Newport Bermuda Race: Shockwave, Actaea take top honors

(June 26, 2014) – The story for the 49th Newport Bermuda Race was light winds, with reality being far from the optimistic pre-race weather forecast. Airless sinkholes plagued the course, with free parking across the 635-mile route.

Elapsed race winner Shockwave, the 72-foot mini maxi skippered by George Sakellaris of Framingham, MA, finished well off the record pace of Rambler in 2012 (39:39:18), arriving Monday in Bermuda after two and a half days (63:04:11). However, Shockwave suffered less than most as they have been confirmed the overall division winner, taking home their second Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy in a row.

The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division is for professional crews on modern competitive boats. This is the first boat to win consecutive Gibbs Hill Trophies since the prize was dedicated to the grand prix division in 2002.

In the St. David’s Lighthouse Division, for amateur crews on dual purpose racer-cruiser boats, corrected time honors went to the Hinckley B40 Actaea. A modified Bermuda 40 cruising yawl owned by Michael Cone of Philadelphia, PA, her crew included John Vj Chiochetti, Constance H. Cone, co-owner and watch captain, James Dalton, George J. Fallon, Rex Miyashiro, Stewart Rose, and Stanley Sneath.

When Michael and Connie Cone competed in the 1996 Newport Bermuda Race aboard Actaea, they were the last boat to finish. “We won the Galley Slave Trophy and I swore that would never happen again,” Cone said. In the 16 years since, Actaea has become known for being one of the best-sailed boats on Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

Actaea was one of 125 Bermuda 40s designed by Bill Tripp and built by Hinckley Yachts. Launched in 1971, she had one previous owner before the Cones bought her in 1989. The Cones later undertook modifications.

Full report – Preliminary results – Tracking – Race website

Background:
The race has five divisions, essentially five separate race fleets:
– Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division: for professional crews on modern competitive boats
– St. David’s Lighthouse Division: for amateur crews on dual purpose racer-cruiser boats
– Double-handed: only two people on each boat
– Cruiser: for amateur crews on boats not designed for racing
– Open: for boats of a size or construction type beyond the normal range of the fleet

Source: Event media