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Newport Bermuda Race 2022: Everything you need to know

• Toby Heppell
• June 16, 2022

The 52nd Newport Bermuda race will start on Friday 17th June 2022 with nearly 200 yachts set to take in the 635-mile course races almost entirely out of sight of land

Tomorrow, Friday 17th June 2022 will see the start of the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race. The biennial race will, this year, see over 190 yachts competing in the race which was first sailed over 100 years ago.

The history of the Newport Bermuda Race

The first Newport Bermuda race was held way back in 1906, when many thought it was a reckless idea for largely amateur crews to take on an offshore race.

It was considered a particularly foolhardy endeavour as all three of the first boats to take on the course measured in at under 40ft. It was even rumoured that funeral wreaths were delivered to the three boats so the sailors would be prepared to make a decent burial at sea.

The smallest entry then (and in Bermuda Race history) was the 28-foot sloop Gauntlet . She was notorious for her size, and also for her crew because it included a woman, 20-year-old Thora Lund Robinson.

Having outpaced Gauntlet and another boat which dropped out, the winner of the inaugural Newport Bermuda race was the 38-foot yawl Tamerlane , with Thomas Fleming Day (then editor of The Rudder magazine and a vocal supporter of the concept) as sailing master.

In 45 races over a century, only two boats have been lost, one on Bermuda’s reef, and the other in a deadly fire in 1932 that also claimed the Bermuda Race’s only loss of life.

Initially the race was set to be held on an annual basis, but following the race’s rebirth after the first world war, the decision was taken to move the Newport Bermuda Race to a biennial.

The race begins at the mouth of the East Passage against the spectacular backdrop of the Newport and Jamestown shore, where state parks and Castle Hill Inn offer excellent viewing opportunities for race fans. Photo: Daniel Forster/PPL photo

Newport Bermuda Race 2022 course

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the start and finish location, the Newport Bermuda course is a relatively simple affair.

The 635-mile race sees competitors leave Newport and sail SSW straight to Bermuda. A unique element of this event when compared to other popular 600-milers such as the Rolex Fastnet Race , Caribbean 600 , or Middle Sea Race is that the Newport Bermuda is raced almost entirely out of sight of land.

In a typical race, the fleet enters the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream, with rough water, giving the race its nickname, “The Thrash to the Onion Patch.” Once through the rough Gulf Stream, the sailors press on to the finish off St. David’s Lighthouse, then winding channel to Hamilton, Bermuda to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

How to follow the Newport Bermuda Race 2022

For those local to the race it can be a stunning sight to watch the fleet leave Newport. The startline is set at the mouth of the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, so if you can make it to Newport or Jamestown, you’ll find several vantage points to watch the fleet depart.

Race sponsor Castle Hill Inn offers ringside seating on its expansive lawn. Farther south, Brenton Point State Park also offers excellent views, as do the state parks at Fort Wetherill and Beavertail on the Jamestown side.

For international viewers there will be a Live Show streamed live on YouTube, with media team members Joe Cooper, Kate Somers, and John Burnham talking about the boats and teams.

Once the race begins, you can follow the Bluenose Yacht Sales YB tracker to see the fleet progress in real time towards Bermuda over the next two to five days. The tracker is also on the bermudarace.com homepage, updating the position of each boat via satellite tracker every 15 minutes.

Many boats will also Tweet messages via the satellite connection, so if you see small Twitter logos on the tracker chart, click and read what was happening on that boat at that position on the course.

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Bermuda Race Winners Claim the Best

• By Sean McNeill/Bermuda Race Media
• June 27, 2022

Illusion , a Cal 40 owned by Sally and Stan Honey (Palo Alto, California) won the 52nd edition of the Newport Bermuda Race’s largest division, the St. David’s Lighthouse Division (108 boats), marking the fourth time a Cal 40 has won the St. David’s Lighthouse Division, following on from Vincent Learson’s Thunderbird in 1966 and Peter Rebovich, Sr.’s Sinn Fein in 2006 and ’08.

Racing with 1984 Olympic Gold medalist Carl Buchan (Seattle, Wash.), fellow Cal 40 owner Don Jesberg (Belvedere, Calif.) and multi-tasker Jonathan “Bird” Livingston (Richmond, Calif.) as bowman, Illusion completed the 635-nautical-mile course with an elapsed time of 87h:01m:33s, good for a corrected time of 51:02:13 and a decisive victory of more than two hours over Andrew Clark’s (Greenwich, Connecticut) J/122 Zig Zag . Jim Murray’s (Lake Bluff, Illinois) Pac52 Callisto , the divisional line honors winner, finished third, just 15 seconds astern of Zig Zag on corrected time.

Sailing their “final hurrah” in Illusion (they’ve sold the boat to Stan’s nephew), Sally Honey said it was the perfect ending to an illustrious, 33-year run with the boat.

 “The conditions were perfect for our boat, and we had a pretty good navigator onboard,” said Sally, referring to her record-setting husband, Stan. “Stan chose a really good course, and the conditions were just what the boat loves, heavy-air reaching. A lot. We got into a Gulf Stream eddy and stayed in it for about seven hours. That gave us a good boost. We managed to stay in the wind most of the way down. We had a couple of light spots, but nothing like the later boats.”

