Newport Bermuda Race – Quality and diversity amongst big field

by Fred Deichmann on 17 Mar 2014 With two weeks to go before Applications for Entry close on April 1st for the 49th Newport Bermuda Race, 158 boats have filed Applications for Entry.

Many boats long identified with the race are coming back, and there is an enthusiastic response from first-time skippers, who make up 20 percent of the total.

The variety of entries is notable. Among the returnees are 2006 and 2008 St. David's Lighthouse Division winner Pete Rebovich with his family crew in Sinn Fein. Remarkably, the nearly 50-year-old Cal 40 was almost entirely destroyed in Superstorm Sandy in 2012, but she's been rebuilt and will be on the starting line on June 20. The famous Classic wooden 52' yawl Dorade, built in 1929 for designer Olin Stephens, returns under owner Matt Brooks. Last year Dorade won the Transpac Race in the Pacific Ocean.

Rives Potts' 2010 and 2012 St. David's winner Carina and Hap Fauth's perennial Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division contender and elapsed time top finisher Bella Mente will be at the starting line. Kodiak, winner of the big boat class in St. David's in 2012 under skipper Llwyd Ecclestone, is also racing.

Spirit of Bermuda, owned by the Bermuda Sloop Foundation and modeled on 19th century Bermudan commercial ships, will race again. In 2012, sailing with a crew of Bermuda youngsters, she was awarded a special seamanship award for her efforts to assist another racing boat that was in trouble.

Applications for Entry are due by 1700 hours, April 1, after which applicants may incur a time penalty. The process begins in the race entry portal on the race web site. Also online are a complete guide to entry, race documents and requirements and an extensive FAQ, all found under the 'Entry' section of BermudaRace.com.

As the entry window closes, I'm proud of the tremendous diversity and great quality of this fleet. Please join us for the 2014 Thrash to the Onion Event website