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The
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club
Tel: 441-296-8598
Tel: 441-295-9652
Tel: 441-295-9468 |
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The
Newport to Bermuda Race course is one of the
most interesting and challenging ocean courses
anywhere and depending on weather conditions
the race can be won by big boats, small boats
or boats in the middle of the fleet. The rhumbline
course to Bermuda is approximately 162 degrees
magnetic, the distance 635 nautical miles.
Starting
off Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, the first
15 miles of the race are in the confluence of
conflicting tidal currents. The flooding tide
generates easterly current west of Point Judith
and westerly current east of Brenton's Reef.
The typical wind direction is south to southwest
although easterlies are not uncommon, and there
is often a sea breeze for the later starters.
Government marks guarding the reefs must be observed.
The
first Bermuda Race was run in 1906 starting from
Gravesend Bay, NY with three starters and was
competed intermittently until 1926 when a regular
schedule of holding the race in even years began.
That schedule has continued to the present except
for a hiatus during WWII. Beginning with the
1923 event the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club hosted
the finish and festivities after the race. The
Cruising Club of America has sponsored it in
conjunction with the RBYC since 1926. In 1938
the start was moved to Newport, Rhode Island.
Over the years the CCA worked with many groups
to develop the rating rules that the race was
sailed under. Today the Newport Bermuda race
stands as a pinnacle in ocean racing. The 100th
anniversary of the competition will be in 2006.
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