Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race: June 2005 Archives

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June 24, 2005

Congratulations to Boater's LIFE own - Captain Tom

Captain Tom, VP of Sales and Marketing at Boater's LIFE and perhaps more importantly, Navagator aboard FANDANGO, takes line honors in his division and second overall.

Tom will be posting his log to his blog shortly. You can read all ab out it there. Click on Captain Tom's Adventures and select the Adenture "2005 Marion to Bermuda Race"

Captain Tom, VP of Sales and Marketing at Boater's LIFE and perhaps more importantly, Navagator aboard FANDANGO, takes line honors in his division and second overall.

As Tom's son Sloop (who had to work and could not make the race), posted to the chat line before the official winners were announced: "WTG Guys, and nice route Dad! I suspect everyone is looking for the big monkey wrench to turn off the wind now. A little luck and you might even get the Pilot 35! Great race, again, I'm insanely jealous."

We agree: WAY TO GO GUYS!

FANDANGO is a Bermuda 40, Mark III, owned by Christopher Streit of Greenwich, CT.

Posted by rick at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)

Small boats triumphant in Marion to Bermuda

All boats had either finished or had withdrawn by late Thursday morning, and race officials of the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race have issued unofficial results.

All boats had either finished or had withdrawn by late Thursday morning, and race officials of the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race have issued unofficial results. The race started in Marion MA on Friday June 17 for monohulls yachts and on Saturday June 18 for six trimarans and one catamaran. The monohulls started on the wind a 30kt southwesterly while the multihulls started the next day with spinnakers in 3-7kts out of the northeast.

Down the course the breeze held for both fleets until they both found a trough between pressure systems and virtually 'hit the wall'. Many boats reported long periods of calm. The winning multihull Lars Svensson's Heartsease Larus Roc from St Maarten drifted in circles and then worked the light air and kept out from under clouds, which threatened to suck up what little breeze there was.

The trough turned into a parking lot and held up the Class A and B boats and the bigger celestial boats in Class C. The slow going in the middle of the course gave the smallest and slowest Class E the opportunity to save their handicap time on the others. The race was scored 'time-on-time so the more hours on the course the more handicap allowance went to the slower boats. Fleet honors will go to three boats in classes D, E, and C.

Panacea, a Hinkley Pilot 35 in Class E skippered by Gus McDonald of Freeport ME was first in fleet, Class D leader Cassiopeia a Beneteau 42s7 with Laura Sudarsky of Rye NY at the helm finished second, and Restive, the Alden one-off sailed by George Denny of Boston, took the first place in the Celestial Navigation Division Class C and finished third in fleet. Class C Panacea was one of the smallest boats in the fleet.

In addition to her first in fleet, Panacea also took first in Class E, Chris Streit of Stamford CT came second in his Class E Bermuda 40-MkIII Fandango, an hour and a half back. Ward McElhinny's Liberty, a Sea Sprite 34 from Cohasset MA, was third.

In Class D, Cassiopeia came first after her third overall finish. Makai, a Hylas 49 sailed by Jeff White of Radnor NY, was second and Bruce McNeil's Sequin 44 Thistle from Lincoln MA was third.

Restive, the Alden one-off sailed by George Denny of Boston, took the first place in the Celestial Navigation Division, Class C, and was third overall in fleet. Ray Greenwald's Cordelia, a Valiant 42 from Winchester MA was second and the Beneteau First 42, Allegra, sailed by Jim Mertz of Rye NY the oldest person in the race and the one man who has raced to Bermuda more than any individual, came in third.

Toronto resident Eric Cerny sailed his Jeanneau SO 40 Mad Dash to first place in Class B, New Yorker Fred Cosandey's Jeanneau SF36 Choucas was second and the all-lady crew led by Warwick RI resident Rebecca Bioty on her Beneteau First 42 Panama Red came home third. She will win the new Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy for being the first all female crew in the race.

Marion resident Sam Vineyard skippered the Class A winner Hawke, a J/46. Second place Visions of Johanna, a custom Chuck Paine 62, was double handed by Bill Strassberg and Graham Schweikert of Northport ME. Don Blake of Stonington CT skippered Atlantic and took third.

In Class M, the Multihull Division, Cleveland doctor Lars Svensson in the Open 60 Trimaran Heartsease Larus Roc from St. Maarten took Multihull line honors and first in class. He was followed by North Haven ME resident Charlie Pingree in the Hammerhead 54 Flying Fish. Rex Conn from Worton MD sailed the Newick Traveler tri Alacrity to third,

Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony Saturday at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel.

