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Newport to Bermuda

The one behind all the others. 635 miles across the Gulf Stream, double-handed, in a 40-foot yawl.

target 2038Third Friday in Junedream, not a plan
The yawl Dorade off Bermuda, 2014
Dorade, the yawl that started it all, off Bermuda in 2014 · Photo: Billy Black, CC BY 4.0

The idea

This is the one I actually dream about. Start off Castle Hill in Newport on a June Friday, cross the Gulf Stream somewhere near 38°N with the water suddenly warm and blue and moving at three knots sideways, and four days later pick up St. David's light. Solo isn't allowed, so the honest version is double-handed with a pal, in a yawl of about forty feet, in the class where the boat's name matters more than its rating.

Everything above this on the page is the apprenticeship: small boats, cold nights, tides, living aboard, keeping going. This is what it's for.

“Double handed is where it's at. There is nowhere to hide.”Drew Plominski, Newport Bermuda Race

The route

Newport · Castle HillBlock IslandGulf Stream, north wallGulf Stream, south edgeSt. David's HeadN100 nm
Newport to Bermuda — route sketch — schematic, drawn from waypoints, not a chart. Don't navigate by it.
distance
635 nm, Castle Hill to St. David's Head
when
Biennial, third Friday of June (2028, 2030 … 2038, 2040)
boat
A 40-foot yawl. Sparkman & Stephens if the universe is generous

A sketch of the schedule

Roughly how it goes, from the people who have done it. Numbers to be corrected by weather.

whenwhat
Two years outFind the boat. Or the pal with the boat.
Winter beforeSafety at Sea course, first aid, ORR certificate, the Offshore Experience form. Qualify the crew, then the boat.
SpringInspection complete by early June. A shakedown to Block Island and back overnight.
Friday 13:00Start off Castle Hill. Clear Block Island by dark.
Days 2–3Pick the Gulf Stream crossing. This is the race.
Days 4–5The trades fill in. St. David's light, then the channel to Hamilton. Dark 'n' Stormy.

Pictures to remember it by

Newport harbor at twilight
Newport, the start · Adrian Scottow, CC BY-SA 2.0
St. David's Lighthouse, Bermuda
St. David's light, the finish · Jerrye & Roy Klotz, CC BY-SA 3.0
A Concordia yawl
A yawl of about the right size · Kent Larson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sea-surface temperature showing the Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, from orbit · NASA MODIS, public domain

When, honestly

2038

2038 is the target; 2040 is the backstop. A yawl, a pal, four days, and a mooring in Hamilton harbour with the flags up.

Resources

Other people's accounts and the official pages. Read these before believing anything above.