With the clock counting down to the April 1 entry deadline, more than 200 yachts have been nominated for entry in the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race. This makes the 2008 fleet the second largest in Newport Bermuda Race history, eclipsed only by the record 264 entries in the Centennial Race of 2006.

An additional 20 skippers have begun the entry process, but have yet to name the yacht they will race this year. Organizers expect a last-minute surge in registrations as the deadline approaches, resulting in a fleet of about 220 boats on the starting line off Castle Hill, Newport, on June 20.

This will be a dramatically larger fleet than the typical 180 boats in races of the last decade, and reflects a growing interest in the challenge of offshore racing.

The Newport Bermuda Race is 635 miles of pure blue water racing, and is a tactical and strategic test that sailors have taken on for more than a century.

With divisions for virtually every type of offshore monohull and crew, the Newport Bermuda Race offers unparalleled challenges and rewards. Divisional prizes are among the most sought after in ocean racing, with the signature St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy viewed as the ultimate prize for amateur offshore racers.

Divisions for 2008 include:
• The St. David’s Lighthouse Division, for fully-crewed, amateur-helmed boats
• The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, for professional crews and helmsmen
• The Double-Handed Division, for amateur and professional short-handed sailors
• The Cruiser Divisions, for largely-amateur crews on boats with limited downwind sail inventories
• The Open Division, for professionally-crewed canting keel boats

All racing will be handicapped using the VPP-based Offshore Racing Rule (ORR), with optional dual scoring under IRC for boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and St. David’s Lighthouse divisions sailing for the new North Rock Beacon Trophy. The race is open to boats with an ORR L of 27.5’ or more, and a stability index of 115 degrees or higher.

You still have time to enter the 2008 race and get your boat ready, but now is the time to act.