Fred Deichmann (Mystic, Conn.) has been appointed Chairman of the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race’s Participation Committee.  The announcement came from Bermuda Race Organizing Committee Chairman Bjorn Johnson (Red Bank, N.J.).

Deichmann knows the race well.  He is the owner-skipper of the Tartan 37 Dawn Treader, which he raced to Bermuda in 1998, 2000 (placing third in his class), and 2008. And he was a pre-race boat inspector for the 2004, 2006 and 2008 races (he will again make safety inspections before the 2010 race).  He is a member of the Cruising Club of America, the Mason’s Island Yacht Club (where he served as Commodore), and the Shennecossett Yacht Club, and is a former member of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club. 

The Newport Bermuda Race is sailed biennially in even-numbered years over the 635-mile ocean course from Newport, R.I., to St. David’s Head, Bermuda. The next race—the forty-seventh since the first one in 1906—will start on June 18, 2010. The race is co-sponsored by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. 

The Participation Committee identifies potential competitors, encourages them to enter, and assists them by assigning race veterans to advise and help prepare their boats and crews for inspection and the race. “The committee regards itself as a helpful resource, especially to first-time competitors,” said Deichmann, who as a competitor and inspector well appreciates the challenges of the historic “thrash to the Onion Patch” across the Gulf Stream.  He is a fan of the race. “The Newport Bermuda Race offers a total immersion in sailing and the sailing community for an extended period. It’s also a test of boat and crew that would be hard to duplicate. The rewards come in the form of good fellowship among the crew and the chance to experience the unparalleled beauty of the open ocean—and the occasional prize.”

Deichmann and his committee, which includes representatives of all the race’s divisions, will seek out and encourage sailors who have demonstrated an interest in offshore sailing. “We will contact competitors from the Marion-Bermuda, Marblehead-Halifax, Block Island, Vineyard, and other distance races, as well as members of many yacht clubs.” To further generate interest, he plans to present talks and seminars on the Newport Bermuda Race at yacht clubs.

The Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race and the largest long-distance international ocean race. The centennial race in 2006 drew a record fleet of 250 boats, and the most recent one, in 2008, was the second largest in the race’s history, with 198 starters. 

The 2010 race will have divisions for ORR and IRC Rule cruiser-racers and racing boats, and for the Double-Handed, Cruiser, and Open (cant keel) entries. The major trophies will again be the historic St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy for the overall winner and the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy for the winner of the division for boats with professional crews.  Carrying on its long tradition as a family event, the Newport Bermuda Race will present the William L. Glenn Family Participation Prizes for best finish with at least four family members in crew.

Fred Deichmann may be contacted at participation@bermudarace.com.  For more information about the Newport Bermuda Race, go to www.BermudaRace.com.

--John Rousmaniere