The iBoat tracking home page presented by Globalstar on the race website www.marionbermuda.com shows the tracks of all the boats in the race. The tracks can be superimposed on the Gulf Stream and reviewed by yacht, class and fleet.

Posted by rick at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2005

Fight to the finish in Marion Bermuda Race

While a high flying multihull was the first to cross the finish line at St. David's Head Light in the waters outside Hamilton, Bermuda, there was another duel to the finish among the monohull cruising boats competing in the race.

By BARBARA VENERI, Standard-Times Correspondent

HAMILTON, Bermuda -- While a high flying multihull was the first to cross the finish line at St. David's Head Light in the waters outside Hamilton, Bermuda, there was another duel to the finish among the monohull cruising boats competing in the race.

Expected to make landfall late last night were Hawke, a J-46 shoal draft sloop out of Marion and skippered by local sailor Sam Vineyard, and Mameluke, a Nelson Marek 49-footer crewed by midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy.

"The difference between the two boats is pretty radical," said Talbot Wilson, a spokesman for the Marion Bermuda race committee. Mameluke, a modern high-tech cruising racer, carries a different sail plan and deeper keel than the older shoal draft Hawke. Last evening, Mameluke was traveling three knots faster and on a more westerly course than Hawke, with Mameluke closer to the finish line.

According to Wilson, Hawke should capture the first place trophy in Class A and may win first-to-finish honors on corrected time. Mameluke, racing in the Celestial Navigation Class C, is the so-called "scratch boat" in that class, having to cede handicap points because of her high tech capabilities. Sixty-eight monohulls started the race last Friday, and seven multihulls took off a day later, bound for Bermuda in the 15th biennial running of the Marion Bermuda race.

"It's great to see this battle between the Naval Academy and a local sailor," said Wilson. He and other officials from the sponsoring yacht clubs -- the Beverly Yacht Club, the Bluewater Sailing Club and the RHADYC -- accompanied John Thompson, RHADYC Rear Commodore, to the finish line late last night to await the first monohull boats over the line. As of late yesterday, Mameluke was sailing at 10 knots while Hawke was moving at about 6½ knots, with both boats about 25 to 30 miles from the finish line.

The largest boat in the multihull division, Class M, Heartsease Larus Roc, owned and captained by Lars Svensson, crossed the finish line at about 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. Starting with the rest of Class M on Saturday, a day later than the bulk of the race fleet, Larus Roc passed most of the other boats in the fleet on Sunday, gliding effortlessly across the water in the 645-mile race.

As the full moon was about to set Tuesday morning, Larus Roc ghosted across the line in a 3- to 5-knot southwesterly breeze. Svensson, a heart surgeon, heads up the Heartsease Foundation from which the boat takes its full name. Volunteers at St. David's Light welcomed the crew, who shortly afterwards were officially welcomed to Bermuda by Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Commodore Donald Jolliffe. Aboard the Larus Roc, navigator Ian Martin said the trip from Marion to Bermuda was "exceptional."

"We had a hard-fought three-hour beat out of Buzzards Bay," noted Svensson. "We had hoped to complete the race in 55 to 60 hours. We made up for the slow start covering 364 miles in the 24 hours after 5 p.m. Saturday."

In the eddy below the Gulf Stream, we had 20-knot winds and 12- to 20-foot seas. After we passed the weather trough below the Gulf Stream, we went in circles, dodged clouds looking for wind and tacked back and forth until we worked our way down to the breeze," Svensson continued.

"We did 10 to 12 knots until we turned from the breaker marks towards the finish," he said, noting Larus Roc did not have to tack to make its way across the finish line in the dark.
Alacrity, a Newick Traveler multihull skippered by Rex Conn, finished in second place in Class M just a little before 4 p.m. yesterday.

Starr Trail, a Farr 70 that was first over the line in 2003, opted to turn on its engines and motor back to its home port in Bermuda, dropping out of the race.

Fifty miles out as of late yesterday was Flying Fish, a Hammerhead 54 skippered by Charlie Pingree and heading for third place in Class M, the multihull class, doing 9.6 knots. Atlantic, a J-169 skippered by Ben Blake and doing 7 knots, was vying for second place in Class A with Visions of Johanna, a Chuck Paine Custom 62 cutter skippered by William Strassberg and doing 7.7 knots.

