Gearing up for Newport Bermuda

The 52nd running of the Newport Bermuda Race, co-organized by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC), is scheduled to begin Friday, June 17, 2022 at the entrance to the East Passage of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, with the first warning signal scheduled for 1:00 pm.

First run in 1906, the Bermuda Race is the oldest of the five great 600-nautical mile races and is preceded only by the Transatlantic Race. A fleet of potentially 200 yachts is preparing for the start and will be split among eight divisions: Double-handed, Finisterre (for cruisers), Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, Multihull, Open, Spirit of Tradition, St. David’s Lighthouse and Superyacht. Among those eight divisions, upwards of 17 classes will be formed.

The smallest yacht in the fleet, the J/99 Finale in the Double-Handed division, measures 32 feet length overall, while the largest, the steel-hulled schooner Columbia, measures 141 feet LOA. The 112-foot sail training vessel Spirit of Bermuda is entered, as is the 70-foot trimaran Argo, a top contender for line honors, and the Maxi 72 Proteus, a top contender in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division.

Event information – Race details – Entry list