Thrash to the Onion Pitch - Bermuda Race
- Walker Schwartz
- Jul 18, 2024
- 3 min read
The “Thrash to the Onion Patch”, one of sailings most prized races’ nickname, due to the high winds and grueling waves and due to Bermuda being home to vast amount of agriculture, known as the Newport to Bermuda Race. Since its start in 1906 the race has evolved from an annual to a biennial race. The race commences in Newport, Rhode Island where racers should expect to take between 3 and 6 days to reach Bermuda where they will race to St. David’s Lighthouse in Bermuda showcased in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Sailing boat reaching the finish line near the St. David’s Lighthouse in Bermuda
The Newport to Bermuda Race is a grueling 636 miles that isn’t for the faint of heart. In fact, its establishment in the early 1900’s was due to the idea of amateur sailors sailing offshore in a boat less than 80 feet to be insane. The famous Thomas Fleming Day, the feisty editor of The Rudder magazine, vehemently disagreed, insisting, “The danger of the sea for generations has been preached by the ignorant.” Day started the race with the inaugural race commencing at Brooklyn New York Yacht Club where it would finish at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. The race would then be held four more times prior to an agreement that the race should then be held biennially. In 1925, the Cruising Club of America would partner with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club to host the race where it would find its home for the forceable future.
Organized by the Bermuda Race Foundation, the 636-mile biennial Newport Bermuda Race is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race, and one of very few international distance races. The Bermuda Race is one of just two of the world’s regularly scheduled races held almost entirely out of sight of land, the second being the Transpac. Founded in 1906, the 53rd running of the Bermuda Race is scheduled for June, 2024 and for the first time in the 118-year history, the start will be just off the shoreline allowing for public viewing at Fort Adams State Park.
Its purpose was stated in 1923 by Cruising Club of America Commodore Herbert L. Stone: “In order to encourage the designing, building, and sailing of small seaworthy yachts, to make popular cruising upon deep water, and to develop in the amateur sailor a love of true seamanship, and to give opportunity to become proficient in the art of navigation. . . .”
A total of 220 boats entered the race in 2022. The largest fleet, 265 boats, sailed in the centennial race in 2006. The third largest, 197 boats turned out in 2008. The race attracts sailors from across North America and the globe. In 2016 sailors represented 23 different countries. 55 of the boats had at least one sailor from outside of the United States. As of Spring 2024, over 3,000 total Bermuda Races among the crews of the 170 boats slated to cross the starting line.
Going beyond sailing
An exciting initiative to introduce environmental stewards in 2022 by the The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (BROC) backed by the Bermuda Race Foundation are committed to sustaining this classic, biennial ocean race long into the future. Each running of the race provides an opportunity to improve our environmental footprint. We welcome this challenge and ask the cooperation of all competitors, support personnel and vendors in reducing waste before, during, and at the conclusion of the race.
Concluding the race a sustainability report was published showcasing the races efforts to follow through on their “Green Efforts” which inlcuding everything from banning single use plastics to reusing signage to providing educational material with partnering with local organization such as “Sailors for the Sea”, “Keep Bermuda Beautiful”, “11th Hour Racing”, etc.
Figure 2: Platinum Level Sustainability Report by Bermuda Race Organization, November 2022
Keep an eye out for more sustainability initiatives in the sailing space moving forward! Tune in for our next blog post soon!
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