First St David’s Lighthouse Division boat finishes Newport Bermuda Race
The first boat in the St David’s Lighthouse Division has completed the 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race.
Rich Moody’s 66ft yacht Boudicca crossed the finish at 6.51am on Monday in an elapsed time of 2 days, 17 hrs, 31 min 57 sec, which has since been corrected to 61:35:38 sec on handicap.
It is the seventh of nine boats to have completed the race so far with more expected to make landfall later on Monday night.
Remon Vos’ super maxi, Black Jack 100 took line honours after arriving in Bermuda at 12.46am on Sunday, in an elapsed time of 35hr 26 min 46 sec.
The time was a little more than two hours outside Argo’s course record and just over 40 minutes outside the fastest time a 100ft yacht has completed the race, with Comanche posting a time of 34:42:53 in 2016.
Space Monkey, Denali 4, OC 86, IL Mostro, Interlodge VIII, Puff and Velocity are the remaining boats to finish the race with more expected to do so before midnight on Monday.
Bermuda Sloop Foundation’s triple masted sail training sloop, Spirit of Bermuda, is the only entry in the Spirit of Tradition Division in the race.
Light wind south of the Gulf Stream held up a large pack of the fleet between 125 and 175 nautical miles from the finish line early on Monday.
However, around noon the wind filled and the pack began to point their bows towards Bermuda.
A veritable parade of boats are expected to finish on Tuesday as the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club gradually comes alive with celebrations and libations.
Nearly 150 boats competing across multiple divisions set sail in the 54th Thrash To The Onion Patch from Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island, last Friday.