Sally Honey said that they hit a top speed of 22 knots with Buchan on the helm Saturday night. She woke up the sleeping crew with hoots and hollers of excitement, but otherwise spent most of the race with the wind on the beam.

“We didn’t have that much water on the deck,” said Sally Honey. “When reaching, the boat heels right over and the more wind you get the faster she goes. Really, it was a dream trip, fabulous. I wouldn’t change anything.”

In the 38-boat Finisterre Division for cruisers, Dudley Johnson’s (New York City) Tripp 65 Prevail earned first place, beating Andrew Burton’s (Newport, Rhode Island) Baltic 47 Masquerade by just over 25 minutes. The division was divided into three classes, with Prevail winning Class 9, Masquerade Class 8, and Brian Bush’s (North Chatham, Massachusetts) Toujours , a Tartan 37-2, Class 7.

“Our plan from the start was to crack off and get east of the rhumbline and sail as fast as we could to keep up with the front,” said navigator Adam Klyver (Fairfield, Connecticut). “But the front was elusive and we kept running into the trough.

“In the Gulf Stream, we had Warrior Won pass us Saturday morning, so we felt like we were doing something right,” said the 55-year-old Klyver, who was sailing his second Bermuda Race and first as a navigator. “We tried to stay in the middle of the Stream and found a five-knot current pushing us southeast. We probably had favorable current for close to 90 percent of the race.”

The overall line honors winner, Jason Carroll’s (New York City) MOD70 Argo , finished late Saturday night, marking the first-ever Saturday finish in the 116-year history of the race. Argo set a new course record of 33 hours, at an average speed of 19.24 knots.

“It’s the most significant race close to home for us,” said the 44-year-old Carroll, who co-founded Hudson River Trading in 2002. “It’s amazing because only recently multihulls have been allowed in the race. It’s exciting. It’s the race people around New York City and Newport know the best; to be the record holder is cool.”

In the high-performance Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, Warrior Won , Christopher Sheehan’s (Larchmont, New York) Pac52, captured first place not only on corrected time but also elapsed time, earning monohull line honors and the Corporation of Hamilton prize as the elapsed-time winner of the combined St. David’s Lighthouse and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse divisions.

Warrior Won ’s elapsed time of 56h:43m:34s corrected out to a win of 48m:47s over NEKA Sailing’s custom J/120 Desperado , captained by Leonid Vasiliev (Port Jefferson, New York), and 58m:31s in front of Darren Walters’ (Boston, Massachusetts) Sunfast 3300 Alchemist . Originally listed as the Class winner and 2nd overall in Division, Alchemist was penalized 30 minutes on elapsed time for an OCS start per the notice of race, 2.2 l.

In 2016, Sheehan won the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy with his Xp44 of the same name. Now, after this Saturday’s prize-giving ceremony, he’ll become the first owner to take home a Lighthouse trophy as winner of both Gibbs Hill and St. David’s.

“It’s very humbling,” said Sheehan, who last year won the Transpac Race and last February the Caribbean 600. “I’d been thinking about it before the race. I had a ton of confidence in my team and my boat that we’d have a shot at the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. There are so many wonderful records and legendary sailors in this race.”

In the Spirit of Tradition Division, the Bermuda Sloop Foundation’s sail-training vessel Spirit of Bermuda , captained by Alexander Peacock (Newmarket, New Hampshire), completed the course in 92h:25m:09s. It was the fourth time the three-masted schooner, designed by Bill Langan, has sailed the race.

In the Open Division, Charlie Enright’s (Barrington, Rhode Island) Mālama of the 11th Hour Racing Foundation, finished in 41h:28m:43s, good for the fourth fastest elapsed time in the history of the race. In the Superyacht Division, Martin Sutter’s (Austin, Texas) 141-foot steel-hulled Columbia finished in 87h:07m:34s.

In the Double-Handed Division, 20-year-old Zachary Doerr (Butler, Pennsylvania), a Webb Institute undergraduate, and 53-year-old Vladimir Shablinsky (Glen Cove, New York), sailing the Figaro Custom 2 Groupe 5 , won Class 6 and scored a nearly five-hour victory over James Hammitt’s (Wayland, Massachusetts) Sigma 41 Reveille, which won Class 5.

“It was a lot of fun as my first real offshore race,” said Doerr, who paired with Shablinsky, his North East Keelboat Alliance (NEKA) sailing coach. “A lot of it had to do with our comfort with the boat, especially on the second night when it was blowing 30 and we were going 20 knots with the A2 spinnaker up. I feel like most boats in the doublehanded class didn’t push as hard, and we just kept pushing and made a lot of miles that night. It was different than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

Final Results

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The Newport Bermuda Race is an exciting and challenging race, covering 635 nautical miles from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda. The rough waters of the Atlantic and Gulf Stream make this race a true test of skill and endurance, earning it the nickname “The Thrash to the Onion Patch”. This offshore classic is considered one of the toughest races in the world, along with the Sydney to Hobart and Fastnet races, attracting top sailors from around the globe. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or a newcomer to the sport, the Newport Bermuda Race offers a thrilling and unforgettable experience. So get ready to set sail and take on the challenge of this legendary race!s.

