Youth entries for Newport Bermuda Race

Rye, NY (April 4, 2018) – The Young American Sailing Academy (YASA) announces two entries for the 2018 edition of the Newport Bermuda Race (NBR). Racing two boats builds on the success of the team’s single-boat effort in the 2016 Bermuda Race and brings to 22 the number of young sailors able to improve their offshore skills in the iconic 638-mile offshore race.

Partnering with the USMMA Sailing Foundation, the team will be sailing the 63-foot mini-maxi, Gambler USA 60010 (ex Lucky, ex Loki), crewed by the more experienced YASA sailors aged 17-23.

Gambler (Ex Lucky) on her way to winning the 2015 Transatlantic Race.

The second race boat is the Swan 45, Ticket to Ride USA 45454 (ex Lir), owned by Edward D. Whitmore, and will be crewed by sailors aged 15-18; most of these sailors have been actively sailing the team’s J/105 Young American for the past three years in all of the local distance races such as Block Island Race, Vineyard Race, Ida Lewis Distance Race, and Around Long Island Race.

Ticket to Ride (Ex Lir) crossing the NBR starting line in 2014.

The highly successful High Noon 2016 NBR campaign (top) was made possible with the support of the USMMA Sailing Foundation and Steve and Heidi Benjamin. High Noon took home seven awards, including 1st to finish St. David’s and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Divisions, 1st in class, 3rd overall ORR, winner of the inaugural Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy, and winner of the Onion Patch Series.

Many of the same High Noon crew will be aboard Gambler, including the professional sailor and team coach Guillermo Altadill.

Gambler is a recent donation to USMMA Sailing Foundation and will provide a larger and more advanced racing platform for the junior offshore sailors. “We are thrilled to be providing Gambler to this accomplished race team of young offshore sailors,” said Ralf Steitz, president of the Foundation. “Putting high performance boats and equipment in the hands of young sailors is the way to advance the next generation of US sailors in the sport of offshore ocean racing.”

Ticket to Ride is a new boat for Whitmore and he is generously partnering with the YASA team in its goals of developing more US offshore sailors. “I’m excited to be racing to Bermuda with the YASA Team,” said Whitmore. “They may be young, but they already have big boat experience and I feel confident we will have a great race.”

“Sailing High Noon in the 2016 Newport Bermuda was a fantastic milestone for us in delivering on our mission to help create a new generation of offshore sailors,” said Peter Becker, president of the Young American Sailing Academy. “On behalf of YASA, we would like to thank the USMMA Foundation, Ralf Steitz, Ed Whitmore, Rob Alexander, and Joe Cooper, who are all enthusiastically supporting the effort and making it possible for the team to take this next step forward.”

About Young American Sailing Academy, Inc.:
The Young American Sailing Academy is a not-for-profit whose mission is to develop a new generation of American offshore sailors by working with high school and college aged junior sailors to give them the tools required to compete at the highest level in the sport of ocean racing. The goal is to field winning entries in premier national and international sailing events including the potential future Olympic class of offshore sailing. The Young American team has more than six years of experience racing coastal and offshore events with numerous and notable victories such as the Block Island Race, Vineyard Race, and Newport Bermuda Race. yasailing.org.

About USMMA Sailing Foundation, Inc.:
The USMMA Sailing Foundation is a 501c3 public charity specializing in vessel donations used for maritime education programs. The Foundation president, Ralf Steitz, is a world-class sailor and the driving force behind the success of the Foundation and its education initiatives. usmmasailingfoundation.org.

Source: Peter Becker