By Bill Barton

Bill Barton chaired the 2006 Bermuda Race Organizing Committee and continues to serve on it as it plans the 2010 race.

After each Newport Bermuda Race, the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee conducts a survey of all skippers with the double aim of understanding what happened on the course and improving the next race. The survey of the 2008 race fleet indicates that sailors are happy with the race, but with a few qualifications.

There’s no question that they want to come back. Despite rough weather, 94% of surveyed skippers said they’re interested in racing again in 2010.  Survey forms were completed and returned in August by 111 skippers, almost 60% of the 198 captains in the 46th running of the biannual “thrash to the Onion Patch.”  This was the second largest fleet in the race’s 102-year history, trailing only the 265-boat fleet in the 2006 centennial race.

The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (consisting of representatives from the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club) was especially interested in how skippers feel about the race’s unique structure. In order to address the different needs and wishes of sailors, including separating amateur and professional teams, the race provides five divisions with their own prizes: 

• The St. David’s Lighthouse Division for largely amateur crews is the race’s largest division, with 123 boats in 2008.
• The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division for largely professional crews had 15 boats.
• The Cruiser Division had 43 boats.
• The Double-Handed Division had 13 boats.
• The Open Division for cant-keel boats had four boats.

In 2008 the organizers changed the rule about professionals in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division, pegging the maximum number of professionals at a proportion of the total crew instead of the size of the boat, as in 2006. As a result, the number of professionals decreased. Participants appreciated the change, with 92% of the skippers approving the amended structure, a jump up from 2006 survey results.

Fred Madeira's Resolute starts the 2008 thrash to the Onion Patch

When asked about race reporting, skippers reported 83% satisfaction among friends and family ashore who followed the race using satellite tracking on the Internet. After the race, 78% of the skippers went online to replay position reports and follow tracks of their and competitors’ boats.  People obviously are hungry for more news and many skippers told the organizers that press coverage could be improved.  In the next race, in 2010, boating writer John Rousmaniere will be in charge of reporting, and there will be more use of on-board reports.

The event continues to draw new entrants, with 19% of skippers saying that this was their first race. Racing to Bermuda is also a good habit: 65% said this was at least their third race.  Many in the fleet have competed previously in other offshore or overnight coastal races, with 35% in the Marblehead-Halifax Race and 38% in the Block Island Race in recent years.

The Newport Bermuda Race is well-known for its concern about safety. When skippers were asked to evaluate the organizers’ weather and Gulf Stream reports and predictions, 90% said they were useful. Entrants are also satisfied with the race’s mandatory inspections. “I believe one of the great plusses of doing the race is the pre-race inspection system,” wrote Brain Parselle, owner of the Hanse 470E Grey Matter. “It is good to have a second opinion regarding the preparation of the boat prior to going off-shore, especially since the inspectors seem to be very experienced, practical, and helpful.”

The survey asked skippers about their boats’ safety practices and incidents during the rough 635-mile beat to Bermuda in 2008.  Bermuda Race rules mandate that each boat carry suitable PFDs and safety harnesses for the entire crew. Three-fourths of the skippers reported that they required their crews to wear PFDs and harnesses when on deck at night or in rough weather, and many skippers required them to be worn at all times. These cautions paid off because 8% of skippers reported that a clipped-on safety harness prevented a crew member from falling overboard.

The race organizers are concerned about the number of gear failures and communication problems encountered in 2008.  The survey showed that 8% of the boats experienced engine failures, 10% had running rigging failures, 15% had electrical failures, and 40% had problems with radio or satellite telephone communications.  The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee and Safety at Sea Seminar moderators now know they need to raise awareness of these issues.  Pre-race familiarization and testing of communications devices is important, especially before a typical wet race to Bermuda.

2008 Newport Bermuda Race: Gear Failures & Communications Problems
Type of Gear	% Reporting
Radio/Sat Phone Problems	39.6
Electrical	15.3
Running Rigging	9.9
Engine	8.1
Steering	2.7
Boom	1.8
Mast	1.8
Preventer	0.9

Skippers reported better than 90% satisfaction with pre-race information on the race’s web site (www.bermudarace.com).  Still, many said they could use more information about berthing, travel, and lodging in Newport and Bermuda. Bjorn Johnson, Chairman for the 2010 race, said, “We clearly have to do a better job of servicing the boats and captains in our race by providing all the information they need to sail in the event.  That also means helping them with the logistics around gathering and housing crews and providing good information on marinas for competitors.”

The best news for the Newport Bermuda Race is that almost all the reporting skippers said they were interested in racing again in 2010. Fred Madeira, skipper of the J/44 Resolute, summed up his race in comments in his survey: “This was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and it was exciting to be part of the pre-race Newport and post-race Bermuda scene.  I was thrilled to be able to share the experience with my 16-year-old son and the eight other close friends who were on board for the race.  Hopefully, next time we will sail a smarter and faster race!”

Madeira added, “I would say that as a first-timer, all of your preparation requirements were absolutely key to our successful completion of the race.  Having had limited offshore experience, I initially questioned some of the need for redundancy.  However, once in the race, it became absolutely obvious how critical great boat preparation and redundancy is in order to have a safe and successful race.”

Said 2010 race Chairman Johnson, “The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee is dedicated to making sure that Captain Madeira’s experience remains typical.”