June 16-19 Registration open in Newport June 20, 17:00 – Meeting for Persons in Charge June 21 13:00, First Warning Signal June 23-27 Bermuda Headquarters open for Check-In June 29, 18:00 – Prize Giving

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Newport Bermuda Race extends to 636 miles, offers free public viewing from Fort Adams State Park

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The 52nd Newport Bermuda Race begins Friday. Here's what to know and how to watch.

The 52nd running of the Newport Bermuda Race , co-organized by the Cruising Club of America  and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club , is scheduled to begin Friday, June 17, at the entrance to the East Passage of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.  

A fleet of 192 sailing yachts ranging from 32 feet to more 100 feet is expected to start the race. The largest fleet of 265 yachts occurred in 2006 on the Centennial Anniversary of the Bermuda Race. The 2018 fleet totaled 170 starters. 

The race is 635 nautical miles in length and, depending on the size of the boat and the wind conditions, typically takes between two and five days to complete. 

The race is held biennially, every even-numbered year, but was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic — the first cancellation since World War II. This is the first race since 2018. 

Here's what you need to know about the Newport Bermuda Race

• The Bermuda Race was first held in 1906 on a course that originated off Brooklyn, N.Y. Other start locations in the early years (1906-34) included Marblehead, Mass., New London, Conn., and Montauk, N.Y. The race has started from Newport since 1936. 

• The finish line for the race is always at St. David’s Lighthouse on the eastern end of Bermuda. Approaching Bermuda is a navigational challenge in its own right, particularly at night, as the island is protected by a coral reef to its west and north, so the fleet must navigate around or risk grounding. 

'This institution belongs here': A peek inside The Sailing Museum in the heart of Newport

• The Bermuda Race is the oldest of the five great 600-nautical mile races (Fastnet Race in England, Sydney Hobart Race in Australia, Caribbean 600 in Antigua, and Middle Sea Race in Malta). It is pre-dated only by the Transatlantic Race (New York to England, 1866). 

• About 200 nautical miles after the start is where the race can be won or lost in an instant. That’s when the fleet crosses the Gulf Stream, the northerly flowing ocean current off the U.S. eastern seaboard. Picking a favorable meander and avoiding the worst of the eddies is often key to victory in the Newport Bermuda Race. 

• The racing fleet is divided into eight divisions, effectively creating eight races in one among similar boats and crews: Double-handed (two sailors only), Finisterre (for cruisers), Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, Multihull, Open, Spirit of Tradition, St. David’s Lighthouse, and Superyacht. Among the eight divisions, between 15 and 17 classes will be formed. 

After the blaze: Hinckley Yacht Services fined by OSHA for 'serious violations' after Portsmouth boatyard fire

• The smallest yacht in the fleet, the J/99 Finale, owned by Thomas O’Connell (Stonington, Conn.) in the Double-Handed division, measures 32.6 feet in length. The largest vessel, the steel-hulled fishing schooner Columbia owned by Martin Sutter (Austin, Texas), measures 141 feet.  

• The course record within the major divisions — Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, St. David’s Lighthouse and Multihull — is 39 hours, 39 minutes, set by the 90-foot maxi yacht Rambler 90 in 2012, an average speed of 16 knots. 

• The course record for an Open Division boat is 34 hours, 42 minutes (18.3-knot average speed), set in 2016 by the 100-foot maxi yacht Comanche, skippered by Rhode Island sailor Ken Read. Open Division yachts are not eligible for the overall race prizes.

Meet some of the teams in the Newport Bermuda Race

There are no records kept regarding age, but sailors as young as 13 have been known to compete, racing with their father or mother or grandparents. This year’s fleet includes many youth sailors. 

One of the youngest crews in this year’s race (likely in the history of the Bermuda Race) is Oakcliff Blue — Team Bitter End. Skippered by 18-year-old Sophia Comiskey of Tiverton, the crew of 10 includes eight Rhode Island teenage girls, ages 16-19, from the Lincoln School in Providence. They’ve been training for the race since last year and have logged more than 2,000 nautical miles in the buildup to the Bermuda Race.

'International presence': Ex-America's Cup sailor dies while competing in Newport regatta

“Yes, I’m nervous, but more excited. In some of our training there’ve been moments when I’m on deck at night and it’s gusting and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this,'" said 17-year-old Newport resident Elizabeth Gardner, who’ll trim headsails on the boat.

"I try to turn it around and tell myself, ‘I get to do this.’ That helps put it in perspective. We’re making history. It’s a one-time experience with us all together. Maybe it’ll be the last time together, depending who stays sailing. We’re very confident and we feel we’ve navigated the build-up to the race well."

• Another entry of note is Mālama, the 60-footer campaigned by 11th Hour Racing and skipper Charlie Enright that’s preparing for the upcoming The Ocean Race, beginning from Spain in January 2023. Mālama is racing in the Open Division.

