classic, with expectations of another large fleet.

Brin Ford, Database Chairman for the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, commented, “As of February 3rd, the rate of entries was exactly on pace with the 2010 race with 105 boats having submitted Applications for Entry (AFE).” The Newport Bermuda Race is an invitational event, so skippers must submit an application and receive an invitation before completing the registration process. The 2010 race was the third largest ever, with 183 boats. The only bigger fleets were 264 in the 2006 Centennial Race and 198 in 2008.

“Of the 105 AFE’s submitted,” Ford continued, “77 are now approved for their invitation, 35 need to provide Experience Forms, and the rest are pending. Thirty-three skippers say their boat has not done the race before. We’re still missing many of our old friends, but they have time to enter before the April 15th deadline without paying an extra late fee. An additional 17 captains have begun the registration process, but have yet to file an AFE.”

Newport Bermuda Race Chairman and a multi-race veteran, Dr. John Osmond, is enthusiastic about the prospects for another successful race with a large fleet: “The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee is gratified by this early response which shadows the very successful 2010 experience. The Organizing Committee, the Race Ambassadors (mentors for newcomers), and the Inspectors – some 140 volunteers in all – are deeply interested in presenting for our sailing friends an unparalleled racing and social experience. That is the tradition of this wonderful event.”

Some experienced Bermuda Race skippers are coming back. Among the returning boats is Rives Potts’ McCurdy & Rhodes 48 Carina (Westbrook, CT). She was the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy winner in 2010 and also 1970, and is a veteran of 16 Bermuda Races over 40 years. Carina is now sailing home from Australia under the command of Potts’ son and nephew after competing in December’s Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. Prior to that, she sailed in the Transatlantic Race 2011 from Newport to England and the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race before sailing to Australia. Carina will have sailed more than 30,000 miles in less than a year by the start of the 2012 Bermuda Race.

Newport Bermuda 2010 Start (Photo by George Bekris)

So far, other returning Lighthouse winners are Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 (Metuchen, NJ) winner of the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy in 2006 and 2008 and Llwyd Ecclestone’s Frers 68 Kodiak (West Palm Beach, FL).

The classic S&S yawl Dorade, which did her first Bermuda Race under the command of Olin Stephens in 1930, will be sailed by new owner Matt Brooks from San Francisco, CA. Charlie Robertson (Old Saybrook, CT) is returning after a 15-year absence with his Frers Mini-Maxi Cannonball. This is the big yellow boat he sailed back in 1988 to win first place in IMS.

Jimmy Sykes has sailed two yachts named Bombardino, a J130 once and his current Santa Cruz 52 seven times. He notes, “I have skippered all eight races and approximately half the crew have been on board for all of the races. Our best finish in class was first in 2008 and worst in class was thirteenth. Fleetwise, in 2006 we were sixth in fleet and third in class. I have done this many races because two of my three children were on board for all of the races and all three children were aboard on two. They keep me coming back.”

Among stock boat builders, currently J Boats has 21 entries, Swan has 12 and Beneteau has 8. Designer/builders with two or more entries include Peterson, McCurdy & Rhodes, S&S, Santa Cruz, Tartan, Hinckley, C&C, Cal, Baltic, IMX, Ker, Morris, Sabre and Hallberg Rassey. Gold Digger, Jim Bishop’s J44 (New York, NY) and Robert Foreman’s Hinkley SW 42 Jacqueline IV (Bay Shore, NY) will be back for their twelfth races. Gracie, Steve and Simon Frank’s McCurdy & Rhodes 69 (Darien, CT) will make her eleventh race.

Many entries are expected to sail the triathlon of offshore racing by entering the Onion Patch Series, a three-event series in which boats and crews first compete in the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta in Newport, then race to Bermuda, and finally participate 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.

The Cruising Club of America Newport Bermuda Race Safety at Sea Seminar will be held at Newport on March 17-18 with a 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.

Newport Bermuda 2010 ( Photo by George Bekris )

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One Of The Classes Starting In Newport Bermuda Race 2008 (Photo by George Bekris)

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

The above list subject to change.

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

Newport Bermuda Race 2008 (Photo by George Bekris )

 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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