Also making great time in the last 30 miles of the race was Restive, a one-off Alden-designed yawl skippered by George Denny. However, because Restive was observed within the starting area of the Marion Bermuda last Friday before the Class C start, the boat will be given a one-hour penalty by the race Compliance Committee when they finish the race.

As of late yesterday, the bulk of the fleet was between 75 and 100 miles away from the island of Bermuda. Five boats dropped out of the race: Starr Trail in Class A; Fiona Rois and Saoirse, both in Class E; and Alegra and Falcor in Class M.

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on June 22, 2005.

Posted by rick at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2005

Heartsease Laurus Roc takes multihull honors

The largest boat in Class M, the Open 60 trimaran Heartsease Laurus Roc, skippered by Lars Svensson, took multihull honors at the finish line of the Marion to Bermuda race at 0500:17 Tuesday June 21.

The largest boat in Class M, the Open 60 trimaran Heartsease Laurus Roc, skippered by Lars Svensson, took multihull honors at the finish line of the Marion to Bermuda race at 0500:17 Tuesday June 21. This is the first multihull division in Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race history and it's one of the important innovations in the event this year. Lars Svensson is a famous heart surgeon in the USA who is also in charge of the Heartsease Foundation.

The quick tri looks like its seagull namesake gliding across the water and has a wingspan, hull to hull, of about sixteen paces like the bird named ‘Roc’ by Marco Polo. She started 24-hours after the monohulls and passed them one day later in the Gulf Stream. Heartsease Laurus Roc finished off St David’s Lighthouse in Bermuda an estimated 12-hours ahead of the next finisher.

Once the race committee calculates the official elapse time, their performance will set a new benchmark for multihulls in this 645-mile biennial race. With the light air experienced in the bottom half of this year’s race the mark should be a good target in the future.

As the full moon set over the headland of Bermuda’s south shore and the dawn was just rising, Heartsease Laurus Roc ghosted across the finish in a 3-5knt southwesterly breeze. She was making 6knts and was able to round the shoal marks on the approach to Bermuda and squeeze up and use her momentum to cross the line without tacking for the finish.

The finish line volunteers in the lighthouse then welcomed them to Bermuda and advised them to stand by for refreshments from Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Commodore Donald Jolliffe. The response from Heartsease Laurus Roc was "That would be most appreciated. Do you have any ice?"

As the line boat with Commodore Jolliffe aboard approached he welcomed them formally to Bermuda. When asked how the trip was navigator Ian Martin said, "It was exceptional."

"We had a hard-fought three-hour beat out of Buzzards Bay," said Svensson. "We had hoped to complete the race in about 55 to 60 hours. We made up the slow start covering 364 miles in the 24 hours after 5:00pm Saturday. In the eddy below the Gulf Stream, we had 20kt winds and 12-20 foot seas. After we passed the weather trough below the Gulf Stream, we went in circles, dodged clouds looking for wind and tacked back and forth until we worked our way down to the breeze. We did 10-12kts until we turned from the breaker marks toward the finish. "

Svensson thanked the Marion to Bermuda Race organizers for including multihulls in the event and when asked if he would return in 2007 said, "We would like to go again."

The iBoat tracking home page presented by Globalstar on the race website 0000,0000,FFFCwww.marionbermuda.com> derline> shows the positions of all boats in the multihull and monohulls fleets and gives their speed over the last 2-hour period between updates.

Five boats out of the original 75 starters have withdrawn. Monohulls Fiona Rois, and Saoirse and multihulls Alegra and Falcor have all headed back to the USA. Starr Trail, a Bermuda entry, is motoring to her island home.

Posted by rick at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2005

Mother Nature smiles on Marion Bermuda Race Start

No one would have predicted the 30-knot winds that greeted the final boats to cross the starting line for the 15th biennial Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race.

By Barbara Veneri, Standard Times correspondent

MARION -- At 7 a.m. yesterday, no one would have predicted the 30-knot winds that greeted the final boats to cross the starting line for the 15th biennial Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race.
The dewy stillness of the early morning gave way to glorious blue skies and a brisk wind by the time the first gun went off at 12:30 p.m. signaling the countdown to the start of the 645-mile classic.
Class E, the smallest of 68 cruising monohulls starting the race yesterday, slogged over the line at 12:45 p.m., with every boat in the class taking a starboard tack heading down the bay towards the open ocean, the Gulf Stream and the tiny island of Bermuda on a course due south. Today, seven faster multihull boats start the race and prepare to join their fellow amateur cruising racers in the Atlantic.

