Traditional Ties Return to Newport Bermuda Race, Butterfield Sponsors Anniversary Regatta

By Talbot Wilson

NEWPORT, R.I., May 15, 2012 – The Royal Bermuda Yacht club has announced that The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited ("Butterfield") will be the 2012 Presenting Sponsor of the RBYC Anniversary Regatta Friday June 22, a highlight of Newport Bermuda Race Week in Bermuda and the final event of the Onion Patch Series.

"Butterfield is pleased to be sponsoring the Anniversary Regatta. The race is a signature event for Bermuda, bringing both excitement and visitors to the Island and providing valuable worldwide exposure," said Bradford Kopp, Butterfield's President & Chief Executive Officer.

The Newport Bermuda Race is the second leg of the Onion Patch Series. The series includes the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex in Newport, RI, the Bermuda Race and the RBYC Anniversary Regatta presented by Butterfield Group.

The two races of the Anniversary Regatta start in the Great Sound. The first race consists of windward-leeward laps around buoys in the Sound. The races should provide quite a spectacle for spectators on a mid-day ferry or from the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.

The second race starts off Somerset Island in the Great Sound then winds its way into Granaway Deep and Port Royal Bay before returning to the Sound and sometimes squeezing past ferries or ships in the narrow Two Rock passage back into Hamilton Harbour. The spectator-friendly finish line is close to shore between the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club marina. Hopefully, the big yachts will be racing home under their colorful spinnakers to add even more to the show.

All boats in Bermuda that are over 25 feet in waterline length and have an IRC certificate may enter this regatta. The Anniversary Regatta presented by Butterfield Group is the third stage of the Onion Patch Series, but a boat does not have to enter the Onion Patch Series to enter the Anniversary Regatta. The prizes for the RBYC Anniversary Regatta presented by Butterfield Group will be awarded at the Gosling’s Rum Newport Bermuda Welcoming Party in Barrs Bay Park as soon as scoring for the races is completed

The 2012 Newport Bermuda Race starts on June 15^th off Castle Hill, Newport, RI and finishes several days later off St. David’s Head, Bermuda. The 170+ Competitors in the 635-mile race will compete in either the St. David’s Lighthouse (amateur) Division, the Cruiser (amateur) Division, the Double Handed Division, the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse (professional) Division, Open (professional) Division, or Spirit of Tradition Division.

Thanks also to sponsorship from Butterfield and Vineyard Vines, all skippers, their watch captains and navigators in the 2012 Newport Bermuda Race will receive traditional commemorative neckties for their participation in the classic, 635-mile ocean challenge.