display in America and Bermuda this year.

The exhibit will discuss the origins of the race, and the involvement of the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in it.

Visitors will also learn about the navigational problems and seafaring skills needed to cross the Gulf Stream in sailing from Rhode Island to Bermuda.

The boats sailing to Bermuda have changed greatly since the early races; famous boats will be highlighted and the evolution of these crafts will be traced.

The human story of the race will also be told, one which has had sinkings and loss of life.

The exhibit, organised by South Street Seaport Museum in New York and the Bermuda Maritime Museum, will go on display in the US from February 26 to April 26.

It will then be moved and permanently re-installed at Bermuda Maritime Museum to open in early June, coinciding with the Newport to Bermuda Race 2000, which starts on Friday, June 16.