"The wind and weather gods are with us," noted Ray Cullum, marketing director for the Marion Bermuda race and a former competitor. As the boats headed out of Sippican Harbor towards the starting line mid-bay, the winds blew steadily at 10-15 knots and the somber gray clouds began to disappear. As each class readied to race, the familiar Buzzards Bay chop made its appearance and the equally familiar afternoon sea breezes began to blow up to 25 knots. As the anemometer approached 30 knots, many racers chose to reef their mainsails and sail with a working jib or small genoa as the wind built steadily from the west southwest.

If the weather gods continue to be with the Marion Bermuda race, the swiftest boats will cross St. David's Head Light outside Hamilton, Bermuda, on Monday afternoon or evening, with most boats coming across Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yesterday's wind conditions saw most competitors reaching on a starboard tack over to the Cape side of the bay, heading from the starting line towards the entrance to Woods Hole. Only Babe, one of three Bermudan boats in the race, chose to immediately switch to a port tack as the 46-foot Swan captained by Colin Couper held the right side of the course for the first few miles by itself.
The last boat to cross the starting line was Spree, an off-white Outbound 46 skippered by Toni Greatrex. It was fast on the heels of Voyager, Geraldo Rivera's 70-foot S&S custom blue ketch.
One boat, Kiva, a 51-foot blue cutter, retired from the race after the battens broke on a new mainsail, posing a threat that the sail would rip during the race. Skipper Mark Stevens returned to harbor to investigate getting his sail repaired and joining the race late. According to Bill Moonan, chairman of the starting line committee, Stevens can take a late start "anytime" by notifying the Race Committee of his intention to rejoin the race. As of press time, Stevens had not been in touch with the Race Committee.
Among the competitors is 91-year-old James Mertz, competing in Class C, the celestial navigation class, aboard the Beneteau First 42-footer Allegra. This is Mertz's 37th race to Bermuda and his eighth Marion Bermuda race.

Three boats slipped over the line before the starting signal, forcing them to return to the starting line and cross it again. In Class D, Bonspiel, a Nordic 44 sloop skippered by Jim Richter and Anasazi, a Hinckley 42 navy blue sloop skippered by Craig Slater got over early and were called back. In Class C, Mischief, an Alden 45 blue sloop skippered by William Wiegmann, was forced to return to the starting line after a false start.

Class E got off right on time at 12:45 p.m., with David Caso's Cherubini 44 Silhouette making a good start, along with Kuan Yin, a Mason 43 cutter carrying a crew of Sea Scouts. Each class took off every 15 minutes after that, with the last class, Class A, starting at 1:45 p.m.

In Class D, Thistle, a dark green Sequin 44 captained by Bruce MacNeil, looked to be over the line early and changed course briefly, but did not return to the line. In Class C (celestial navigation), all four boats from the U.S. Naval Academy started well, with American Promise, a Hood 60-foot custom cutter, carrying several female midshipmen as crew and a female lieutenant as one of two racing coaches aboard, making a great start.
In Class A, Starr Trail, the first boat to finish the race in 2003, was first off the line, followed by Hawke, skippered by Sam Vineyard of Marion, and Eider Down, skippered by Bruce Robinson. Bunched up behind them were Godspeed, a Swan 51, skippered by John Nugent and carrying a sail number from the Caribbean island of Antigua (ANT 5114) and Bequia, a Southwest 52-foot dark blue sloop captained by William Truesdale.

Three Bermudan boats are racing the 645 miles towards home: the aforementioned Babe, carrying Sir John Verecker, the governor of Bermuda, aboard; Starr Trail, a Farr 72-foot blue sloop skippered by Robert Mulderig; and Bermuda Oyster, an Oyster 435 sloop skippered by Paul Hubbard.

