George Sakellaris’s Maxi 72 Shockwave makes a dawn approach to the finish off Bermuda’s St David’s Lighthouse in the 2014 race. After 635nm of sailing she took line honours by 7 minutes over the Maxi 72 Bella Mente. In 2012 they had finished 2 minutes apart
Except for the Superyachts, each division is rated under the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) St David’s Lighthouse Division: cruiser-racers with amateur helmsmen Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division: racers with professional helmsmen permitted Cruiser Division: cruisers/passagemakers with amateur helmsmen Double-Handed Division: one crew may be a professional Open Division: canting-keel racers with professional helmsmen permitted Super Yacht Division: 90ft+ long, International Super Yacht Rule Spirit of Tradition Division: replicas and types of traditional designs
The rating rule
The Bermuda Race is dedicated to the principles of safe sailing and fair racing. ‘The Newport Bermuda Race is not a race for novices’ says the Notice of Race. All boats are inspected, all crew lists are reviewed, and a portion of each crew is required to attend a safety at sea seminar.
The Cruising Club of America has asserted strong leadership in rating rules for nearly 90 years. From the 1930s to 1970 the Bermuda Race fleet was handicapped using the CCA Rating Rule. The CCA then supported a body of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that led to a new Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) – using the entire boat and not just a few measurements to more accurately predict velocity on all points of sail across a range of conditions.
Newport Bermuda has used VPPs since 1978. Today’s system is the Offshore Racing Rule. The race prefers the ORR because it does the best job in fairly handicapping different boats in a diverse fleet without unduly favouring one type of boat in any one condition. ORR does not favour old designs, new designs, classics or high- tech downwind flyers.
ORR encourages a well-prepared boat with a capable crew. ORR says to boat owners, ‘Get the boat in good shape, set good sails, muster up your best crew, and come racing. If you sail fast, make the right decisions and don’t make too many mistakes, you have a shot at collecting some silverware.’ Other organisers across the US and around the world appear to concur with the Bermuda Race organiser’s choice and also use the ORR system.
John Rousmaniere –
Media@bermudarace.com A.J. Evans –
Chairman@bermudarace.com
www.BermudaRace.com
Gulf Stream Strategies – Dr W Frank Bohlen, Physical Oceanographer (18 Bermuda Races)
Developing a winning Bermuda Race strategy that accommodates the variabilities in weather, ocean current and sea state requires skippers and navigators to consider a number of factors. Among them are Gulf Stream conditions. The point at which the Stream is encountered is often considered a juncture as important as the start or finish of the race itself. The location, structure and variability of this major ocean current and its effects all present a particular challenge for every navigator and tactician. The Gulf Stream follows a reasonably well-defined northerly track along the outer limits of the US continental shelf. Beyond Cape Hatteras currents turn to the northeast, and flow trajectories in this area (which covers the rhumbline to Bermuda) become increasingly non-linear and wavelike, with characteristics similar to those observed in clouds of smoke trailing downwind from a chimney. On occasion these meanders will become so large that they will ‘pinch off’, forming independent rotating rings or eddies in the areas to the north and south of the main body of the Stream. All of these features may significantly affect set and drift. Efforts to locate the Stream and map its location and structure typically begin months before the race with the collection of satellite sea surface temperature (SST) images available at a number of websites. In the past the most competitive teams have also chartered aircraft to double-check the precise juncture of the Stream for themselves shortly before the race start. The Gulf Stream also exerts significant influence on weather and sea state. This favours cloud formation and intensification of advancing pressure systems over a large portion of the North Atlantic. Intensification is particularly pronounced in fast-moving cold fronts. When these fronts encounter the warm waters of the Stream, the rate at which moisture-laden warm air moves aloft accelerates, favouring formation of intense thunderstorms replete with wind, rain and sometimes hail.
These features illustrate the care required when developing a race strategy, and the need to consider much more than simple analytical data describing Gulf Stream or wind and wave conditions. The boat’s type, condition and crew also matter. The successful integration of all of these factors is the challenge that represents the particular attraction of the Newport Bermuda Race.
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graeme@seahorse.co.uk SEAHORSE 5
Gulf Stream tracks of three of the top boats in the 2010 Bermuda Race
Technical Brief
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