The 2014 Newport Bermuda Race opens for online registration on Monday, January 13. Captains wishing to sail in the 49^th running of the offshore classic may apply for entry on the race’s official website, www.BermudaRace.com, using the Entry Portal.  The deadline for filing an application for entry is 1700, April 1.

After the biennial race starts on June 20 off Castle Hill, at Newport, RI, the fleet will sail 635 miles, most of them out of sight of land, across the Gulf Stream to Bermuda.  First sailed in 1906, “the Thrash to the Onion Patch” is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race.  As always, this year’s race will finish off Bermuda’s colorful St. David’s Lighthouse.

“This is an exciting time for us at the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee,” said BROC Chairman Fred Deichmann, who has raced to Bermuda five times, but is taking this year off to run the race.  “The 2012 race was spectacularly successful, with 165 boats and record-breaking times. Since then the volunteer committee has been working to improve the race and simplify the entry process for 2014 sailors.” 

For an easy to follow guide, go to the Guide to Entry button on the home page.

Among several innovations this year, the race has replaced the complicated International Sailing Federation Offshore Special Regulations with simpler, effective equipment requirements.

“We have also introduced a performance screen to ensure that similar boats race against each other in appropriate divisions for the type of boat, its speed, and the type of crew on the boat,” Deichmann said. “And we are introducing several new prizes to attract entries from across the country and among cruising sailors.”

“We encourage owners new to the race entry process to utilize our Race Ambassador program. It will help and make your entry a better experience.” Newcomers can meet an Ambassador at http://bermudarace.com/race/your-first-bermuda-rac/ Newport Bermuda Race news is posted at http://bermudarace.com/race/, on the Newport Bermuda Race 2014 Facebook page, and on Twitter at @BdaRace.

A landmark this year is the 50^th Anniversary of the three-event Onion Patch Series. Boats compete for both team and individual prizes in the Newport Bermuda Race, the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta. Onion Patch Series news is posted at www.onionpatchseries.com and each event’s web site. Important dates and deadlines on the 2014 Newport Bermuda Race calendar include the following:

• Application for entry deadline, April 1
• Boat inspection begins, March 10
• Cruising Club of America-Newport Bermuda Race Safety Weekend, Newport, March 15-16
• Forms submitted and fees paid, May 16
• Boat measurement data submitted, May 22
• Crew information submitted, June 1
• Boat inspection deadline, June 6
• Onion Patch Series, NYYC Annual Regatta day races, Newport, June 14-15
• Check-in at race headquarters (NYYC Sailing Center), June 15-18
• Gosling's Rum Newport Shipyard Crew Party, June 18
• Captains Meeting, June 19
• Newport Bermuda Race start, June 20
• Onion Patch Series RBYC Anniversary Regatta and Welcome Party, Bermuda, June 27
• Newport Bermuda Prize Ceremony, June 28.