Most boats are carrying a crew of six, which is "typical," according to Rich Healey of the race committee. Marion Bermuda organizers consider a crew of four short-handed, and several boats competing for the double-handed trophy are carrying only two aboard. Babe and Panama Red are carrying eight aboard and the Kathleen is carrying 11.
Panama Red, skippered by Rebecca Bioty and the only all-female boat in this year's race, will capture the Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy if they finish the race. Cassiopeia, a 42-foot sloop skippered by Laura Sudarsky and usually carrying an all-female crew, has at least one male crew member aboard so is ineligible for the Paulsen trophy.
Several boats have grouped together in teams to compete for the Ocean Spray Marion-Bermuda Team Trophy, awarded to the team with the lowest combined finish time. All three yacht club sponsors of the race have fielded at least one team, as has the U.S. Navy Sailing Club. Four boats from the U.S. Naval Academy are competing this year, all in Class C: Mameluke, a 49-foot red sloop skippered by Thomas Bock; American Promise, a Hood 60 custom cutter skippered by Joshua Straume; Swift, a Navy 44-footer skippered by Colin Chandler; and Vigilant, a Navy 44-footer skippered by Pat Collins.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy entered one yacht in this year's Marion Bermuda, Tangent, a sloop skippered by Benjamin Hannigan racing in Class B.

This story appeared on Page B1 of The Standard-Times on June 18, 2005.

Posted by rick at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2005

Marion to Bermuda cruising yacht racers off to clean start

Yachts racing the 15th bennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht are on their way to Bermuda.

Yachts racing the 15th bennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht are on their way to Bermuda. At 12:30 PM the first horn sounded to start the sequence for the start of Class E, the slowest in the race. some hour and fifteen minutes later Class A, the fastest got their starting signal. Under sparkling sunshine, winds on Buzzards Bay at the start were about 20kts building to 30kts for the final start of the day.

Sixty-seven of sixty-eight registered yachts started the race and one, Mark Stevens’ Kiva returned to the harbor after loosing most of his battens in the pre-start. He had just gotten a new main and apparently had serious problems with the batten pockets or the method of closing them.

Three yachts were over early and had to return to clear the line and restart. Mischief in Class C, Anasazi in Class D and Bonspiel all had to return after being over-eager at their start.

Boats with the best starts were Starr Trail in Class A, Babe in Class B that was the only boat to go to the right after the start, the US Naval Academy sloop Mameluke had the best pace in Class C and will navigate with sextant only to fine those small islands of Bermuda.

Seven multi-hulls, six trimarans and one cat, will start on Saturday. The inclusion of multi-hulls is a new addition to the race for 2005.

They are starting a day later than the single hulled yachts because they are faster. Organizers expect them to finish about the same time as the faster boats on the Friday start. Also new for 2005 is the Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy for the top all-women crew.

Thirteen of Friday’s starters will only be using celestial navigation to find the small islands of Bermuda 645 miles out in the Atlantic. The remaining fifty-five will use GPS systems to navigate the course. The Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race originally required all boats to use celestial navigation, but yielded to modern electronics in 1997.

Among the hundreds of amateur sailors in the fleet, celebrity Sir John Vereker, the Governor of Bermuda, is sailing on Babe with Dr Colin Couper and Geraldo Rivera is racing his own 70’ S&S custom Voyager, the vessel he sailed ‘round the world.

The iBoat tracking home page presented by Globalstar is now active on the race website www.marionbermuda.com and it shows the position of the Gulf Stream slicing across the rhumb line with a 4 knot current moving basically West to East across the yacht’s course South to Bermuda. Other features such as revolving currents caused by warm and cold eddies are also visible.

Posted by rick at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2005

Inspection Story

In preperation for the 15th Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Peter Cassidy caulks the wooden deck of the classic 70' ketch Kathleen.

In preperation for the 15th Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Peter Cassidy caulks the wooden deck of the classic 70' ketch Kathleen. Cassidy, who will be a crewmember in the race, is trying to stop a leak over one of the aft bunks.

CREDIT Talbot Wilson Photo

Last minute inspections test skipper and inspector:

Yacht inspector Bill Farnham is jumping from ship to ship this week doing final inspections for the Marion to Bermuda Race that starts this Friday. On Tuesday he went aboard Kathleen a custom 72 foot Ketch owned by Jim Feeney.

Safety is a very important issue with the race organizers so every boat that competes must be personally inspected by one of the volunteer inspectors. They carry a check off sheet with a full page of questions to guide the owner and inspector through the process.

As Farnham stepped aboard Kathleen Feeney greeted him with a hearty "Welcome aboard". This inspector had checked Kathleen for the 2003 race and Kathleen is a local boat so he was immediately familiar with the layout and the owner.

Getting down to business quickly, the inspector and owner reviewed on-deck safety features like jack lines, safety harness attachment points, the preventer set up to stop the boom from swinging across the cockpit, a real safety hazard, and checked the life rafts to make sure they were securely fastened to the deck. They checked the storm sails and the arrangement for rigging a storm trysail in case of a real blow during the race. Once all this was done it was time to move below so inspect all the portable safety gear spread out below ready for the inspector.

