We hope you are continuing to enjoy our monthly Race Newsletters.  These Competitor Bulletins are full of condensed information pertinent to 2024 participants and your attention to detail ensures a smooth sailing experience.

You can receive these updates in your inbox directly by subscribing here: Bermuda Race Newsletter.

Upcoming Deadlines:

• April 7: Last Day to Initiate, Pay Fees, and Complete Offshore Experience Form
• April 13: Last Day to Request Measurement
• May 17: Last Day to Request Space in Containers
• May 30: All Measurements Due
• June 7: Crew Registrations and Inspections Due
• June 12: Last Day for CCA Safety at Sea

Notice the Following:

Timely Entry Reminders: 

1. For new entries, April 7 is the last day to initiate entry.  Find the entry guide here.  New entries be sure to pay race fees in full, and submit the Offshore Experience Form.  

2. For entered boats, April 7 is the deadline to settle any outstanding race fees and submit the Offshore Experience Form.  Please visit your account on the entry system to ensure that you have setup AutoPay with a valid card, or manually submit payment in advance by April 7.  Sign into your entry account at Bermudarace.com and select: Racing/My Race Entries/Manage/Tasks.  

3. For all entries expecting to compete in the St. David’s, Finisterre, or Double Handed divisions there are World Sailor (WS) Categorization requirements for the crew, see NOR 7.  As soon as possible, complete your crewlists and have your crew apply for or renew their Sailor Categorization.  
   • To be considered a Cat 1 under NOR 7, each sailor must follow these steps: 
     • Obtain a World Sailor (WS) ID.   Sailors without a WS ID, can register for one here.
     • Obtain a valid World Sailor Categorization of Group 1.   Sailors with a WS ID may apply for a Sailor Categorization.  Sailor Categorizations are valid for two years.  Sign into your World Sailing account, and visit the Sailor Dashboard to apply for or renew a WS Sailor Categorization here: https://www.sailing.org/sailors/world-sailing-profile/
     • Every sailor wishing to be considered Cat 1 under NOR 7 must also enter their WS ID into their profile on the Bermuda Race entry system.   The Entry system will regularly and automatically check the WS database for valid categorizations for all sailors who have entered their WS ID in their profile.  

Captains / Entry managers: You can see your division eligibility by signing into the entry system and selecting:  Racing/My Race Entries/Manage/Tasks, and you can see specific crew categorizations and the status of other crew related requirements by viewing the ‘Crew Checklist’.  

Questions? [email protected].

Starting Area Planning:

The starting area off Fort Adams is new for the Bermuda Race and sailors are encouraged to think ahead about their strategy and tactics.  A draft schematic of the starting area is attached.  This drawing is for information purposes only and approximates what to expect on race day.    Here are some considerations that may be helpful in your thinking about race day. 

• On 21 June, Friday afternoon, the bay will be closed to large commercial traffic.  
• A lane on the west side of the starting line will be maintained for north and south transit of recreational traffic.  
• No recreational traffic will be allowed along the Newport shore
• Competitors are to remain well north of the starting area until 10 minutes prior to their start. 
• The warning for the first start is expected at 1400 and a flood current is expected for all starts.  

At the end of this month on April 24 at 7pm, we will host a webinar with North Sails and Charlie Enright to discuss the starting area in more detail, as well as considerations that may inform your starting tactics, such as: 

• Special OCS rule for NBR (30 minute penalty, no restarts)
• RRS 19 – Continuing Obstructions (shore) 
• Current and wind considerations for June 21

Pre-registration required for the link and the recording will be published after.

Offshore Wind Farms:

Since the 2022 Newport Bermuda Race, 12 wind turbines (South Fork Wind) have been installed between Nantucket and Montauk, just west of the rhumb line to Bermuda.   Many additional turbines (Revolution Wind Project) are planned to be under construction during June 2024 in a nearby large area that includes the rhumb line to Bermuda.  Depending on weather conditions at the start of the race some of the fleet may be transiting these areas during a period of low visibility.  

We are in close coordination with Ørsted, the wind farm developer.  Depending on the location of Ørsted’s construction activities at the time of the race, we may establish an exclusion zone to route the fleet away from construction vessels.  Information to inform a decision about an exclusion zone will likely not be available until mid-May.  If an exclusion zone is instituted it will be detailed in the Sailing Instructions.  Note that it is expected that all competitors will have up-to-date charts, tools, systems, and skills to safely navigate through an area of constructed and charted wind turbines.  

Ørsted has prepared and maintains a publicly accessible description and status of their construction projects including access to downloadable files of waypoints representing installed, under construction, and planned turbine locations.  Additionally, Orsted offers a subscription to a regular email notice of their construction activities.  

Regardless of a potential exclusion zone, all competitors are urged to:

• Ensure the use of the most current navigation charts (electronic and paper).  As of the writing of this bulletin, the location of every turbine in the South Fork Wind Project is plotted on recently available chart updates.  If your charts do not display the turbines identified above as ‘South Fork Wind’ then you likely do not have current charts.  
• From the  Ørsted website, download and install on your electronic navigation system the waypoints of under-construction and planned turbine locations.  After you load the waypoints of the revolution wind turbines you should be able to visualize a cluster similar to what is identified in the image as ‘Revolution Wind’.
• Subscribe to the emailed bulletins from Ørsted.  
• Review USCG issued Notice to Mariners for the information that may impact the waters in the area of the described wind farms.

Partner Messages:

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Looking for a place to stay in Newport?
Located on Newport Harbor at America’s Cup Boulevard, Hammetts Hotel is like nothing else on the Newport waterfront. Born of the desire to forge the working history of the wharf into the very pulse of Newport, Hammetts has focused on becoming part of the fabric of this community, gracefully inviting visiting and local sailors and their friends to the latest venue of the Newport community.

Don't have to wait until June to visit Newport!
Newport is more than a summer town! Thanks to our Official Sponsor, Discover Newport, has created a list of things to do in Newport in the Springtime! There are plenty of family-friendly activities around town, including Daffodil Days, the NEW Save The Bay Hamilton Family Aquarium, and The Sailing Museum