“We seized on the opportunity to enter the Newport Bermuda Race as a chance to test our onboard systems and boat handling in a race environment with five crew onboard," Enright said. "It’s 10 years since I last entered the Newport Bermuda Race and I’m looking forward to lining up at the start opposite Castle Hill. There’s a huge buzz around the start and everyone in the town gets behind it as it is a sign of the start of summer. The backdrop is spectacular and starting or finishing any race in Newport is always special – we can’t wait to get going."

• The 70-foot trimaran Argo, owned by Jason Carroll of New York is one of two multihull entries and a top contender for line honors. Argo has set seven race or world records since 2018.

On a mission: Ocean drones launched from Newport in effort to learn about climate quality

“We could’ve done the race in 26 hours with this boat in 2018—those were good conditions,” said Chad Corning, crew and manager of the program. 

• The Maxi 72 Proteus, is a top contender for monohull line honors and in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. Owned by George Sakellaris of Framingham, Massachusetts, Proteus previously won monohull line honors in 2014 and the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy in 2012 and ’14.

“This will be my fifth race," said the 76-year-old Sakellaris. "The distance is great, you get into a groove driving and changing sails. It challenges the team, especially at night. I love offshore racing, more than inshore course racing. You get a little bit of everything all packed in one race."

How can spectators watch the start of the Newport Bermuda Race and keep up?

Spectators can watch the start of the race from a spectator boat, from the Castle Hill Inn or Brenton State Park on the Newport side of the Passage or Beavertail State Park or Fort Wetherill State Park on the Jamestown side.

The start will also be streamed live on the Bermuda Race YouTube channel  starting at 12:55 p.m., June 17. 

Fans can follow the fleet, as well, by tuning in to the Bluenose Yacht Sales YB Tracker, which shows the position of each competitor in real time. It can be found on the front page of the race website at bermudarace.com .

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The Newport Bermuda Race

Every other year, sailing crews compete in a rousing open-ocean race between U.S. and Bermuda waters. This is the race of legends – the classic that turned the sea into a playground and made ocean-racing a sport. 

First thought to be insanely dangerous, the Newport Bermuda Race is now considered one the world's most glamorous, difficult and addictive ocean races. Founded in 1906, the 635 nautical mile biennial race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, one of just two of the world's races held almost entirely with no land in sight. Crews face hammering winds and encounter pods of whales as they sail between Newport, Rhode Island and St. David's Lighthouse on Bermuda's East End. 

Race Details & Background Information

Approximately 150 to 200 boats sail the  Newport-Bermuda Race  each time. The average crew has 10 men or women. The race begins in Newport, Rhode Island on the third Friday in June. It takes more than two hours to get all those boats started in their six divisions and 17 classes.

The rules say, "The Newport Bermuda Race is not a race for novices." Depending on weather, Gulf Stream currents and the boat's size and speed, the race takes two to six days to complete. The first boat arrives at the finish line at St. David's Lighthouse on Sunday or Monday, and the smaller boats arrive between then and Thursday.

The race is nicknamed " the thrash to the Onion Patch. " That's because most Newport Bermuda races include high winds and big waves (a combination sailors call "a hard thrash"). It's also because Bermuda was once an agricultural island where large onions thrived. See how the first  Newport Bermuda Race began .

Since 1923, the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club have run the race. The race is managed by the volunteer Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, made up of members of the two clubs.

Record-Setting Wins

• Fastest race:  Rambler , 39 hr., 39 min., 18 sec. (ave. 16 knots), 2012
• Slowest race:  Venturer , 121:13:12 (ave. 5.2 knots), 1960
• Largest winner:  Margaret , 93 feet, 1909; (modern) Boomerang, 80 feet, 1996
• Smallest winner:  Burgoo , 37 feet, 1964
• Most victories, skipper: 3 (tie) - John Alden in three  Malabars  (1923, 1926, 1932) and Carleton Mitchell in  Finisterre  (1956, 1958, 1960)
• Most victories, boat: 3 -  Finisterre  (1956, 1958, 1960),  Carina  (1970, 2010, 2012)
• Most races by a sailor: 30, Jim Mertz, (every race except two, 1936-2004)
• Most races by a boat: • 20,  Carina  Richard S. Nye and Rives Potts (1970-2014)

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Located just a 90-minute flight from New York and two to three hours from other major US East Coast cities, Bermuda is closer than you’d think: you could be having lunch on the beach! 

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Newport to Bermuda Race

Email: [email protected]»   Tel: +1 (268) 721 3456

This is event is known as “The Thrash to the Onion Patch”!

The Newport Bermuda Race is a 635-mile ocean race, much of it out of sight of land, usually lasting three to six days. It crosses a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean known for challenging weather, especially in the Gulf Stream, where there are strong currents.

Every two years in mid-June, more than 150 boats start from the historic seaport of Newport, Rhode Island. The fleet has five divisions to allow seaworthy boats of many sizes and types to be raced fairly and aggressively for an array of trophies awarded in Bermuda at an elegant ceremony at Government House, the residence of the governor of this tropical island.

