2018 Newport Bermuda Race - Safety and training requirement updates

by Bermuda Race on 8 Oct 2017 The 2018 Newport Bermuda Race Safety Requirements (NBRSR) include changes to both the Safety at Sea training requirements and Personal AIS Beacons.

Newport Bermuda Race Safety at Sea training requirements and how to meet them.

For the 2018 race, the requirements have changed to require at least two crewmembers hold a current 'World Sailing approved offshore personal survival course certificate' and there is a new option for completing Safety at Sea training for this certificate. As an aid to racers, we have created a document (found here) that (1) provides a guide to determine the minimum Safety at Sea training requirement as a function of crew size, and (2) explains the course options for crew members to obtain the required Safety at Sea training.

Although the document helps a crew determine the minimum training requirements according the rules, crews are strongly encouraged to have more than the minimum number of crew members complete Safety at Sea training.

Click here to download the SaS training requirement guide, or to the Safety at Sea Seminars page.

Personal AIS Beacons

An important change to the NBRSR requires that 'each life jacket intended for regular use while racing (one per crewmember) shall be equipped with a AIS personal crew overboard beacon.' To ease the cost of this requirement, we are in discussion with several suppliers of this equipment regarding meaningful discounts for our NBR participants. We hope to have the program arranged by November, watch for another communication from the committee for more details. Questions on this change or our objective, please contact Mark Lenci.