Annapolis-Newport Race - Entries drop to 57

by Chip Thayer on 29 May 2013 The Annapolis-Newport Race, having began with 61 boats, has its entry list now standing at 57 because a number of boats have had to drop out with reasons varying from, there were delays and we’re just not ready, to damage sustained in the Block Island Race.

Yellowbrick, the leader in race tracking, will again this year provide the trackers and race viewing for the Annapolis-Newport race. Each boat will be provided a tracking unit at registration that will provide position, speed and heading throughout the race. The update frequency will be every 30 minutes. The update frequency will be increased at the exit from the Bay, at the light tower turning mark and again at Block Island. This will allow awarding First Out of the Bay trophies for each class.

This year there are some enhancements to the service. For those wishing to follow the race on their Iphone there is an app. The Race Viewer app can be downloaded from the app store for free and allows spectators to buy the race and follow the progress of the yachts on their phone. The Race Viewer app can be found in the app store by searching for ‘yellowbrick’. Once the user has downloaded and installed this they will be able to see the races that are available. Currently only available on Iphone.

For those with low bandwidth internet access there is a URL to access the tracker data here. There will be text only leaderboards as well as position, speed and course info for all boats.

We are pleased to announce that Peter Isler and Chris Bedford will present a weather briefing Thursday June 6th at 0900 - 1000 in the AYC clubhouse. Chris will give a weather briefing followed by a presentation by Peter from the tactical perspective of the racing sailor and including some personal observations on safety offshore. There is limited space, so attendance is limited to two representatives from each boat. Chris Bedford is respected world-wide for his experience and expertise in marine and coastal meteorology. His sailing weather experience is extensive and successful. He is a veteran of eight America’s Cup cycles, five Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread teams, and four Olympic campaigns. He was meteorologist for the winning America’s Cup Teams in 1987, 1988 (Stars and Stripes) and 2010 (BMW Oracle). Peter Isler is an internationally renowned sailor. Inextricable from the America's Cup since winning it as navigator aboard Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes in Australia in 1987, he has sailed in five Cup campaigns (most recently with the BMW Oracle Racing Team in Valencia, Spain), winning it twice. Awarded 'Collegiate Sailor of the Year' for North America while at Yale University, Isler moved on to Olympic class sailing and then the America's Cup.