The ocean-isolated island group of Bermuda, know to the cognoscenti as The Onion Patch, has the same special attraction for the American cruiser-racer sailors of New England as the distant island of Hy Brasil had in ancient times for voyaging Irish saints, scholars, and seafaring scoundrels. The only difference is that Bermuda is for real, whereas Hy Brasil was a shared fantasy.

That said, before best-practise Celestial Navigation and then GPS took over, many a frustrated Yankee amateur navigator thought the same was true about the low-lying Bermudas - you can read an account of what the struggle and frustration simply finding the Onion Patch could be like in Weston Martyr's brilliant factoid book The Southseaman, first published in 1926.

RACING TO THE ONION PATCH

Be that as it may, it had been only a matter of time before the availability of such a special target resulted in a 600-mile race from the New York area. In 1906, the flamboyant New York-bsed editor of the maritime journal The Rudder, one Thomas Fleming Day, was so infuriated by the Powers That Be insisting that only yachts of 80ft LOA or greater were capable of ocean racing that he organised a race to Bermuda from the Brooklyn Yacht Cup in New York.

Many spectacular racing yachts have competed in the Bermuda Race, but in times past the start was shaped in such a way that you'd barely seen them off Newport before they'd gone into the blue

Only three yachts started, and one of them was dismasted almost immediately. But the other two made it to Bermuda and the hospitality of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton, with the winner being the 38ft yawl Tamerlane, skippered by Day himself. But perhaps more remarkable was the second-placed Gauntlet, as she was only 28ft long, and in a further affront to the Powers That Be, her crew included a female sailor, 20-year-old Thora Lund Robinson.

SMALLEST BOAT TO BERMUDA

As it happens, Gauntlet is still the smallest boat to have raced to Bermuda in the succession starting with the four annual 600 miles-plus races from the US mainland which followed directly from Thomas Fleming Day's original inspiration. His version of the race was annual, but the few prepared to take part concluded that going every year was just too much. Then World War 1 from 1914 to 1918 enforced a continuation of the gap until 1923, when Royal Bermuda YC Vice Commodore Eldon Trimingham betook himself to New York to persuade the newly formed Cruising Club of America to take it on despite their club's name lacking any reference to racing, as we recounted here.

The 1923 race was sailed under CCA auspices, and soon an agreement was signed with the Royal Bermuda YC for the joint running of what was to become a biennial classic. A lower size limit was set at 35ft LOA, and the start point finally became Newport, Rhode Island, with the course of a straight 635-mile line to Bermuda posing all sorts of genuinely ocean racing challenges, including crossing the weirdly moody Gulf Stream.

For some sailors, the fact of getting straight into offshore racing work was one of the attractions, as they were able to immediately forget all shoreside concerns and get on with the job of sailing fast. But it did mean that families and friends and interested members of the public barely saw the impressive fleet before they all disappeared into the summer haze.

HIGHLY-VIEWED FASTNET AND SYDNEY-HOBART RACE STARTS

Then too, in recent years the similarly classic Fastnet and Sydney-Hobart Races have been getting much more attention because they start in the first case down the much-viewed Solent, and in the other it's out through the usually sunlit wonders of the even more intensely-viewed Sydney Harbour.

Yet the Newport-Bermuda Race - which protagonists reckon to be the daddy of them all - is little noticed at a generally public level, as its start can be one of the biggest fleet-disappearing acts experienced since the Russian Imperial Fleet was dispatched in just one day in 1904, after they'd voyaged for months the whole way round from the Baltic to put manners on the Japanese Imperial Navy.

The 636-mile Newport-Bermuda Race course sees the fleet get to grips with proper ocean conditions almost immediately

A MIGHTY LEAP

That's not at all the way the CCA wish their superb racing fleet and main event to be perceived, but by lengthening the course by only one mile to give more of an in-harbour start, with just one mighty leap they've put themselves and their race start centre stage, and the official announcement sets the scene:

"The biennial Newport Bermuda Race is thrilled to announce an exciting new approach to the start of the 2024 race: free shoreline viewing and a live broadcast from Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island, which will also be streamed online at bermudarace.com. The Race's starting line has been relocated one mile north of Castle Hill in Narragansett Bay to provide spectators a new opportunity to witness 200 boats up close - thus extending the race course distance to Bermuda from
635 to 636 miles.

"The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, with support from the State of Rhode Island and other partners, has been able to invest in transforming this hallmark biennial event into a celebration for the sailors, their families, and fans alike," says Race Chair Andrew Kallfelz of Jamestown, Rhode Island. "Fort Adams is a great venue for the public to come together to witness up close the adrenaline-pumping start of this prestigious race."

ON-SITE EXPERIENCES AT FORT ADAMS

For those planning to attend in person, Fort Adams promises an excellent spot to see the start. The park will host a lively beer garden, exhibits from partners, and a vibrant atmosphere filled with maritime enthusiasts. Spectators will also enjoy live coverage from world-renowned commentators on-shore and on the water, with state-of-the-art graphics on a big screen, ensuring the crowd sees and experiences every exciting moment of the start".

Low-lying Bermuda, aka The Onion Patch, was often the devil's own job to find at all in the early Bermuda Races

SPECTATORS? WHAT SPECTATORS?

That's the way it is now, folks. But for those of us who have done a few Round Ireland and Fastnet Races, plus Dun Laoghaire Dingle dashes, starting is usually a matter of being in a somewhat flustered state - often, in fact, in a very flustered state.

So very flustered, in fact, that you're blessed by often not even remembering the possible existence of spectators, as you're settling in as quickly as possible into an intense little world where the only other inhabitants are the crews of nearby boats.

