2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

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TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

After the thrilling climax to the 2012 Bermuda Race, when George David's RAMBLER smashed the old record by over 14 hours to set an amazing mark of 39:39:22 to the Onion Patch (what yachtsmen affectionately call Bermuda), all eyes will be on Castle Hill this coming Friday as 165 yachts of all types (even the venerable Cal 40 will again be represented) will be starting the biennial 635 mile Thrash to the Onion Patch.

The first Warning Signal will sound at 1250 and you can view the starts from a boat in that area (please stay clear, for safety), the spacious lawn at Castle Hill (charge for parking, no coolers) or Brenton State Park out on Ocean Drive.

Our eyes & spirit will be to seaward in support of CHNYC family members Sheila McCurdy (Captain) and Capt. David Brown, USN (Ret.) (Watch Capt.) as they start yet another Bermuda Race in the beautiful classic McCurdy & Rhodes 38 SELKIE which is berthed on the port hand out near the end of B dock. Their sail # is USA 4080 for those of you watching the start.

Also of local note are 3 boats from the U.S. Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Team. SWIFT & DEFIANCE return to reprise their outstanding performance in the 2012 Race. SWIFT (NA11) won her class and was 3rd in the 95-boat fleet, while DEFIANCE (NA23) was 2nd in class and 2nd in that same fleet. They are currently berthed at the end of B dock in our MWR Marina. Docked out at the outer transition dock is the Academy's powerful TP52 CONSTELLATION (USA 5222).

The current wind forecast of SW 6-7 indicates that the 2014 Race may not be as swift as the 2012 edition.

STAY TUNED as CHNYC follows the race!

Tripp Alyn, CHNYC PHRF Fleet Capt.



Follow the Bermuda Race on the Race Tracker:



http://pantaenius.us/en/american-yacht- ... king.htmlr

For extensive information & race history:

http://bermudarace.com/race/

http://bermudarace.com/2014-race/race-program/
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

AND....THEY'RE OFF!!......and not running......too fast......

What a funny sport......two years ago, the fleet of 165 boat exploded off the starting line and made history with the old record being smashed by over 14 hours. This year, the 164 starters were greeted with fluctuating conditions as the early classes carried the spinnaker out of the starting blocks while the later classes were plagued by the midday shift from northerly to seabreeze (SSW) with a beat out of the mouth of Narragansett Bay being the new marching orders.

The fleet seems to be formed up with a somewhat conservative strategy at present with a majority favoring sticking close to the rhumbline of 149deg to the Onion Patch (ie. Bermuda!). Not a single boat is east of the rhumbline at present. However, there is an assorted gaggle of miscreants who are breaking out to the west in search of better air......we'll see if they're rewarded for their efforts, or bashed solidly into oblivion for taking a "flyer". It almost looks like a fleet race at Jamestown on a Tuesday night as many boats are in a grid bordered by 40 36'N to the north and 40 12'N to the south. As the conditions change the fleet will continue to sort itself out.

There is currently a 4-hour delay on the Race Tracker (to avoid any tactical advantages) so the real-time picture is a bit fuzzy or dithered at the moment. After the 1st 48 hours we'll be getting better data. For now, here's the picture for the "boats of interest" within our MWR Marina community:



Div Class Boat Name(s) Day/Time/Current Speed/Line Pos./IRC Corrected

SDL 1 SELKIE McCurdy/Brown Sat/0500/2.5/126/91

SDL 2 SWIFT USNA Sat/0500/2.9/92/72

SDL 3 DEFIANCE USNA Sat/0500/4.6/72/61

SDL 3 KALEVALA II Tim Kohl Sat/0500/3.9/52/38

SDL 8 BRIGAND Eric Irwin Sat/0500/3.4/24/37

SDL 8 OAKCLIFF Allie Gray Sat/0500/2.8/82

GHL 9 CONSTELLATION USNA Sat/0500/6.0/11/35

Stay Tuned!