This race is a wonderful experience: you compete among the best, enjoy the camaraderie of your crew, and arrive at a welcoming, beautiful destination. Typically 20-25% of the fleet is under the command of “first-time” skippers. These skippers report a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction having prepared their boat and crew to compete, and successfully completing the race.

Your quote will include advance training and preparation days.

We are open!  Come sail with us in Antigua  either for a day cruise, a weeklong charter or great RYA Sail Training courses.   We can’t wait to have you on board!

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Leaderboard for Newport Bermuda Race 2022

Newport Bermuda Race 2022, racing with 184 boats.

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Green theme for Bermuda Race

Published on April 23rd, 2024 by Editor -->

With entries closed for the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race, 171 boats have signed up to participate. The Official Program for the 53rd edition is available with articles and information regarding the 636nm race which starts on June 21.

Held biennially, the 2022 race was first to urge captains to designate an “environmental steward” aboard each participating boat. The response had 50 e-stewards stepping up to the challenge, steering their crews towards conscientious planning and provisioning, mindful of ocean health. For some of their best practices and ideas, click here .

Chan Reis, the Environmental Stewardship chair for the BROC, underscores the significance of this initiative ( click here ), emphasizing the vital connection between sailors and the ocean playground they traverse. “Adding an e-steward to your crew is one way we can focus attention on that imperative,” Reis affirms.

So far in 2024, 30 boats that had already appointed an e-steward. Here is some feedback on what they are doing to bring sustainability practices into their preparations:

• Dave Johnson, Safir, highlights the transformative power of collective action. “The crew had not considered me as the type of person who necessarily focused on ‘green’ causes or sustainability, but I convinced them there were real actions we could all take to make a difference,” he shares.

• Karen Harris, Assarain IV, echoes the sentiment, emphasizing the significance of every choice made onboard. “Every item on board is a choice,” she asserts, emphasizing the importance of selecting eco-friendly alternatives, from compostable garbage bags to reusable utensils.

• Tori Gimple, Banter, champions innovative solutions, noting the game-changing impact of initiatives like stackable water containers.

• David Bice, Raven, says his owner, Gary Hooper has installed new energy efficient batteries to reduce running the engine.

• Paul Cunningham, Gunga Jin, says they are using marine-life friendly antifouling paint Pettit Odyssey Triton chosen for minimum impact to the environment.

• Jeff LoSapio Skadi, says they have eliminated non-reusable plates, cups, and utensils. “Everybody gets one plastic plate and cup, and several years ago, we evaluated 8 different options to find the perfect spork. The crew loves their sporks!”

• Andrew Baris Dire Wolf, outfitted 5-gallon jugs outfitted with a pump for refill of personal reusable water bottles.

To learn more about the resources and initiatives: bermudarace.com/sustainability

Race details – Entry list – Facebook

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Hundreds of young Bermudians to benefit from SailGP Inspire Program

SailGP’s community, education and outreach initiative, Inspire, returns to Bermuda next week, ahead of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix on May 4-5.

SailGP, the world’s most exciting racing on water, founded the Inspire initiative to help diversify the sport for young people, without any race, gender, or socioeconomic barriers. The program is oriented around three pillars: Learning, Careers and Racing, which aim to make a positive and lasting impact on young people and communities on the island.

To date 19,961 young people have taken part in the program since its inception – far exceeding the initial 10,000 target set – and the league has increased its ambition to 25,000 by the end of Season 5.

Inspire Learning will see hundreds of Bermudian school children undertake an exclusive behind the scenes SailGP tech tour at the SailGP Tech Site at Cross Island. Here they will get up close to the tech and innovation of the F50s, the high-speed flying catamarans that feature in the championship.

During the tour, the hosts will teach the science behind sailing, emphasizing how this sport is truly powered by nature. These sessions are coordinated with help of community partner, Endeavour. Additionally, the BF&M No Limits Sailing Programme, in partnership with Endeavour, will offer opportunities to students who are on the autism spectrum or who have developmental challenges to experience hands-on learning opportunities with SailGP Inspire.

The Inspire Careers program will provide 10 young Bermudians the opportunity to join key departments of the SailGP operation, ranging from technical roles in boat building to being broadcast runners in the communications team. Through first-hand experience, they will learn about the careers the marine industry has to offer. The young islanders selected for the program are:

Timothy Amias Lightbourne, Technical | Tech Dock Assistant

Osiris Buffonge Hunt, Technical | On-Water Operations

Laura Hupman, Shore Team France

Amelia Lewis, Shore Team Denmark

Ruth Mello-Cann, Shore Team Switzerland

Yann Pugi, Inspire Team Assistant

Christopher Rayomond, Broadcast

Nicole Stovell, Shore Team New Zealand

Antonio Wade, Technical | Boat building

William Welch, Technical | Hydraulics

For those already involved in the sport, Inspire Racing is hosting a foiling clinic and a WASZP - a single person hydrofoiling dinghy - racing program. 12 Bermudian sailors who have completed Endeavour’s programs will undergo a foiling clinic to give them a first time experience of the thrilling racing form. These sailors are:

Sanjay Fox-Romaine

Nahjae Rayner

Elijah Samuels

Kimon Lawrence

Osiris Buffonge-Hunt

Matai Phipps

James S. Rayner

Sivaja Perinchief

Jibril Taylor

Noah Astwood

Allayna Fox

A further eight Bermudian sailors, judged to be among the best of Bermuda’s on-island talent, will compete against junior overseas sailors in WASZP races for a chance to go to the Grand Final in San Francisco in July to race against other event winners. These sailors are:

Jack Adderley

Eli Furbert

Nina Gotfredsen

Sebastian Kempe

Ahzai Smith

Oliver Soares

Each young person involved in the Inspire program will also receive tickets to see the heart-stopping, adrenaline-fueled action of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix on May 4-5 at Morgan’s Point.

