On Just the Right Beat—Offshore Sailboat Racing to Bermuda
For the 53rd edition of the storied 635-mile Newport to Bermuda Race (N2B) more than 1400 sailors came together at the start off Fort Adams in Newport, RI, June 21. This year’s offshore race proved to be exciting and challenging, featuring a series of fronts causing tricky conditions near the start and a characteristically choppy crossing of the Gulf Stream.
Of the 162 boats that started in Newport, 147 crossed the finish line and docked at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) in Hamilton. Fifteen boats retired, including the two boats that abandoned ship on the course. All crew of each of the participating boats arrived safely back on land.
Among exceptional Chesapeake finishers were Will Passano (Gibson Island, MD) and his crew aboard his Sydney 47 Polaris, who placed first in the St. David’s Lighthouse 7 division. This was the skipper’s 11th N2B and his fifth as skipper (his first being in 1982 aboard his dad’s Rhodes 41).
“We had 61 combined N2B Races represented by our crew,” says Passano.
Peter Dudley, Ted Steeble, Rob Pennington, Seth Mininger, Ginny Mininger, Matt Graham, Wick Dudley, Elizabeth Dudley, Patrick LaRoche (navigator), Murray Leigh, and Kevin Groner rounded out the crew.
As for what the team did well, the skipper says, “We nailed the Gulf Stream eddy with a 3.5-knot lift for 10 hours with SOG of 13.5 knots. Thank you, Patrick. The temperature went from 74 to 84 degrees in about 30 minutes and made sitting on the rail more pleasant… We also squeezed an extra half knot with speeds ranging from 8.5 to 9.3 by just concentrating on keeping the boat moving. The crew kept the drivers honest when the speed dropped.
“We kept more sail up and reduced sail only when absolutely necessary… We changed sails about 10 to 12 times during the race. It was all windward work. We had a chute up for about an hour right after the start during the light air, but it was basically a close beat going down the rhumb line…. We sat on the rail and sailed the boat like a dinghy. We didn’t reef in squalls but just feathered the main through the high-end puffs around 20-25 knots and flogged it before reefing. The boat and crew performed flawlessly.”
Although he’d competed in two Annapolis to Bermuda Races aboard the J/124 Jane Says, the 2024 N2B was Bob Dunigan’s first and a spectacular one at that. He and his crew member, David Tabor (Fishing Bay YC), placed second in Doublehanded 2 and third overall in the Doublehanded division. The team took home the Chesapeake Prize for best regional performance.
“We were lucky,” Dunigan says. “We had our conditions the entire way: on a beat. We were thrilled to end up where we ended up. We had a great time in Newport and Bermuda.”
Dunigan credits much of their success to Tabor, an experienced offshore and shorthanded sailor who has competed in the Bermuda 1-2: “He did the navigating. One of the things that helped us out is that he picked out a spot in the meander in the Gulf Stream which gave us a boost. After the meander, we held our place. I think we just got along well together; we’ve sailed together and against each other. We were both pleased with the way things turned out.”
The entire N2B journey will stay with Dunigan: “It was a lot of work to get the boat prepared. From the time we were in Newport through the race and into Bermuda, it was a great experience. I’ve wanted to do this race for a long time, but the logistics didn’t work with my schedule. I really looked forward to it… it did not disappoint!”
Frank Sobchak, Patrick Powers, and their team on the Hinckley 48 Northeast Wind (including several Eastport YC members) topped the Finisterre 1 division and earned the Finisterre Trophy for best corrected time overall and the Navigator’s Trophy (Chris Conway).
“We had quite an experience in the race,” says Sobchak. “Late into the night before race day we were doing crazy do-it-yourself rudder repairs and then had 635 miles of Mother Nature pouring it on testing a 57-year-old boat and her crew.”
The Northeast Wind crew included Powers (co-captain), Mike Stewart, Wes Marshall, Chris Conway, Edward Allen, and Jack Powers.
Although it was the skipper’s first N2B race, he says, “We had a very experienced crew. Two (Wes and Edward) had completed it four and six times respectively. Among the crew there were dozens of Chicago to Mackinac finishes, and Mike had won it outright.”
“After getting out of Narragansett Bay, we fought to keep moving and were fortunate that most of the crew were experienced Chesapeake Bay sailors who knew how to get the most out of the light air,” says Sobchak.
“Once the air picked back up, we kind of had a trifecta: the right boat for the right conditions with the right crew. We had talked to a few sailing ‘greybeards’ before the race and they had said if conditions were 20-25 off the beam and lumpy, we had a chance to win as those were perfect for an old Hinckley; she was made to run to Bermuda in those conditions that would beat up lighter boats and their crews. We had just those conditions for the rest of the race. Northeast Wind ran like a freight train just off the rhumb line powering through things.”
The crew “were tremendously disciplined, constantly checking the boat’s polars against actual performance and trimming if we weren’t hitting the numbers. No matter the conditions or how late in the race, they were continuously trimming to get every last 10th of a knot or 20th of a knot out of her. We also made no real mistakes in tactics or navigation. Chris was a phenomenal tactician, great predictions and ever vigilant. Decision after decision was spot on.”
As for a memorable moment, Sobchak says, “Sometime late on day two our jib halyard blew, and our genoa went into the drink. The team responded like an Indy 500 pit crew. We had the sail up on a backup halyard within eight minutes. It was wild to watch the precision and machine-like functioning.”
While onshore in Bermuda, he says, “When it became clear that we had won the Finisterre division, it was like an electric current ran through us. Most of the crew have raced and sailed for most of their lives, so to realize we had won was quite an emotional experience.”
Among impressive Chesapeake performances was Tom Campbell (Tred Avon YC) and his team on the Cal 40 Nicole who placed second in the St. David’s Lighthouse 2 division and earned the Thomas Fleming Day Memorial Trophy for the yacht under 40 feet with the best corrected time in the division.
Nicholas Gibbons of the Navy Offshore Sailing Team led his team on the Swan 45 Poseidon to third place in the St. David’s Lighthouse 7 division and won the Destroyers Atlantic Trophy for best corrected time in the division.
Learn more about the 2024 race and the next one in 2026 at bermudarace.com.
