Dear Sailors,

This Friday, June 3, we have two weeks to go until the start—and some important deadlines to meet.

Crew-list deadline June 3

Captains are reminded that the crew-list deadline is June 3. It is advised that Captains ensure that crew lists are completed and crew members invited and accepted on Sailgate before the deadline. In light of the possibility of positive COVID-19 test results and the denial of travel authorization by the government of Bermuda, Captains should consider adding provisional crew members to their crew list now, before the crew-list deadline. It will be relatively easy to remove sailors from your crew list in the days or hours before on-site registration. Whereas it will be much more difficult to add sailors after the crew deadline.
 
Captains should be tracking the compliance of their entry including crew acceptance, training, immigration, Sailor Categorization, and inspection, on the Live Entry Status view on Sailgate. The top-most item, ‘Registration Status,’ will remain incomplete until you have successfully completed on-site registration in Newport. All other outstanding items on Live Entry Status must be resolved (green check mark, or blue exclamation) prior to visiting the registration desk in Newport.

Crew list changes due to positive COVID-19 test

The NOR allows crew changes due to a positive COVID test. Of note, your replacement crew will need to be suitably qualified so that your entry remains compliant with all requirements, i.e if your replaced crew is a Cat 1 and you already have the limit of non-Cat 1 sailors on-board to compete in the St. David Lighthouse division then you will need to replace the crew with another valid Cat 1 sailor.  It is advised that potential replacement sailors be added to your crew list NOW in advance of the Crew deadline.

Medical Exemptions for COVID-19

The committee has been asked by competitors concerned that, despite recovering from COVID-19, they might still test positive and would like to apply for a medical exemption to submit with their MTA application.

It has been confirmed with the Bermuda Government Department of Health that, for visitors, they will only accept a negative antigen test result as part of the MTA application process. Unfortunately, the committee cannot sway their policy and there is currently no exception to this requirement for visitors aged 12 and over. 

Any reference that was made to "Recent Recovery" (https://www.gov.bm/recent-recovery) is with reference to Bermuda Residents who may apply for certification of a recent COVID-19 infection in lieu of vaccination. This is not applicable to visitors (and especially not applicable to Competitors in the NBR).

NBR entries who think they may be affected by this policy should consider amending their crew lists as outlined above.

Satphone check-in calls

In accordance with paragraph 6.2 of the Sailing Instructions (still to be released), all entrants are encouraged to begin making their Satphone check-in calls to 401 849 3129. These calls must be completed before the Start of the race. Additionally, while not required, vessels should test their "at Sea" emails by sending an email to [email protected]. 

Special Entry is required to compete for five prizes
 
Each year some sailors fail to register for the Special Trophies before the race and subsequently miss out on some terrific prizes they could have won! Don’t let this be you.
 
Glenn Family Prize—rewards family crew participation
H. Irving Pratt 3-Boat Team—a chance to compete as a club team
Regional Trophy Selection—recognizing those who come a distance to race
City of Newport Trophy—for “best performing ‘foreign’ yacht
Stephens Brothers Youth Prize—for top performance by a youth crew

Warm Regards,

Somers Kempe, Chairman

Bermuda Race Organizing Committee