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Tuesday, April 07, 2020
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Cooper Named to the All-MAISA Team
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St. Mary’s College of Maryland announced that 5 of their sailing team members were elected to the All-MAISA team, including 3rd year Bermudian student-athlete, Chase Cooper. Each year the best sailors in each region/conference are recognized at the end of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association season. This year the season was cut short on March 13th amid the coronavirus outbreak. 2020 was the first time in 85 years that the season and the Collegiate National Championships have been canceled. In their last regatta on March 1st, Chase and his team competed at the Georgetown Team Race regatta on the Potomac River. The Seahawks went 11- 4 in their races giving them second place behind Georgetown University.
The Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) covers the area between New York State and Virginia and includes the District of Columbia and parts of Canada. Hundreds of sailors compete on more than forty teams that travel across the conference and the country.
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Friday, March 27, 2020
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Comet International Championship Postponed
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The 2020 Comet International Championship Regatta that was scheduled for the Great Sound in Bermuda has been postponed for a year.
With the announcement of the postponement it was decided that Bermuda will host the 2021 edition.
The Comet International Championship will follow the Edward Cross 77th Annual Long Distance Race that will take place on June 21st 2021.
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Monday, March 23, 2020
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2020 Newport Bermuda Race Cancelled
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The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee (BROC) has cancelled the 2020 Newport Bermuda Race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biennial race, founded in 1906, had 200 entries and was due to start for the 52nd time on June 19th.
“As representatives of the race’s co-sponsoring clubs—the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club—the BROC believes in promoting the practice of safety as a way of life offshore,” Jay Gowell, BROC Chairman, wrote in a letter to competitors today.
“Our Committee has always held the position that we can only conduct the Bermuda Race if conditions for competitors and local populations made it safe to do so. After continuing to seek guidance from numerous government and medical advisors, it has become evident there is no longer a timeline allowing our sailors and supporters to prepare for and participate in this offshore race safely.”
The driving factor in the decision was reducing the risk of exposure to competitors and the community. Preparing boats for an offshore race takes time, commitment, and logistics that may expose communities and families unnecessarily. Sailing offshore may result in contact with asymptomatic infected shipmates during the race and could adversely affect the Bermudian population at the conclusion of the race.
“This decision is extremely disappointing to our sailors as well as organizers,” Gowell said. “As an international race organizing authority, it is our responsibility to be a part of the solution to reduce the risk of exposure.”
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Tuesday, March 17, 2020
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Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Postponed
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The 2019–20 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will be postponed until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced.
“This decision has been in no way taken lightly. Our crew are currently under quarantine in Subic Bay, Philippines, where the Clipper Race fleet has been berthed since Sunday, March 15,” said the Clipper Race Organizing Committee. “The fleet was due to race across the North Pacific Ocean towards Seattle.
However, with the city currently in a state of emergency and travel and medical insurance restrictions in the United States, we could not allow our teams to depart without a viable destination.”
Legs 6, 7 and 8 outstanding in the epic 40,000-nautical-mile sailing race will be postponed for approximately 10 months, when the remaining circumnavigation will be completed, the committee said. The timing of the postponement allows the fleet of 11 Clipper 70 ocean-racing yachts to avoid adverse weather patterns on the remainder of its global route.
Bermuda is a Team Partner and Host Port for the race, which would have seen the fleet visit the island this July en route from New York to the finish in the United Kingdom. Hamilton is one of 15 host ports, along with Portimão, Portugal; Cape Town, South Africa; Fremantle, Australia; and Qingdao, China. Under the Clipper Race partnership with Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA), two Bermudian ambassador crew were also slated to sail aboard the island’s debut entry, GoToBermuda, on different race legs.
“We support this decision, made for the health and safety of all involved amid the current coronavirus crisis,” said Victoria Isley, BTA Chief Sales & Marketing Officer. “We will now work with Clipper Race and local partners to shift our activation plans so we can bring this exciting event to Bermuda in 2021.”
Bermuda’s two ambassador crew chosen for Legs 7 and 8 are invited to join the race when it resumes next year. Matthew Stephens, 18, an Endeavour Community Sailing programme instructor, was to sail Leg 7 from Seattle through the Panama Canal to New York, while Chanara Smith-Rookes, 20, a private in the Royal Bermuda Regiment, would sail the final trans-Atlantic leg from New York via Bermuda to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and on to the finish in London. Both recruits passed rigorous preparatory training required by Clipper Race rules late last year.
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Monday, March 16, 2020
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Gold Cup Postponed-Antigua Bermuda Race Cancelled
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 Organizers for the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s Bermuda Gold Cup Match Racing Regatta have postponed the celebratory 70th running to October due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and travel restrictions imposed around the world.
The Bermuda Gold Cup is rescheduled to October from May, the dates to be announced.
“This decision is based on the uncertainty and state of world travel and is made in the interest of the health and safety of the competitors, event organizers and the island of Bermuda,” said event chairperson Leatrice Oatley, a Past Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. “We look forward to hosting the 70th anniversary event in October.”
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club wishes to apologize to all who may be affected by this decision.
Meanwhile after consultation with both the Governments of Antigua & Barbuda and Bermuda over the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce the 2020 Antigua Bermuda Race has been cancelled.
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