Newport to Bermuda: Meet the fleet

The biennial Newport Bermuda Race fleet has 150 boats for 2026, spread across six divisions and several subclasses for the 636 nm course. This 54th edition of the race has brought together a roster of competing yachts that includes eye-catching modern cruisers, legendary past winners, and some of today’s most famous racing boats.

With the start on June 19, who are the major players, and which boats are the ones to watch?

Boats are divided into divisions, each governed by specific rules regarding participants and equipment. These divisions are further subdivided into classes based on handicap ratings. All boats are assigned a handicap under the Offshore Rating Rule (ORR), which uses a boat’s measurements in a formula designed to level the playing field.

On race morning, boats’ data are run through a program that factors in ratings and weather forecasts to predict optimal finish times. Crews then compete against that projected time to determine their standings. In simple terms, each boat knows how much time it needs to beat its competitors.

Details: https://bermudarace.com/

St. David’s Lighthouse Division

This is the largest division, with nearly 60% of the fleet competing for the iconic trophy modeled after the red-and-white lighthouse. With no overall race winner, many consider this the most prestigious prize. The division limits the number of professional sailors onboard, and only amateurs may drive.

One of the most closely watched match-ups will be between Hound and Carina, two titans of the Bermuda Race. In 2024, Carina captured the trophy for a record fifth time, edging out Hound by just 24 minutes on corrected time. Hound had crossed the starting line early and incurred a 30-minute penalty, ultimately costing them the win.

Since then, Hound has taken on major races like the Rolex Fastnet and the Transatlantic Race, and the same crew returns with unfinished business.

Also entered in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division is one of offshore sailing’s most enduring legends: Dorade. This 1929, 52-foot Sparkman & Stephens yawl made her offshore racing debut in the 1930 Bermuda Race and went on to win her division in 1932.

Following an extensive and highly regarded restoration in 2010 by owner Matt Brooks and his late wife Pam Rorke Levy, the yacht returned to competitive racing, taking on the Bermuda Race again in 2012, 2014, and 2018. This year, Brooks returns once more, this time with his son, Bill, aboard.

Joining this legacy fleet is Alex Mehran’s Gesture, which won the 1946 race—the first Bermuda Race held after World War II. Built in 1941, this Sparkman & Stephens design was notable for being among the early adopters of aluminum masts after transitioning from wood, marking a significant evolution in yacht construction.

After 80 years, returning a boat of this significance to the Gulf Stream is a testament to her many stewards over the decades and the current owner’s dedication to preserving the maritime legacy.

Making the trip from the Midwest is Madcap, a Santa Cruz 52 owned by John and Marian Hoskins. While new to the Bermuda Race, the team is no stranger to offshore competition, with roots in the iconic 333-mile Chicago–Mackinac Race.

The program represents a collaboration of Midwestern sailors who have built a reputation for both performance and seamanship. In 2024, the Madcap crew was awarded the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal from US Sailing for rescuing another crew in a storm. In 2025, Marian led an all-women crew in competition, further showcasing the team’s depth and leadership.

Youth sailors from New Bedford, Massachusetts, will also be ones to watch aboard the Baltic 50 Crazy Horse, as they attempt to build on their success in the 2025 Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race.

“Taking on the Bermuda Race has always been the ultimate goal of our program,” said Richard Feeny, education director of the New Bedford Community Boating Center (CBC) and coach of the youth offshore team. “Competing in this race may have once been a pipe dream, but now the CBC team is one of the top teams to watch.”

Adding international flair to the fleet is the Swan 56 Azahar, hailing from Mallorca. “Our team includes veterans who have sailed around the world and some younger sailors who are high-level competitors,” said owner Hervé Grünig.

The team has spent the past year competing in some of Europe and the Caribbean’s most challenging races, most recently finishing fifth in the RORC Caribbean 600.

From Shenzhen, China, Team WhiteWave brings a fully Chinese crew with significant offshore experience, chartering the British-flagged Beneteau First 40.7 Escapado. The team has recently completed both the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and the Fastnet Race, adding serious credentials to the fleet.

Gibbs Hill Division

The Gibbs Hill Division is the no-holds-barred category, with no limits on crew composition or sail inventory. These are the thoroughbreds of the fleet—high-performance programs often competing for Line Honors, awarded to the first boat to cross the finish line.

Black Jack 100—a visually striking 100-foot maxi yacht—will be impossible to miss. The international professional crew has spent the winter racing in the Caribbean following a Line Honors performance in the Fastnet Race and is focused on one clear objective: “winning Line Honors and setting records.”