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

THE WILD WEST!!..........so far, it appears that the area west of the rhumbline is paying off nicely!

Tim Kohl, aboard KALEVALA II, made a big gain of 7 boats in the last time period and is presently blasting along at 7.3kts compared with speeds ranging between 3-5.8kts for the others. The Naval Academy's TP52 CONSTELLATION is up to 6.6kts

Depending on the watch system which each boat has chosen to follow, the 0600 change of watch and their first breakfast at sea should be in process (so...did they get their mid-rats?) and the light of day has revealed how the fleet sorted itself out during the night.

The lead boats are approx. 500 nm from the finish line.....stay tuned!

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

ALERT...!!

The famous yacht CARINA has charged into the lead of the 2014 race. The 45-year old black-hulled McCurdy & Rhodes 48ft sloop is presently tied with Carleton Mitchell's legendary FINISTERRE which won fleet honors in 1956, '58 and '60. If she can maintain this position, CARINA will become the 1st boat to achieve the remarkable feat of 4 Bermuda wins.

CARINA, in her 21st Bermuda Race, still sports the Sail #315 that she bore in 1974 when I was privileged to be amongst her crew in a relatively fast race. That year, a new record of 68 hrs was set by the 79ft ONDINE which pales in comparison to the current record of less than 40hrs set in 2012 by RAMBLER.

More info at: http://bermudarace.com/bermuda-race-upd ... es-honors/

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

NOW THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING.....a battle of the old Warhorses!

Just 4-5 miles back of CARINA is the 80-year old classic DORADE (Sail # USA16) in which the famous Stephens brothers, Olin & Rod, won the 1931 Transatlantic Race, as well as the Fastnet Race. Since the last report DORADE has now moved into the lead in the IRC fleet with CARINA slipping back to 2nd place on corrected time. There is still over 500 miles to sail for these beautiful yachts so let's wait and see what the changing conditions will bring to the fleet. Still, it's great to watch these famous boats display the brillance of their designers at producing speed through the water....VMG rules!!

Dorade history can be found at: http://dorade.org/history/

Of additonal note is the influence of the variable effects of the powerful Gulf Stream in this race. If you read the most recent brief you'll see another reason why the fleet is mostly west of the rhumbline this year:

http://bermudarace.com/wp-content/uploa ... gs2014.pdf

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

IT'S TOUGH OUT THERE....!! For anyone who raced in the Bay last weekend, you know how the vagrancies of the fickle breeze can put gray hairs on the head of any sailor! Well, 130 miles offshore, out on the briny blue Atlantic Ocean, they are enjoying a day at the beach! The mini-maxi BELLA MENTE is currently blazing away at 0.2 kts and CARINA is a dizzying 0.8kts....Whew! Put down your notes on your acceptance speech boys and find some WIND....huh?



Meanwhile, our boats are faring much better out on the racecourse and are displaying speeds on the Race Tracker roughly between 5-9kts. Allie Gray's team is blazing away at an awesome 9.3kts and have moved up in their fleet standings so far:

Div Class Boat Name(s) Day/Time/Current Speed/Line Pos./IRC Corrected

SDL 1 SELKIE McCurdy/Brown Sat/1000/6.3/122/80

SDL 2 SWIFT USNA Sat/1000/7.4/101/68

SDL 3 DEFIANCE USNA Sat/1000/7.3/100/79

SDL 3 KALEVALA II Tim Kohl Sat/1000/6.1/50/28

SDL 8 BRIGAND Eric Irwin Sat/1000/5.0/13/35

SDL 8 OAKCLIFF Allie Gray Sat/1000/9.3/68

GHL 9 CONSTELLATION USNA Sat/1000/4.9/10/42

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

IT'S A CLUSTER.......of racing boats.....I mean they're tightly grouped together....you know. Wow, it's like our Cruisemeister Jeff Schuldheiss is out there arranging a big raft-up party. A lot of the fleet is now in a 25-mile box.....almost close enough for water baloons.

