After a slog through variable weather and a tumultuous scoring process, the results are in for the 54th Newport Bermuda Race. The Cal 40 Nicole has won the St. David’s Lighthouse overall title, while Black Jack 100 took line honors just shy of a course record.
The 2026 race was characterized by a course with a little bit of everything, from an aggressive seastate in the early portion to a dead calm zone south of the Gulf Stream. The Stream itself had an aggressive north-south meander, limiting the crossing options and keeping the majority of the fleet in close quarters on the approach. From there, the breeze switched off, forcing a compression in the main pack while just a few of the fastest boats slipped out ahead. A steady breeze never quite materialized afterwards, and the remainder of the race was a game of searching for where the wind would fill from and trying not to get headed off the rhumb line.
Perhaps the most memorable story of the race played out not on the race course but in the redress room afterwards. The race was provisionally scored then corrected, resulting in protests that overturned the corrected results, subsequent redress hearings, and additional efforts to rescore the fleet.
The race committee intended to use Forecast-Time Correction Factor (F-TCF) scoring for a fairer race. Put simply, this system ranks performance based on each boat’s individual potential speed in the conditions forecasted. This aims to reduce bias towards or against boats for their performance at various points of sail (e.g., a boat that overperforms upwind will have a corresponding rating during a race that happens to be more upwind and will get a break on their rating if the race turns out to be a reacher).
However, when the corrected results came out they were very different from the provisional results in some classes, in particular St. David’s Lighthouse 8 where the ratings were not consistent with ORR ratings and results for the individual boats did not seem to match the results when the data was run as a batch. Madcap, Cougar, Touch of Grey, In Theory, Group 5, Carina, Charlotte, Rumb Runner, and Allegiant all requested redress with 16 other boats contributing evidence to the hearing.
In a statement, US Sailing announced that, “[t]he issue resulted from an error in the routing software used to generate the fleet’s forecasted Time Correction Factors (TCFs). Once the issue was identified, race organizers, technical officials, and scoring personnel worked alongside US Sailing to verify the error and produce corrected-time calculations.”
In the resulting record, the international jury concluded that “The Race Committee relied on the F-TCF provided by US Sailing on Friday July 19, in compliance with NoR 16. The race committee made no error in using the batch data provided to initially score the race and publish provisional results… It was an improper action of the race committee to rescore the race.” The corrected scoring was overturned.
This reshuffled the fleet again, and further protests ensued, alleging that the rating certificates used no longer matched the posted scoring procedure and competitors made tactical decisions on the course based on the expected scoring methods, so changing the scoring unduly hurt them through no fault of their own.
The results were once again overturned, and the corrected F-TCF scoring was restored. A complete record of the redress hearings can be found here.
“The use of TCFs is relatively new, and we will continue working closely with the software provider, rating authorities, race organizers, and other stakeholders to review what occurred, strengthen validation processes, and identify measures to help prevent similar issues in future events,” US Sailing says.
Ultimately, this back and forth left a bad taste in many mouths, with some competitors accusing each other of poor sportsmanship, while others accused the Organizing Authority of lacking integrity. The one thing that’s certain is that the OA will be very careful about both its rating decisions and communications in 2028 to avoid a repeat of the debacle.
Still, no one can be dissatisfied with the sailing itself. After the first day or so of rollicking waves, competitors enjoyed relatively dry conditions and mild temperatures. A waxing, early-setting moon meant incredible visibility of the Milky Way in the first half of the race. Flying fish were plentiful, and whale and dolphin sightings were also to be had. The phosphorescence left sparkling trails in the water, and the sunsets were unbeatable.
This year’s race also marked 100 years of partnership between the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Cruising Club of America (CCA), which co-organize the race. “Celebrating 100 years of partnership has been absolutely incredible. This race holds so much history and is of such significance to so many sailors, families, and sailing enthusiasts and the CCA could not be more proud to play a role in its continued success,” CCA Commodore Chace Anderson said. “The Newport Bermuda Race is truly the embodiment of adventurous use of the sea.”
For more on this year’s race, including the five-episode Gulf Stream Show, visit bermudarace.com
Division winners:
- St. David’s Lighthouse 1: Nicole, skippered by Thomas Campbell
- St. David’s Lighthouse 2: Dorade, skippered by Bill Brooks
- St. David’s Lighthouse 3: Gesture, skippered by Max Petrushonis
- St. David’s Lighthouse 4: Speck, skippered by William Klein
- St. David’s Lighthouse 5: Cybele, skippered by Gordon Burnes
- St. David’s Lighthouse 6: Hound, skippered by Tom Stark and Dan Litchfield
- St. David’s Lighthouse 7: Jules, skippered by Thomas Dunn
- St. David’s Lighthouse 8: Boudicca, skippered by Richard Moody
- Gibbs Hill Lighthouse 1: Azahar, skippered by Hervé Grunig and Diego Fructuoso
- Gibbs Hill Lighthouse 2: Black Jack 100, skippered by Tristan Le Brun
- Finisterre 1: Argyll, skippered by Christopher Burnham
- Finisterre 2: Inisharon, skippered by Jim Murphy
- Finisterre 3: Defiance, skippered by Peter Noonan and Matthew Schryver
- Doublehanded 1: Bella, skippered by Tony Giarratana
- Doublehanded 2: Scowling Dragon, skippered by Michael Hennessy and Christopher Skinner
- Spirit of Tradition: Spirit of Bermuda, skippered by Mario Swainson