It is mandatory that all safety gear be inspected and certified before starting a Category 1 race. The yachts will be well offshore, out of range of helicopter evacuation and must be self sufficient in case of an emergency. Farnham and Freeney reviewed the documentation on the life rafts, the emergency position beacon (EPIRB), and checked the dates on all of the required flares. Freeney also turned in a certificate stating that the crew knows how to do a quick-stop maneuver in case a person fell overboard. Safety harnesses are usually worn by sailors on deck and one is necessary for each crewmember. Clipping on a harness is the best way to prevent a serious accident.

Farnham examined the weather radio, the Globalstar Sat phone, the installed VHF and the back-up VHF’s and and the emergency antenna. Freeney explained that he had a main GPS system for navigation and two hand held back-ups and about 100 batteries.

Freeney showed Farnham wood pegs attached to thru-hull fittings throughout the hull. Each thru-hull needs a peg just in case the fitting breaks and a gushing hole needs to be plugged. All the tankage was reviewed to certify that enough fuel for motoring 250 miles was aboard and that there was sufficient water in tanks and emergency water for the crew of eleven. Freeney demonstrated the system for securing the floorboards.

Kathleen passed the test. The safety inspection took about twenty minutes in all mainly because Feeney was well prepared with all required equipment out and ready for review.

Posted by rick at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

Seventy-Five line up Friday and Saturday for Marion to Bermuda Race

Sixty-eight yachts on their way out of Buzzards Bay in the 15th biennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race.

By 1:00 PM Friday sixty-eight yachts will be on their way out of Buzzards Bay in the 15th biennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race. The first preparatory gun will sound at 12:30 to signal the countdown to the start of the first group of yachts. Seven multi-hulls, six trimarans and one cat, will start on Saturday.

The inclusion of multi-hulls is a new addition to the race for 2005. They are starting a day later than the single hulled yachts because they are faster. Organizers expect them to finish about the same time as the faster boats on the Friday start. Also new for 2005 is the Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy for the top all-women crew.

Thirteen of Friday's starters will only be using celestial navigation to find the small islands of Bermuda 645 miles out in the Atlantic. The remaining fifty-five will use GPS systems to navigate the course. The Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race originally required all boats to use celestial navigation, but yielded to modern electronics in 1997.

Among the hundreds of amateur sailors in the fleet, celebrity Sir John Vereker, the Governor of Bermuda, is sailing on Babe with Dr Colin Couper and Geraldo Rivera is racing his own 70' S&S custom Voyager, the vessel he sailed 'round the world.

The iBoat tracking home page presented by Globalstar is now active on the race website www.marionbermuda.com and it shows the position of the Gulf Stream slicing across the rhumb line with a 4 knot current moving basically West to East across the yacht's course South to Bermuda. Other features such as revolving currents caused by warm and cold eddies are also visible.

Weather predicted for the Friday's start calls for Southwest winds at 10-15 knots with dense fog early and a slight chance of a shower or two. Saturday calls for much the same, but maybe a little less wind.

About the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race

The Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race is open to amateur cruising yachts, families and friends. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in an open ocean passage with a group of friendly competitors. Sailing in this race is a life experience that can bridge the gap between generations, solidify friendships and foster teamwork, all while promoting seamanship and the love of sailing.

While the spirit of competition flows as freely in the veins of Marion-Bermuda racers as it does in sailboat racers everywhere, Marion Bermuda is a cruising yacht race. It is as much about companionship and the joy of coaxing the best performance possible out of a sailboat as it is about being first to cover the 645 nautical miles to St. David's Head. Characteristically, a Friends and Family day race is scheduled for Bermuda a week after the start; prizes in that race go to, among others, the yacht with the largest crew and the one with the best attitude.

This prestigious race began in 1977 with its roots deep in the Corinthian spirit. The race is hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club, the Blue Water Sailing Club and, the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

The race is open to single hulled sailing vessels with a minimum hull length, exclusive of sprits, of 32 feet, and a maximum of 80 feet. This year, for the first time, the race will be open to two new categories, Multi-hull yachts and Double Handed yachts. Also for the first time, a trophy will be awarded for the best finish of a yacht with an all-female crew.