Inspire is made possible in association with Mubadala, the Global Partner for Season 4, local community partner, Endeavour, and location hosts, West End Development Corporation (Wedco).

Laura Hedley, SailGP Inspire Program Senior Manager, said: “We are so excited to bring back the SailGP Inspire program to Bermuda! We use the science behind these flying boats to inspire a new generation of thinkers, young engineers and leaders. SailGP’s F50 catamaran is a science lab on water, with the ability to teach youngsters about being energy efficient and get them thinking about solving real world problems and we look forward to sharing the science behind them with Bermuda’s youngsters.”

The Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix will take place on May 4-5, 2024 with tickets available for purchase at SailGP.com/Bermuda. The event’s festivities include a live concert by soca sensation, KES THE BAND, following the opening day of racing.

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Bermuda’s Olympic hopes dashed at Last Chance Regatta

Bermuda will not have a male sailor at the Olympic Games this summer after Paris hopes were extinguished on the penultimate day of the Last Chance Regatta in France on Thursday.

Sebastian Kempe and Benn Smith were both eliminated from the competition after failing to qualify for the medal race on Friday and, while Campbell Patton clinched a spot to race on the final day, he stands no mathematical chance of securing one of the three open qualifying spots.

With nothing other than pride at stake, Patton is looking forward to mixing it against a formidable and experienced fleet in the medal race.

“I am just going to go out there tomorrow and enjoy the medal race,” he told The Royal Gazette . “I am so excited to be part of it and to fly the Bermuda flag in the medal race.

“I am just really thrilled to be in the medal race among really, really good competition. I think five of the sailors in this medal race have been to the Olympics before and many of them have been to two, three, or four so it's a really good level of competition and I am just thrilled.”

The 23-year-old posted a 27-13-10 record in the three races contested in shifty breezes on Thursday.

“I didn't have my best day of sailing ever but my spirits are high and I'm really proud of the work that I have done this week and the past few years,” Patton said.

“I think I represented Bermuda well today and left every single ounce of energy out there. I am really happy with the week that I have had.

"It didn't go my way today in any of the races and I missed a couple of big wind shifts. We were on an incredibly shifty course today, which saw everybody on the fleet having ups and downs, but I was really happy with my effort and there's no way that I can be upset with myself after doing everything in my power to make the boat go fast and make the right decisions.

“Unfortunately that black flag (disqualification) at the beginning of the week has come back to bite me because I wasn't able to drop my race in the 20s today, so I lost a few points on the leaderboard.”

Patton finished eighth in the ten-race qualifying series, with a best showing of first in race two, on the way to securing a spot among the top ten boats in the medal race. Kempe finished eighteenth and Smith 39th among the 61-boat fleet.

Former ILCA 6 Youth World Champion Kempe produced a 7-28-16 record on the day while Smith found the going tougher, finishing 42nd in the first race and being disqualified (62nd) in the second before salvaging some pride when crossing the line in 21st in the final race of the qualifying series.

“I was disappointed with how I did in this event obviously,” Smith said.

“I got my second black flag today after having a very good start, but that's racing.”

Korean Jeemin Ha and Karl-Martin Rammo of Estonia are tied at the top of the standings with 43 points heading into the medal race.

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Grunion Sports | On the Water: Newport to Ensenada race begins…

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The Grunion

Grunion sports, grunion sports | on the water: newport to ensenada race begins this weekend.

The 76th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, a Southern California yacht racing favorite, will depart from its multi-line start on Friday, April 26. A multitude of racers and 145 boats will take to the 125-mile course bound for the Hotel Coral and Marina in Ensenada.

Race organizers, the Newport Ocean Sailing Association, announced that four skippers will mark at least 40 years sailing the N2E. Another three have sailed for more than 30 years, while a dozen have clocked more than 20 finishes.

“We’re very excited to see the fleet grow this year to over 145 boats,” said NOSA Commodore Phil Herzfeld. “It’s also exciting to see 35 first-time owners competing.”

One of the first timers is Long Beach’s own Bryce Cullinane, sailing his cruising catamaran, a Lagoon 42, with a crew of seven – including his father and cousin. His goal is to have fun and finish.

“The boat is made for comfort, not racing,” Cullinane said, “but we recently picked up a used spinnaker (sail) at Minnie’s in Newport and bought a brand-new code zero (sail), which has greatly improved (the yacht’s) performance. Most of us have never done an overnight passage, so this will be an adventure.”

The Long Beach Yacht Club member shared that the team has done a number of training sails in the last few weeks.

