Mid-week updates and interviews

Wednesday Sunrise Welcomes Bermuda-Bound Racers

The fleet came in quickly on Wednesday, with the media team covering both ends of the starting line. By John Burnham

The majority of the 2018 Newport Bermuda Fleet crossed the St. David’s Lighthouse finish line either just before or after sunrise on Wednesday, June 20. Between 0400 and 0500 local time, the finish-line team stationed at St. David’s Lighthouse logged 38 finishers. Nearly the entire fleet of 168 boats were expected to finish by the end of the day and the race scoreboard rapidly became populated with provisional winners. Read more.

Before dawn on Wednesday, dozens of boats cut silhouettes like this one as they beat to the finish at St. David’s Lighthouse. Adventures of a Sailor Girl photo

Tuesday Tracker Update and Blogs from the Boats

Several boats finished late Tuesday afternoon, including the first boats in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division—Merlin, Kodiak, and Temptation – Oakcliff.

The boats in the second half of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division Class 15 began to finish after a long wait on Tuesday, led by Privateer, Scott Innes-Jones’ Cookson 50, and Young American – Gambler, the Reichel/Pugh 63 sailed by Young American Sailing Academy. Keeping pace with this group were the first three boats in St. David’s Lighthouse Division: Merlin, the custom Bill Lee sled owned by Chip Merlin, Kodiak, Llwyd Ecclestone’s Reichel/Pugh 66, and Temptation – Oakcliff, a Ker 50 skippered by Arthur Santry. The first Open Division boat, the experimental design Maverick, also finished, and very likely won the competition, as well, for the most Tweets achieved for the race. Read more.

Dockside Interview: Llwyd Ecclestone, Kodiak

Dockside Interview: Chip Merlin, Merlin

The Race Committee on Station at St. David’s Lighthouse

Standing rotating watches, the finish-line committee members record times of the boats arriving just offshore of the lighthouse. John Burnham photo