Newport > Bermuda Race 2024 - and a friend's boat lost

[Prairie Schooner]

From our perch on a hill at Fort Wetheril overlooking the passage out of Newport we had a good view of the 162 boat start. It was beautiful for the first couple hours and they had moderate wind. The boats were fighting a strong incoming tide which created some challenges, then a storm system came in which sucked the wind out and stranded some of the later starting boats for hours. From there we followed the race on YB Tracker.

Of most immediate note for us is the loss of J/122 “Alliance” which belonged to some acquaintances of ours. Thank God, all crew are safe. They describe the incident and rescue best themselves, here:

We know one of the crew pretty well, but haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it yet.
Also on crew was a young woman who is managing editor at Sail Magazine. She adds some additional detail here:

https://www.sailmagazine.com/racing/the-53rd-newport-bermuda-race-

72’ racing sled, Proteus, dismasted less than twelve hours into the race. Speaking to our rigger, he heard it was a catastrophic compression failure of the carbon mast. Also, a Sweden 41 was abandoned due to ‘water ingress’ only about 80 miles from the finish. We haven’t heard any more about that. Some other boats retired due to gear failure or medical emergencies.

Stuff can happen out there. The good news is over 150 boats made it, they enjoyed some Bermuda hospitality, and have some great stories to tell.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Also, this, from a crew of "Ceilidh", the boat which recovered them:

 

[Christian Williams]

Good job all around. Many lessons here.

 

[Pete the Cat]

If you crew on an ocean race, you would do well to judge your skipper and the prep by the standards of Alliance's skippers. Even with other boats in the near proximity, which is not always the case, these folks showed their skill in getting that many people off the boat and transferred without incident in an incredibly short time. They made assessments and decisions and organized spectacularly. I disagree with the skipper that they shortchanged the young crew by not completing the race--they showed them a much more important set of lessons that they will never forget. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

If you crew on an ocean race, you would do well to judge your skipper and the prep by the standards of Alliance's skippers. Even with other boats in the near proximity, which is not always the case, these folks showed their skill in getting that many people off the boat and transferred without incident in an incredibly short time. They made assessments and decisions and organized spectacularly. I disagree with the skipper that they shortchanged the young crew by not completing the race--they showed them a much more important set of lessons that they will never forget. Thanks for posting this.

Ray, in case you haven't heard, it was a Tartan 37 that rescued the crew of the Sweden 41. Chalk one up for Team Tartan.

- screen shot from Instagram

 

[peaman]

Ray, in case you haven't heard, it was a Tartan 37 that rescued the crew of the Sweden 41. Chalk one up for Team Tartan.

Nice! Desna is a regular competitor in our Wednesday night, and other local races.

 

[southofvictor]

Wow. Thanks for sharing these videos. Alliance’s owners seem like the epitome of preparedness and it paid off for them and their crew. The video of Ceilidh getting a line to the life raft is informative as to how the real world works in that type of situation. Plenty of lessons indeed.

 

[Drewm3i]

Crazy that losing a rudder can sink a boat like that, but it looks like a pretty aggressive design (J/122).

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Crazy that losing a rudder can sink a boat like that, but it looks like a pretty aggressive design (J/122).

I haven't talked to anyone on the boat yet or even someone who had a first-hand conversation, but piecing together media accounts it sure sounds as if they hit something like a shipping container. That kind of mass striking the leverage of a long spade rudder could do a lot of damage. When I hear more, I'll recount it here.