Inspection and the Bermuda Race

The list of Official Inspectors and the 2012 Inspection Booklet have been posted and listed in the 2012 Rules & Regs Index page of the Newport Bermuda Race website. Along with them is a list of Inspection Frequently Asked Questions.

One of the Bermuda Races rules is that every entry must be inspected, no matter how many races shes sailed. Each boat and crew is facing a two-legged, 1,500-mile ocean adventure out and back across the Gulf Stream. The race's 50 inspectors have been there, and pass on what they've learned.

Chief Inspector Ian McCurdy

"I volunteer as an inspector for the love of the sport of distance racing," says Chief Inspector Ian McCurdy. An experienced ocean sailor with some 25 passages between Bermuda and North America, he's been a Bermuda Race inspector for 16 years.

Another experienced inspector, Ernie Messer, says, "Aside from the list of requirements, I look for a skipper's acceptance of his ultimate responsibility for the safety of his boat and crew and the necessity of a level playing field in terms of everyone having to carry the same gear. Also, I like to remind the skipper that although something may get overlooked in the inspection, this doesn't exclude the possibility that it will be found in a post-race inspection and cost him a critical time penalty."

Says inspector Rudi Millard, "I worry about all my chickens (inspected boats) and the fleet making it safely to the barn (Bermuda) after they have started. I don't want any of them to be harmed or eaten by the big bad wolf out there in the deep, deep blue."