More than 50 boats win Newport Bermuda prizes

by Talbot Wilson on 27 Jun 2016 2016 Newport Bermuda Race - His Excellency, the Governor of Bermuda, George Fergusson did his duty Saturday night on the podium in front of Government House. The seasoned diplomat shook hands, shared awards and trophies, and posed for photos 114 times with skippers and crews of more than 50 yachts. Sharing duties with the Governor were Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Leatrice Oatley, Cruising Club of America Commodore Jim Binch, and the RBYC Vice-Commodore Jon Corless. The RBYC Honorary Secretary Andy Burnett-Herkes was Master of Ceremonies.

Warrior Won, an Xp41, skippered by Christopher Sheehan of Larchmont (NY) Yacht Club took the main prize, the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy. This silver replica of the island’s landmark lighthouse is awarded to the boat in St. David’s Lighthouse Division with the best corrected time. This division was the largest in the fleet with 110 entries.

Shearwater won the Cruiser Division’s Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy for first place on corrected time. She’s a Mason 43 sailed by Daniel Biemesderfer from Stonington Harbor Yacht Club.

Spirit of Bermuda won the Spirit of Tradition Division against three other competitors and was awarded the War Baby Trophy. The crew of 32 and friends of Spirit accepted the prize from the Governor.

Among the Double Handed sailors, Yankee Girl was first out of 16 entries with co-skippers Zachary Lee of Pelham, New York and Gust Stringos of Skowhegan, Maine sharing the helm. Stringos won the Moxi Prize as crew and Lee won the Phillip S. Weld Prize as the designated skipper.

Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark’s Comanche won the Open Division, the newly established Race Record Trophy and the Royal Mail Trophy for first in Division. Skippered by Ken Read, Comanche was first to finish taking line honours and setting a new Open Division elapsed time record of 34 Hours, 42 minutes and 33 seconds.

Sailing High Noon, the Young American Junior Big Boat Sailing Team from American Yacht Club took line honors for traditional boats. The crew of seven 15-18 year-olds, two parents and a coach won the new Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy as their Tripp 41 came second overall across the line with an elapsed time of 72 hours, 44 minute, 11 seconds.

High Noon was also the top individual boat in the Onion Patch Series. She won both the Catherine Hollis Memorial Trophy for best performance in the Newport Bermuda Race by an Onion Patch Series entry and the Henry B. duPont Memorial Trophy as top boat in the three-event series… the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, the Newport Bermuda Race and the RBYC Anniversary Regatta.

Last but not least, the Class two double-hander Whisper, a Hinckley 48 yawl sailed by Thomas Vander Salm and John Browning, shared the Galley Slave Trophy for their last place elapsed time finish. They sailed the course in 132 hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds. Whisper finished just shy or 100 hours later than Comanche.