“We’ve been practicing the chaotic process of taking Code Zero in and simultaneously launching the Spinnaker,” he said.

Like many of the competitors, he has a close eye on the weather.

“The wind forecast, right now, is for over 20 knots of wind during the middle of the night, so we will have to be on the top of our game,” Cullinane said. “The wind tends to die off just outside of Ensenada, so my major concern is getting down to Ensenada, with land in sight, but not enough wind to finish.”

Other entries include two skippers from Oregon, two from Mexico, one from Arizona, one from Ontario, Canada – and multiple-time-winning yacht Taniwha, owned by Utah’s Jerry Fiat.

The Taniwha, a 32-foot Ferrier yacht, will return in hopes of back-to-back Ocean Racing Catamaran Association-class wins.

Along with Fiat, the boat will be crewed by Pete Melvin, Mat Bryant and Frank Dryer. The highly experienced crew hopes to claim the elusive “Overall Corrected” honors.

NOSA and its nearly 40-person team of volunteers will present more than 30 trophies on Sunday, April 29. The 17 sailors who chose the shorter course to San Diego will celebrate victories on Sunday at Silverlake Yacht Club.

Ship naming

The 135,000 gross ton ship Carnival Firenze had its naming celebration on Wednesday, April 24, in Long Beach.

Built in 2020, the Carnival Firenze – formerly the Costa Firenze – can accommodate more than 5,000 guests and will sail year-round from Long Beach, offering three- to seven-day Baja Mexico and Mexican Riviera cruises.

Carnival Cruise Line named actor Jonathan Bennett as the ship’s godfather. Carnival Firenze is inspired by the city of Florence, Italy, making it the second Carnival ship to sail with the “Carnival Fun Italian Style” theme.

You might recognize Bennett from the big screen (“Mean Girls”), the small screen (various Hallmark Channel productions) and Broadway (“Spamalot”).

Carnival operations and their passengers have an enormous economic impact on the city, supporting the Queen Mary, downtown and our authentic neighborhood marketplace areas. Carnival is an important part of our community.  The Carnival Firenze will add both fun and sophistication to its already full cruise offerings.

“The City of Long Beach could not be more excited about Carnival hosting its second Vista Class ship at the beautiful and growing Long Beach Cruise Terminal,” said Bo Martinez, the city’s director of economic development. “We are proud of our long term relationship with Carnival and that we have become the busiest single terminal in the country.”

The 1,061-foot ship leaves on its first sailing from Long Beach on Thursday, April 25.

Scotts beam on Sunday

Sunday was a good day to be Scott Dixon.

Dixon “The Iceman” used a fuel-saving strategy to win the 49th edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Dixon “The Mainman” – commodore of the Long Beach Yacht Club – was returning from Catalina with friends when he got the call that not only had his name twin Scott Dixon won the GPLB, but that it was looking like LBYC’s Scott “Kiwiman” Dickson was going to take top honors in the Ficker Cup match race, a qualifier for this week’s Congressional Cup.

Years earlier, media consultant Kevin Wilkinson, who has advised both the GPLB and LBYC, anticipated this day. Both the two-time GPLB winner and the 14-time Ficker Cup winner hail from Auckland, New Zealand, and are about the same age – so Wilkinson thought it would be a great photo to get the two together. The fact that LBYC’s 2024 Commodore is also named Scott Dixon made the story sweeter.

Commodore Dixon went full throttle on Sunday to reach Rainbow Harbor and get in a photo with the Iceman. The Chip Ganassi team, the Committee of 300 media volunteers, photographer Howard Freshman, and GPLB’s media guru Chris Esslinger were all standing by to make the Dixon-Dixon-Dickson photo moment happen.

But ticket checkers on Shoreline Drive stayed true to their job – and despite having identification showing he had the same name as the Grand Prix winner, the commodore couldn’t enter.

About the same time, sailor Scotty Dickson went 12 and 2 in the Ficker Cup’s double round robin, dropping only one match in the semifinals against Australia’s Cole Tapper. Dickson went on to sweep the finals against another New Zealand skipper, Megan Thomson.

By then, race car driver Dixon had left to shower off the champagne residue. The photo envisioned by Wilkinson years ago almost happened – but not quite.

The top-three Ficker Cup skippers received invites to Congressional Cup:  Dickson, Megan Thomson and Cole Tapper.

Congressional Cup racing started on Wednesday ,April 24, and will continue until Sunday. Spectators can watch the Congressional Cup races live for free from Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier starting daily at 11:30 a.m. each day and online at thecongressionalcup.com .

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Protect Your Trip »

Here's when you need (and don't need) a passport to cruise.

It's the type of sailing – closed-loop or open-loop – that largely determines whether or not you need a passport to cruise.

Do You Need a Passport for a Cruise?

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A passport isn't always required for cruising.

To determine whether or not you need a passport to cruise, you first need to figure out if the itinerary is closed-loop or open-loop (also known as open-jaw).

Closed-loop cruise: A closed-loop cruise typically doesn't require a passport since it begins and ends in the same U.S. port (though there are some exceptions to this rule).