Although Marion-Bermuda is a race for amateur sailors rather than pros, safety is a prime consideration and Marion-Bermuda's safety regulations are as stringent as any other race of its type.

All yachts will be required to demonstrate to the Selection Committee to be of a design that is seaworthy and appropriate for sailing well offshore. This is a Category 1 Race as defined by the ISAF (ISAF regulations). All yachts must be inspected and meet these offshore safety requirements. Visit the race website - www.marionbermuda.com - for a complete listing of all pertinent details.

The Marion to Bermuda Race includes both a Celestial and an Electronic division with equal distribution of prizes to both groups, with the exception of the Navigator Trophy, which is awarded to the Celestial winner. The fleet will be scored under the Americap II Rating System.

Pre-race festivities will include cocktails and dinner served on the grounds of the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Massachusetts, one of the oldest yacht clubs in the United States. Participants will enjoy the spectacular view of Sippican Harbor and the camaraderie of club members, fellow crewmates and contestants.

The post-race activities are hosted by, and held at, the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club in Bermuda.

For complete information on the 15th biennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race including all the dates and deadlines, entry list and much more go to www.marionbermuda.com.

iboat Track

Now, for the first time, spectators on shore can track the action of the entire Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race from start to finish. When the race starts June 17th in Buzzard's Bay, every boat entered in the 2005 Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race will be provided with a GPS transponder linked by iBoat and the internet to every computer round the world. This is the first Category 1 race in North America to have complete GPS tracking of racers. A demonstration site is available to preview iboat at http://www.marionbermuda.com.

Posted by rick at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)

New and Old Friends to the 15th Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race

June 17th, 2005 will mark the start of the 2005 Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race. The race is open to amateur cruising yachts, families and friends. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in an open ocean passage with a group of friendly competitors. Create your own sailing legacy! A life experience that can bridge the gap between generations, solidify friendships and foster teamwork; all while promoting seamanship and the love of sailing.

For the 15th year, the race will begin in the best sailing waters in the northeast, Buzzards Bay. The start will be off the picturesque and historic town of Marion, Massachusetts. The length of the race course is 645 nautical miles and will finish off of St. David’s Head, Bermuda.

The race is open to single hulled sailing vessels with a minimum hull length, exclusive of sprits, of 32 feet, and a maximum of 80 feet. This year, for the first time, the race will be open to two new categories, Multi-hull yachts and Double Handed yachts. More information on these new groups will be published in the Final Notice of Race. All yachts will be required to demonstrate to the Selection Committee to be of a design that is seaworthy and appropriate for sailing well offshore.

This is a Category 1 Race as defined by the ISAF (ISAF regulations), and all yachts must be inspected and meet these offshore safety requirements. Details of these requirements can be found on this Marion Bermuda website. The Marion to Bermuda Race includes both a Celestial and an Electronic division with equal distribution of prizes to both groups, with the exception of the Navigator Trophy, which is awarded to the Celestial winner. The fleet will be scored under the Americap II Rating System.

The exciting pre-race festivities will include a blockbuster event hosted by, and held at, the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Massachusetts, the evening before the Race. Cocktails and dinner will be served on the grounds of one of the oldest yacht clubs in the United States and participants will enjoy the spectacular view of Sippican Harbor. The post-race activities hosted by, and held at, the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club in Bermuda, will be a race rendezvous extravaganza including the ever popular “Family and Friends Race” on Friday. Plan on inviting family and friends who are not part of the race to fly to Bermuda to join in the fun and festivities! This incredible celebration has become an integral part of the tradition of the race.

The 2005 Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race should prove to be fun, exciting and competitive. The preliminary Notice of Race and the 2005 Race Entry Form will be available on this website very soon. Create or enhance your sailing legacy for your family and friends- join us for the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race on June 17th, 2005!

Posted by rick at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2005

All-Women Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy Unveiled

Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy award for the first all-women crew to finish in the 645-mile ocean race.

Beverly Yacht Club Past Commodore Faith Paulsen was caught off guard last night as members of the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Executive Committee unveiled the new Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy for the first all-women crew to finish in the 645-mile ocean race. The 15th Marion to Bermuda Race, starting June 17th and the 18th for multi-hulls, is the first to recognize all-women crews with their own prize. The trophy, an elegant glass bowl, will be presented at the prizegiving in Bermuda at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on June 25th.

