There is a sense of excitement and anticipation when thinking of entering the Newport-Bermuda Race for the first time. The adrenalin flows at the thought of the challenges – getting ready to do the Race and then for the actual ocean Race itself – with several days at sea, crossing of the Gulf Stream and the uncertainties of offshore weather conditions. 

Preparation
In the words of Richie Shulman, winner of the coveted Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy in the 2006 centennial race, “the Bermuda Race is like going to school on how to make a blue water passage.”  While the demands placed on skippers preparing their boats for the race are heavy, this is precisely why the boats and crew are well prepared by the time the race starts.  There is a bit of truth to the saying that “the race is the easy part; it’s the preparation that is most difficult.” 

In order to insure that boats are properly prepared, they must meet stringent safety requirements developed by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).  Every boat is carefully inspected by a qualified race inspector. This process not only prepares the boat properly for an offshore passage, but provides the owner with a greater understanding of the equipment and attributes of a well-found offshore yacht, and gives a new and hard-earned confidence in their own boat.

Captains and crew must meet minimum requirements in order to enter the race.  First-time captains and watch-captains will be asked to submit a sailing resume to a qualifications committee, and must meet minimum experience qualifications.  If the committee has any doubts about the experience of an applicant, a committee member will discuss the standards personally with the captain and if necessary will assist in organizing experienced offshore crew for this first race. In the end, both the race organizers and the participant will be confident that crew’s skills will meet the rigors of being offshore.

Crews themselves will participate with owners in Safety At Sea seminars  designed to insure that the required number of crew members on each boat are prepared to cope with the broad spectrum of emergencies they may encounter while at sea.  Before the start, crews must go through several required emergency procedures on their boats.  This exercise is key to developing a cohesive response to an emergency, and is an essential complement to the seminar training.

Although these requirements may seem challenging, they actually serve to make the race more inclusive and accessible to participants who might otherwise think they could not participate in the Newport Bermuda Race.  In the end, they give the captain and crew valuable skills and confidence in anticipation of sailing offshore.  After competing in the Newport Bermuda Race, never again will that overnight passage to Maine with family and friends be intimidating.

Competition
In the 2000 race, Ron Imbriale from Jamestown, RI was a first-timer—and he won the Cruising Division in his Swan 38 Spirit.  The potential for this sort of achievement is one of the truly compelling aspects of the Newport-Bermuda Race: almost anyone, from the newest boat to the oldest boat, and the from first-time skipper to the veteran, has a shot at winning.

The five-division structure of the race gives everyone the appropriate place to compete.  Race boats and racing crews compete against their own kind, while cruising boats and Corinthian sailors have their own competitive divisions.

The Newport Bermuda Race is committed to fair and level competition.  For more than thirty years the Cruising Club of America and the Newport Bermuda Race have subscribed to a rating system that is the most scientific way to level a diverse fleet of yachts.  This is accomplished through a Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) that uses the science of naval architecture and the physics of hydro- and aerodynamics to predict the potential speed of a boat, then adds to it the performance influence of different wind speeds and wind direction on each yacht.  The net result is a robust formula that has been refined over three decades to predict very accurately the potential performance of each yacht in the race. 

Although there is always some degree of luck involved in a 600+ mile race (and this is part of the fun), this scientific VPP approach minimizes the opportunity for rule-beating (favoring one design over another) and maximizes the importance of boat and crew preparation and crew performance.  The VPP aims as much as possible to level the boats.  This leaves the winning to preparation, seamanship and sailing ability, which are the fundamental strengths that the Newport Bermuda Race seeks to promote and reward.

Challenge and Fun

Newport-Bermuda Race participants will all attest to the special sense of accomplishment in successfully and safely completing the race. The pure fun of it all, starting with winter gatherings with your crew, the spring push to prepare your boat, and the Gulf Stream, weather, and safety-at-sea education, are as satisfying as the race itself.  The exhilaration of seeing St. David’s Lighthouse emerge after a few days at sea, the party atmosphere at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, and the warmth of the sun and the beaches in Bermuda, are very sweet rewards to a unique personal challenge that is bound to end up high on any captain’s “ten best” list.

Many, maybe all, who have ever competed in the Newport Bermuda Race will tell you that the most special, most exciting and most satisfying Bermuda Race is the one they sail the first time on their own boat.