But then, after you've finished the race and tidied the ship and completed the de-briefing with those other crews of nearby boats over pints in the clubhouse, it is truly wonderful to be met up by family and friends who then spirit you up-country to some very rural inn for a proper farmer's dinner, and not a sound of the sea for a couple of hours.

That's not really possible in Bermuda. But then, after a few of the traditional Dark'n'Stormies on those enchanted isles, you could be anywhere. And doubtless, someone will start to think, if they haven't already, that there should be a Thora Lund Trophy for the first female skipper.

US Sailing, the national governing body for sailing in the USA released the report requested by the Bermuda Race Organising Committee regarding the tragedy that occurred during the running of the 52nd Newport Bermuda Race.

An expert US Sailing investigation panel studied the tragic loss of Mr Colin Golder during the race, as Afloat reported in June 2022 here.

The Bermuda Race Organising Committee has extended its deepest condolences to the family and crew of Morgan of Marietta.

In a statement, the race organisers said, "We encourage our sailing community to fully read US Sailing's report and find ways to realize the recommendations in all of our boating activities". 

Download the report below.

US Sailing will soon announce the appointment of a panel to investigate the fatal crew-overboard incident in the Newport Bermuda Race last weekend, race organisers have confirmed.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Colin Golder, captain of the 42-foot sloop Morgan of Marietta, lost his life after going overboard in strong winds some 325 miles from Bermuda on Sunday 19 June.

In their latest statement, race organisers said they have stayed in contact with Mr Golder’s family and the crew of Morgan of Marietta, which has returned safely to the mainland.

In addition, they say they appealed to sailing’s national governing body in the US to establish an independent panel to review the incident and publish a report “to help all sailors learn from the loss of Mr Golder”, which US Sailing has agreed to do.

“While words are inadequate at a time like this, we extend our deepest sympathies to Mr Golder’s family, friends, and crew as we await the report of the US Sailing panel,” the statement added.

June 19, 2022—Jason Carroll of New York City and the crew of the MOD70 Argo outran every elapsed-time record associated with the Newport Bermuda Race when they completed the 52nd edition of the offshore race Saturday night at 2320:09 (ADT).

Argo’s elapsed time of 33 hours, 0 minutes and 09 seconds is more than 30 hours faster than Carroll’s Gunboat 62 Elvis set in the first multihull division in the 2018 Bermuda Race. It is also 1h:42m:42s faster than the 100-foot monohull Comanche’s Open Division mark of 34h:42m:53s, set in the 2016 race. And it’s more than six and a half hours faster than Rambler 90’s mark of 39 hours and 39 minutes, which earned owner George David the Schooner Mistress Trophy in 2012 for fastest elapsed time by a monohull in the race's four major divisions.

Argo is the first-ever Saturday night finisher in the history of the storied Bermuda Race, co-organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

Owner/skipper Carroll’s international crew aboard Argo included Chad Corning (New Rochelle, New York), Pete Cumming (Warsash, England), Thierry Fouchier (Marseille, France), boat captain Chris Maxted (Melbourne, Australia), Charlie Ogletree (Seabrook, Texas), Alister Richardson (Bournemouth, England), and navigator/sailing master Brian Thompson (Cowes, England).

“This crew has been on the boat a lot, we’ve all worked together for a lot of years,” said Corning, the 50-year-old crewman and program manager in a pre-race interview. “For the shorter 600-mile races we like to sail with eight. It just makes sail handling that much easier.”

Crewmembers grind and tail aboard the MOD70 Argo Daniel Forster/PPL

Argo averaged 19.24 knots in setting the multihull course record, and sailed approximately 486 nautical miles in the 24 hours after the start. Argo sailed mainly to the west of rhumbline and took advantage of a meander in the Gulf Stream that gave it a favorable boost towards Bermuda.

Argo started the Bermuda Race on Friday at 1420 ADT. Watching the boat do its pre-race preps one could see the mast canted heavily to starboard, indicating the crew knew it would be a starboard tack slog until they got within sight of Bermuda. The only two maneuvers were a tack to port and one back to starboard to the finish line off St. David’s Lighthouse in the final 10 miles of the course.

 

The Argo crew prepares for the Newport Bermuda Race. Photo: Sean McNeill

In April, Argo set a record from Antigua to Newport of 3 days and 15 minutes, shaving five and a half hours off the previous mark set by sistership Phaedo. The Bermuda Race record is the sixth-course record to go with two world records that Argo has set since Carroll purchased the foil-assisted trimaran in 2018.

Argo’s preparations for the Bermuda Race included fitting a new rudder to replace one that was broken in April during training in Antigua prior to the record run to Newport.

“We toasted the V2 rudder and replaced it with one of our first version rudders for the record run,” said Corning. “We’ve got two generations of foils and rudders, and the new rudder is a direct replacement of the first V2 rudder.

“Argo is as good as a MOD70 can be,” Corning continued. “The only development we’re considering is a switch to flip-up rudders instead of being destroyed. Things break when we hit things, and that’s a problem. In terms of how the foils and rudders work together, it’s as good as can get across the range. The underpinnings of the V2 foils and rudders are from our capsize in 2019. We wanted a safer boat. The boat’s a bit faster in some conditions, but better overall because it’s safer and more under control.”

More under control likely means many more records for Carroll and the Argo crew in the future.

The MOD70 Argo rode starboard tack all the way to Bermuda. Note the mast's angle of attack to the wind. Photo: Daniel Forster/PPL