Hello to all new and returning sailors for the Bermuda Race—and there are a lot of you!!

In the entry process, we now have 153 boats. If registration follows historical trends, this will lead to the second largest race fleet ever. Excitement is clearly building as crews form up, boat and crew preparations accelerate, and plans are finalized.

There are two items that we would like to bring to your attention.

Safety equipment supply chain and service capacity concerns

Several major vendors of safety equipment and services providing such equipment have alerted us that they are facing the supply-chain and manpower challenges that we hear about daily in the press. They have asked us to alert our racers that if you have safety equipment that needs to be serviced before the 2022 race such as life rafts, EPIRBs, MOMs, etc., you should get that equipment to your vendors now. This is particularly important in view of the anticipated large race fleet. The vendors are concerned about having enough lead time for required parts and having enough manpower to perform all the required service this spring for all racers.

If you need to purchase new equipment, e.g., flares, life jackets, etc., you should check with your vendors regarding availability and lead times. Required safety equipment is listed in section 3 of the Newport Bermuda Race Safety Rules, which can be found on the official noticeboard.

Hands-on Safety at sea training

Competitor bulletins #3 and #4 addressed the need to register early for Safety at Sea training due to the anticipated training needs of the large race fleet. Working with the New York Yacht Club and the Bermuda Race Foundation, the Cruising Club of America is prepared to stage as many as 13 courses between December and June. The two December 2021 courses are sold out, but to date, we have not seen the surge in 2022 registrations that will inevitably come to accommodate the 400 race crewmembers who will need this training.

With the surge bound to come, please review your crew’s training requirements and get your crew scheduled for training if required so that we can be sure there will be a sufficient number of courses offered. You can find a list of courses offered here.

Warm regards,

Mark Lenci, Vice Chairman
2022 Bermuda Race Organizing Committee
mark.lenci@bermudarace.com