Line honors for Newport Bermuda Race

It was a beautiful and somewhat blustery day when the 2026 Newport Bermuda Race got underway June 19 for 150 competing boats, and it did not take long for Tristan Le Brun’s Black Jack 100 to complete the 636 nm course.

The 100-foot Reichel Pugh design, originally launched in 2005 as Alfa Romeo II for Neville Crichton, crossed the finish line under St. David’s Lighthouse in a time of one day, 11 hours, 26 minutes, 46 seconds—one of the fastest in the races history and less than one hour behind the 2016 record set by the 100-foot Comanche.

For much of the race, Black Jack 100 appeared on pace to challenge the decade-old monohull race record but lighter winds during the final four hours of the passage slowed the yacht’s charge, leaving the team just 48 minutes short of setting a new record.

“We pushed hard to have a chance at taking the record despite a challenging weather forecast and sailing on the tail of a tropical storm that generated a confused sea state,” noted Le Brun. “We were on target for much of the race, but ultimately the conditions weren’t quite favorable enough, and we didn’t leave much time behind on the racecourse.

“Records like this are there to be broken, especially when you come so close. But you have to deal with the conditions you’re given, and we did that very well, sailing Black Jack at its full potential.”

“Co-skipper Jelmer van Beek added, “After the start, we sailed almost the entire course on starboard tack and enjoyed an average of 20 knots of breeze for most of the passage.”

For the 54th edition of the race, more than 4,000 spectators gathered along the waterfront and at Fort Adams to watch the fleet depart Narragansett Bay in a series of starts for the various divisions and classes.

“Many of the sailors on the team had never done this race before,” Van Beek said. “To come here for the first time and take both Line Honors and the overall win is a real highlight. Everyone is very happy with the result, and it’s another important step forward for the Black Jack team.”

Event information – Race details – Results – Tracker

Elapsed Time Course Records
Monohull – Comanche, 01d 10:42:53 set in June 2016
Multihull – Argo, 01d 09:00:09 set in June 2022
Note: Course was lengthened from 635 nm to 636 nm in 2024 when start line was moved into Narragansett Bay alongside Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.
Source: N2B