By John Rousmaniere
Newport, June 21, 2014, 9am (updated 10:30)-- The predicted battle for the elapsed time victory between the three Mini-Maxis in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division is coming to fruition. Based on tracker report as of 5 a.m., with 485 miles to the finish, Bella Mente, Shockwave, and Caol Ila R are racing head to head, though at slower speeds (3 knots) than they were making before midnight. Some 20 miles astern are the 70 footers Kodiak, Rima 2, Irie 2, and Terrapin. The rest of the 163-boat fleet is in a large clump extending about 50 miles, where the wind may be a bit stronger. Wind under 10 knots are predicted for most of Saturday. Everybody is a few miles to the west of the rhumb line, indicating that they're all headed toward the favorable predicted current in the Gulf Stream, some 140 miles ahead. The sea is reported to be flat.
Withdrawals.
Toothface2, in the Double-Handed Division, returned to Newport Friday night. Michael Dreese, her captain, reported a broken pump in her water ballast system.
Next Boat, in the Double-Handed Division, owned by Mark Ellman, withdrew on Saturday morning due to concerns about possible damage and is returning to New York Harbor.
- The best way to follow the race is to log onto the Pantaenius Race Tracker. Dobbs Davis has a very useful Race Tracker Tutorial. Dobbs, an experienced racing sailor and columnist for Seahorse Magazine, is posting a twice-daily race report on the website, beginning with his Friday Bermuda Race Preview.
- Class assignments, handicaps, crew lists, and other important information is available on this website at Race Documents & Rules.
- One of the most important players in any Bermuda Race is the Gulf Stream. Currents and winds are displayed on the tracker. For a report on this year's Stream, see Dr. Frank Bohlen's Gulf Stream Tutorials.
- For information about the race, its history, its prizes, and its appeals, take a look at Bermuda Race Facts and other sections in the About tab on the website.
Spirit of Bermuda (Daniel Forster/PPL)
Tidbits. The first boat to start Friday was Spirit of Bermuda, the one entry in the Spirit of Tradition Division. She's a replica of a traditional 19th century Bermudian commercial sailing vessel called a sloop (even though she has three masts). Launched in 2006 and used in youth training and sailing, she sailed in the 2012 Newport Bermuda and 2013 Marion to Bermuda races. There's much more about her at Spirit of Bermuda.
The first Russian entry in the race's history started off Castle Hill. The J-120 Sunset Child, in Class 4 (St. David's Lighthouse Division) is chartered by a group including skipper Dmitry Kondratyevis, Dmitry Konrat, Rodion Poloskin and other experienced sailors. They raced Sunset Child in the RORC Caribbean 600, finishing in the middle of the nearly 50-boat fleet.