Example: Royal Caribbean International 's seven-night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day cruise stops in several countries – the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti and Grand Cayman – but the itinerary is considered closed-loop because it starts and ends in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Open-loop cruise: An open-loop cruise begins in one U.S. port and ends in a different U.S. port.

Example: Carnival Cruise Line 's 16-day Panama Canal from Seattle itinerary is not considered closed-loop because it departs from Seattle and completes its journey in New Orleans.

All of the above regulations have been determined by the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: a plan by the departments of State and Homeland Security that determines which documents are acceptable for proving identity and citizenship when entering the United States.

Where to cruise without a passport

There are several destinations where you can cruise without a passport on a closed-loop sailing. They include the following:

• The Bahamas

When looking at cruises to these locations, be mindful of the home ports. The Bahamas, Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Canada are all foreign ports, which means they only qualify for the passport exception if they are a stop along your cruise itinerary . If the cruise originates in any of these countries, it is likely you will need a passport.

Since Alaska, Hawaii and New England are all U.S. destinations, any closed-loop routes departing from these locations will not require a passport. However, keep in mind that it can be hard to find closed-loop cruises originating in Hawaii or Alaska.

To find closed-loop itineraries for a Hawaiian voyage or Alaskan cruise , try searching for sailings departing from major cities on the West Coast, like Seattle or Los Angeles . By contrast, quite a few closed-loop cruises leave from New England ports, but they are often marketed as Canadian cruises.

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When you need a passport for closed-loop cruises

Some cruise itineraries include foreign ports that require a passport for disembarkation. This is most commonly an issue for travelers on a closed-loop Caribbean cruise. Barbados , Guadeloupe , Haiti, Martinique , St. Barts , and Trinidad and Tobago all require U.S. citizens to present a valid passport to disembark and enter the country, despite WHTI regulations not requiring a passport for these destinations. Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private island , is an exception and does not require a passport despite its location in Haiti.

If your itinerary includes a country requiring a U.S. passport, your cruise line will require you to have the passport at check-in. Note that your passport must not expire within six months of your arrival in a foreign country or else it won't be considered valid for international travel.

Read: The Easiest Way to Renew Your Passport

Acceptable forms of ID

All travelers – U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike – must present documents that show identity and citizenship when entering the United States. A U.S. passport can show both. If you don't have one or don't want to bring one, be aware that you may need to present more than one document.

U.S. citizens 16 and older

If you're a U.S. citizen age 16 or older sailing on a closed-loop cruise without your passport, you will need a government-issued photo ID like a driver's license. In addition, you must present a document that proves your U.S. citizenship. These include:

• Passport card
• State-issued enhanced driver's license (EDL)
• Government-issued birth certificate
• Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST)
• American Indian Card (Form I-872) or Enhanced Tribal ID Card

The Trusted Traveler Programs are risk-based programs to facilitate the entry of travelers who have been vetted and preapproved. Most of these programs will provide you with a machine-readable card that allows you to pass through border checkpoints quickly. Keep in mind, some of these IDs are only available to travelers 16 and older.

Read: TSA Precheck vs. Global Entry

U.S. citizens younger than 16

U.S. citizens younger than 16 are only required to present proof of citizenship, such as one of the following documents:

• Original, notarized or certified copy of their government-issued birth certificate
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by U.S. Department of State
• Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Read: How to Get a Passport for Kids

Non-U.S. citizens

If you are a lawful permanent resident (or LPR) of the United States, you are required to present a permanent resident card or other valid evidence of permanent residence status.

Non-U.S. citizens, with the exception of Canadians and Mexicans, are not subject to passport exceptions, so a valid passport will need to be provided. Canadian citizens can present a valid passport, Enhanced Driver's License or Trusted Traveler Program card. Mexican citizens must present a passport with a visa or a Border Crossing Card.

Unacceptable forms of ID

While most common forms of identification are accepted, there are a few exceptions. U.S. military identification cards and U.S. Merchant Mariner documents are valid forms of identification, but only when traveling on official orders or in conjunction with official maritime business, so it is unlikely they will be accepted when traveling on a cruise.

Here are some other documents that will not be accepted as proof of citizenship:

• Voter registration cards
• Social Security cards
• Baptismal papers
• Hospital certificates of birth (for anyone older than a newborn)

It is important to note that many of the permitted forms of identification, such as a passport card or EDL, are only accepted at land and sea border crossings. Unforeseen circumstances, such as a medical air evacuation, may cause you to return to the U.S. by air travel. In this case, these documents won't be accepted when you try to reenter at the border crossing.

To avoid extra delays in your return to the U.S. following unforeseen travel complications, the Department of State recommends that everyone taking a cruise from the United States carry a valid passport book in case of emergency.

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Erin Vasta has traveled extensively to international destinations, gaining a deep knowledge of travel regulations in the process. Her expertise in this area has saved her family and friends from unnecessary travel delays and ensured stress-free trips through border security in nearly 15 countries. To write this article, Vasta used her international travel experience and research skills.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Passport Holders
• Cruise Packing List: Essentials to Bring
• Safe at Sea: The Best Cruise Insurance

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