Annapolis to Newport Race 2011 primary sponsor Thomson Reuters

by New York Yacht Club on 18 May 2011 Annapolis to Newport Race provides a diversity of challenges during the 120 miles down the Chesapeake Bay followed by 350 miles in the Atlantic to Newport. First run 64 years ago the race is one of the most historic and well-known of the U.S. East Coast blue-water races

Race organizers are pleased to announce that Thomson Reuters will be the primary sponsor of the 2011 Annapolis to Newport Race. One of the benefits of their sponsorship is the ability to enhance the quality of the shore-side activities while holding down costs for competitors. The entry fee for the 2011 race is the same as it was for the 2007 and 2009 races. Eileen Lynch, Global Head of Brand Strategy, Advertising and Marketing for Thomson Reuters, said, 'Thomson Reuters is excited to sponsor the Annapolis-Newport Race, one of the premier offshore events in the U.S. Competitive sailing, like the other sports we sponsor, embodies our brand belief that the right information in the right hands leads to amazing things. It’s as true for the professional customers we serve as it is for the crews competing in this blue-water classic. We wish everyone a safe and swift race.' Gus Carlson, the owner and skipper of Aurora, the 66-foot Reichel/Pugh sloop that is the Thomson Reuters-sponsored entry in the race, said, 'We are thrilled that Thomson Reuters will sponsor Aurora in the Annapolis-Newport Race, continuing the company's strong support of grand prix offshore racing. Competitive advantage in an offshore test like this isn’t just about having a good boat and capable crew. A key element is the ability to get the right information when you need it, and turn it into smart strategy. Over the 473-mile course from Annapolis to Newport, sailors will capture, collate, analyze and fine-tune a blizzard of data and turn it into intelligent information that will help us make better decisions faster and with more confidence. The crews that do this the best will win.'

Adding excitement and an international element to this year’s race are the entries of boats competing in the Transatlantic Race 2011 and the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series. Ten of the yachts sailing the Transatlantic have already entered. This includes boats hailing from the UK, Germany, Australia, Antigua and the British Virgin Islands. Rambler 100, sailed by George David, and ICAP Leopard , chartered by Clarke Murphy, have entered. Both are 100 footers that can be expected to challenge the race record of 42 hours, 58 minutes, 12 seconds set by Joseph Dockery's Farr 60 Carrera in 2001.

In 2007, the Annapolis to Newport Race became the first of the east coast offshore races to provide the capability to follow the race via an internet race viewer. The organizers are pleased to announce another enhancement in 2011. The use of the Yellowbrick tracking system will provide some important benefits.

Each boat will carry a Yellowbrick GPS transponder that transmits boat speed and position information every 30 minutes via the Iridium-satellite system, sending a position report from each boat automatically and simultaneously. This will result in a real improvement in the accuracy of the race viewer when compared to the previous system that collected data from the transponders a few at a time over the course of an hour. The track and current position of each boat will be displayed on the race website . You can watch the tactics unfold in near real-time and see the gains and losses for each boat and yacht club team.

The capability to increase the transponder update rate remotely at critical points on the course will allow us to once again offer trophies for first out of the Bay. Many years ago these trophies were based on reports from personnel on the Chesapeake Lightship off the mouth of the Bay. These awards had to be discontinued when the lightship was replaced by an unmanned tower. The race course runs south on the Chesapeake Bay for 120 miles to the Bay Bridge Tunnel, then 20 miles out into the Atlantic to the Chesapeake Light Tower and finally up the coast to Newport for a total of 473 miles. The update frequency will be increased at the bridge tunnel, at the light tower and again at Block Event website