This marks the first time since 2016 that a 100-foot yacht has competed, when Comanche delivered a record-setting performance. Black Jack 100 will undoubtedly be aiming to challenge that benchmark.

Also making the journey from the Great Lakes is Denali 4. Owner William McKinley brings a new Mills 58 designed specifically for the world’s premier 600-mile offshore races. “The boat is designed for the great 600-mile races like the Bermuda Race, Caribbean 600, Aegean 600, and the Rolex Middle Sea Race,” McKinley said.

After finishing third in the Gibbs Hill Division in 2024, and with the top two teams from that year not returning in 2026, this could be Denali
4’s moment.

Finisterre Division

Formerly known as the Cruising Class, the Finisterre Division pays homage to Carleton Mitchell’s famed yacht Finisterre, which won three Bermuda Races in the 1950s. Despite the name, these are far from casual cruisers. The division simply limits sail inventory and prohibits professional crew, offering a competitive platform for Corinthian teams.

The 2024 Finisterre champion Northeast Wind, a Hinckley 48 sloop owned by Frank Sobchak, returns to defend its title. Sobchak notes that the yacht is particularly well suited to the division, saying, “Sailing Northeast Wind is like driving a nice old Cadillac over country roads. The boat handles the rough stuff well.”

Also in contention is the Phillip L. Rhodes-designed sloop Thunderhead, returning to the Bermuda Race for the first time in 60 years. Seventeen-year-old boat manager Oliver Lee says his crew of family and friends is ready for the challenge. “The Newport Bermuda Race has such an aura around it,” Lee said. “I can’t wait to be on the starting line of a legendary race with the historic and iconic boats that are also competing.”

The S&S Custom 59 Running Tide also marks a milestone in 2026, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1976 victory. Owner Beau Van Metre reflects on the deeper meaning of the sport: “Ocean racing is really about camaraderie, and having a special boat and crew around me is great. The boat is a living organism, and not just a piece of aluminum.”

Double-Handed Division

The Double-Handed Division continues to grow in popularity and represents one of the race’s most demanding challenges: completing the crossing with just two sailors onboard.

Several Class40s—purpose-built for short-handed offshore racing—are entered this year, including Scowling Dragon, co-skippered by accomplished solo sailor Michael Hennessey. “Those who follow the race should pay close attention to the navigational choices made on the first night,” Hennessey said. “The die gets cast early in this race, and then it becomes a battle of tactics and execution.”

Though no strangers to the Bermuda Race, Cat Chimney and Emmett Dickheister are taking on the Double-Handed Division for the first time aboard the J/44 Kenai. “Part of the fun is solving the puzzle of making the boat work for double-handed sailing. She’s a big, heavy boat to get down there with two people,” Chimney said.

American offshore sailing standout Erica Lush will co-skipper the J/121 Alchemy with David Southwell, following her historic participation of the 2025 and 2026 of Solitaire du Figaro in France – considered the “Tour de France” of sailing.

Other Divisions

To make space under the tent for everyone, the Race also offers entry to boats of other shapes and sizes. Many of these boats are taking on the Race more for the adventure than the prizes.

One of the most recognizable competitors in the race will be the Spirit of Bermuda—the national tall ship of Bermuda. Built in 2006 and designed by a Newport naval architect Bill Langan, the boat’s hull shape is adapted from Royal Navy Shamrock-class patrol boats and carries the famed “Bermuda” rig, which originated on the coastal Bermuda sloops of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Spirit of Bermuda is owned and operated by the Bermuda Sloop Foundation with a mission to give all young people in Bermuda the opportunity to participate in a sail training program.

“In the past 20 years, about 8500 students have gone through our program,” said Executive Director John-Paul Doughty. For the 2026 race, Spirit of Bermuda’s skipper and first officer—Mario Swainson and Tristan DeSilva—are both alums of the program. Also aboard will be Bermuda’s governor, His Excellency Andrew Murdoch CMG.

The Race has traditionally just been for monohull sailboats but in 2018, due the rise in popularity of multihulls, the race opened up entry to these double or triple hulled speedsters. In 2022, the 70ft trimaran Argo set the course record finishing in 33 hours just before midnight on Saturday. This year, Charlie Welsh’s Gunboat 62 Dreadnought will represent the class, and if conditions allow, it could once again deliver a blisteringly fast passage through the Gulf Stream.

Details: https://bermudarace.com/

Source: N2B