51st Newport Bermuda Race, June 15th 2018

The Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, one of very few international distance races, and (with the Transpac Race) one of just two of the world’s regularly scheduled races held almost entirely out of sight of land.  Founded in 1906, the Bermuda Race is held for the 51st time in 2018. Between 160 and 200 boats sail the race. Although it is identified with the New England coast, the race attracts sailors from across North America and the globe, with recent entries from Russia, Britain, and other countries.

The race starts off Newport, RI this year on June 15th. Depending on the weather and the currents in the Gulf Stream, and the boat’s size and speed, the race takes two to six days.

The race is demanding. The rules say, “The Newport Bermuda Race is not a race for novices.” The course crosses the rough Gulf Stream and is mostly out of the range of rescue helicopters, and Bermuda is guarded by a dangerous reef.  The race is nicknamed “the thrash to the Onion Patch” because most Bermuda Races include high winds and big waves (a combination sailors call “a hard thrash”), and because Bermuda is an agricultural island.