There have been some huge changes in the last couple of hours. Allie's gang is still breezing along and is now at 9.7kts-----they have made an incredible gain of 37 boats in their fleet position! You'll have to ask Allie about their late morning/midday sprint along the rhumbline. More news!! Oakcliff Farr 47 just moved up another 7 boats....they're 24th in finish position now (no calculated corrected times shown for them yet). That's a net gain in the fleet of 44 boats for Allie's boat.

Tim's going to owe Eric a beer if this continues (Note: it usually doesn't). Kalevala II has gone too far west and fallen into a hole....their speed is 3.7kts while Brigand is at 9.7. They've had a swap in relative fleet positions of 30 boats in the last 2 hrs. The Navy boats are all going faster now and the two Navy 44s which were berthed at the end of C dock have just gained 15 & 10 boats respectively in their positions....that's SWIFT and DEFIANCE.

NOTE: these fleet positions do not reflect their class positions; it's only a general indicator of their race progress.



Div Class Boat Name(s) Day/Time/Current Speed/Line Pos./IRC Corrected

SDL 1 SELKIE McCurdy/Brown Sat/1200/7.0/129/81

SDL 2 SWIFT USNA Sat/1200/8.3/97/53

SDL 3 DEFIANCE USNA Sat/1200/8.7/96/69

SDL 3 KALEVALA II Tim Kohl Sat/1200/3.7/87/46

SDL 8 BRIGAND Eric Irwin Sat/1200/9.7/10/23

SDL 8 OAKCLIFF Allie Gray Sat/1200/9.7/31

GHL 9 CONSTELLATION USNA Sat/1200/10.7/4/47

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

Another great story out there on "The Pond" today is that of SINN FEIN. She's a Cal 40....that wonderboat off the design boards of noted naval architect William Lapworth. The Cal 40 became famous as the first production fiberglass yacht to win a Bermuda Race. Remember, most yachts were constructed of wood.....back in the day.

SINN FEIN is a very special boat.....a 2-time Bermuda Race winner and, between her and CARINA, they own the last 4 Bermuda Races having won '06 & '08 (SINN FEIN) and '10 & '12 (CARINA). Indeed there is a lot riding on the 2014 edition of "The Thrash to the Onion Patch".

SINN FEIN is special for another reason.....she was wrecked by hurricaine Sandy down in New Jersey and a lot of time, effort & expense has been spent bringing her back from near death to another shot at Bermuda. What IS the half-life of fiberglass anyway??

Now she is 2nd in the fleet and giving DORADE and CARINA a real run for the money.....there are many side notes to the race this year which give it a warm reflection on the traditions of our sport.

Tripp
TrippAlyn
Posts: 84
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 4:34 pm

Re: 2014 NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE

Post by TrippAlyn »

Thanks to the (very) few of you who followed this column. Due to the general lack of interest, I suspended race coverage and herewith post results for our boats-of-interest in the MWR family:

Class Position Fleet Position (1st is IRC rating system, 2nd is ORR system)

Tim Kohl - Kalevala II - 5 (8) 34 (36)

Sheila McCurdy/ - Selkie 10 (12) 66 (66)

Dave Brown

Eric Irwin - Brigand 5 (4) 78 (80)

Allie Gray - Oak-cliff F47 (6) (86)

SWIFT - NA11 2 (1) 8 (4)

DEFIANCE - NA23 12 (10) 63 (39)

CONSTELLATION USNA 4 (4) 4 (4) GIBBS HILL LIGHTHOUSE DIVISION

Congratulations to Tim Kohl for top CHNYC finish in the St. David's Lighthouse Division. Also, a BRAVO/ZULU to the USNA Navy 44 SWIFT for their Class win and 4th in fleet on ORR corrected.

Let's also say Well Done to all aboard who completed this traditional 635-mile race which is a true test of crew, boat, skill, preparation and the fortunes of windancing!

Over....and out!

Tripp
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