For those that don’t know he Newport Bermuda Race is a 635-mile ocean race, much of it out of sight of land, usually lasting three to six days. It crosses a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean known for challenging weather, especially in the Gulf Stream, where there are strong currents (http://bermudarace.com/race/). It’s the most important US offshore race.
Gradually the excitement is building! Heartbeat will be delivered to Pilot’s Point Marina by first 10 days of May from Jolly Harbour in Antigua. At the moment a team of Paul, Sarah, Steve, Jason, and Judy and Marcus will be going out to prepare the boat for ORR measurement and safety check between about May 15th and 20th. A very tight timetable. Our Application for Entry has been accepted and we are now entered for the race! The team will then go out on for June 13th prior to moving from Pilot’s Point Marina, Long Island (http://www.byy.com/CTMarinas/Westbrook/Welcome.aspx) to Newport, Rhode Island for the 18th June.
A picture of a previous start:
We hope this will be another fantastic Heartbeat IV adventure, and with the core team already on stream we probably have a couple of additional spaces available. Currently the requirements are slowly being completed – we all have to register to be graded by ISAF as amateur sailors. Large numbers of forms and details need to be supplied, as with all offshore races, where the emphasis is on safety. As I complete these forms at 0300 I wonder whether Mike Slade has to do the same?