This year’s Newport to Bermuda Race got off to a slow start and remained that way for almost all of the 635 miles to the finish line. While frustration was the mood for most of the 170 crews who sailed to the Onion Patch, the mini-maxi Rambler 88 found their own breeze and sailed away from the fleet to take line honors. Here’s an update in Yachts and Yachting by veteran marine journalist John Burnham.
“Leaving most of the fleet far behind in light winds, George David’s Rambler 88 crossed the finish line off St. David’s Lighthouse at 5:51:51 Eastern daylight time on Sunday evening. Earning line honors among the 169 boats racing in the 51st Newport Bermuda Race, the big gray boat’s elapsed time over the 635-mile course was 50 hours, 31 minutes, 51 seconds.
“The custom 88-foot Juan K design ran into some slow patches with light winds early in the race, but after sailing through the Gulf Stream on Saturday, maintained double-digit speeds the rest of the way and left the next-placed boats several hours behind. The winds weren’t strong during the race, but the seas were relatively smooth.” Read more.