Faith was called up to the porch to receive her volunteer 2005 plate and the surprise of the new trophy named in her honor left her almost speechless. Graham Quinn, Executive Director for the race, presented the award to a surprised Paulsen saying it was presented by the Marion Bermuda trustees for all the years of love and care for all the sailors in the race. The presentation was the highlight of the ‘volunteers’ party ironically hosted by Past Commodore Paulsen at her home overlooking the yachts in Sippican Harbor preparing to make the upcoming race. All of the trustees from the US and Bermuda were with Quinn for the ceremonial presentation.

After the ceremony she appeared to tear up a little as she stood of to the side of the porch, looking down at the trophy and listening to the rest of the award presentations for Marion To Bermuda Race volunteers.

Faith, the 11th generation offspring of famous naval architect John Alden and wife Pricilla, has been sailing all of her life. She is a native of Braintree, Massachusetts and summered in Mattapoisett, just one harbor west of Marion. She grew up sailing a Cape Cod Knockabout, a Herreshoff 12 and has sailed a Bullseye since 1966. She has done the Marion to Bermuda numerous times most recently aboard the classic ketch Kathleen in 2003. She and husband Charlie will join Jim Feeney on Kathleen again this year.

As the first woman Commodore of the Beverly Yacht Club, Paulsen broke new ground for the club. You learn as you go, she said. I served two years as Rear Commodore, two as Vice Commodore and then two as Commodore. The six years passed like an instant.

Faith watched the first Marion to Bermuda Race start as a spectator in 1977 and has been on the Marion to Bermuda committee since 1979. First she coordinated land events in Marion and from 1989 on she has been on the administrative team. The first year in administration she organized a record fleet of 177 entries, all required to sail the course only using celestial navigation.

For complete information on the 15th biennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race including all the dates and deadlines, entry list and much more go to www.marionbermuda.com.

About the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race

The 15th biennial Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht race gets underway on Buzzard’s Bay June 17, 2005. The race is open to amateur cruising yachts, families and friends. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in an open ocean passage with a group of friendly competitors. Sailing in this race is a life experience that can bridge the gap between generations, solidify friendships and foster teamwork, all while promoting seamanship and the love of sailing.

While the spirit of competition flows as freely in the veins of Marion-Bermuda racers as it does in sailboat racers everywhere, Marion Bermuda is a cruising yacht race. It is as much about companionship and the joy of coaxing the best performance possible out of a sailboat as it is about being first to cover the 645 nautical miles to St. David’s Head. Characteristically, a Friends and Family day race is scheduled for Bermuda a week after the start; prizes in that race go to, among others, the yacht with the largest crew and the one with the best attitude.

Although Marion-Bermuda is a race for amateur sailors rather than pros, safety is a prime consideration and Marion-Bermuda’s safety regulations are as stringent as any other race of its type.

The post-race activities are hosted by, and held at, the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club in Bermuda.

For complete information on the 15th biennial Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race including all the dates and deadlines, entry list and much more go to www.marionbermuda.com.

iboat Track Now, for the first time, spectators on shore can track the action of the entire Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race from start to finish. When the race starts June 17th in Buzzard’s Bay, every boat entered in the 2005 Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race will be provided with a GPS transponder linked by iBoat and the internet to every computer round the world. This is the first Category 1 race in North America to have complete GPS tracking of racers. A demonstration site is available to preview iboat at http://www.marionbermuda.com.

Posted by rick at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2005

Americap Rating Certificates Not Received

Attention Captains of Marion-Bermuda Race.
Concern has been expressed about Americap Rating Certificate not having been received and therefore not turned into the Marion-Bermuda Committee by the deadline of June 1, 2005.

Concern has been expressed about Americap Rating Certificate not having been received and therefore not turned into the Marion-Bermuda Committee by the deadline of June 1, 2005. We understand anxiety, but assure all that no penalties will result from having certificates submitted after the deadline when it is not the Captain's fault but rather a US SAILING problem.

US SAILING told us this morning (June 6) that all but 3 participants in our race have been rated. The three that have not yet been rated are boats that do not have the usual measurement information and must be rated with some arbitrary decisions by the director of Offshore Sailing.. Dan Nowlan of US SAILING expects to have the remaining boats rated in the next 48 hours.

Please note that there will be administrative delay in filling out the certificates and mailing them. Dan thinks that will be done by June 10. The Marion Bermuda Committee should receive the information needed to rate the boats directly from US SAILING by that time. We will review the information and set the tentative class assignments over the weekend with the target to set the final class designation by June 14.

Posted by rick at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)