Nick Nicholson, Editor-at-Large of Practical Sailor, a member of the Volvo Ocean Race Rule Management Group and an international racing navigator, has been selected to chair the next (46th) Newport to Bermuda Race, starting from Newport on June 20, 2008.

Nicholson served as vice-chairman for the record-breaking centennial race that saw 264 yachts at the start in Newport last month.

His appointment has been announced by Commodore Ned Rowland of the Cruising Club of America and Commodore Andrew Cox of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. The two clubs have been co-organisers of the race since 1926.

In accepting the task of following in the wake of the centennial event, Nicholson knows he has his hands full to keep the numbers up and maintain a quality fleet.

?The greatness of the Newport-Bermuda Race stems not from the glamour maxi boats that spend a fortune in order to be first over the line, but from the programmes of Cal 40s, JBoats, Swans, Beneteau, and other small boats which form the majority of the fleet. They work hard at preparing their boats and sail the best they can, all knowing they have a shot at being the real winners,? Nicholson commented.

?We will work hard to grow the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, allowing professional racing programmes to participate in their own division, with its own highly-respected trophy. This will protect and encourage the amateur St. David?s Lighthouse Division, the cruiser/racer group that is the base of the Newport-Bermuda fleet.

?We also plan to develop the Cruiser Division, which grew from 27 boats in 2004 to 58 boats in 2006. These are the people that over time may choose to move into the Lighthouse divisions as their skills and interest in offshore racing develop.

?The Cruiser Division is also a link with the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race, and as such, it encourages fast, safe passage making in seaworthy cruiser-type yachts. The joint Ocean Cruising Yacht Trophy offered by Sail Magazine will go a long way to attracting like-minded entries in both races.

?It is clear that the interest in double-handed racing is growing, and a large percentage of this is the best kind of double-handed racing: two good sailing friends, or two members of a family, whether it is a husband/wife, father/daughter, mother/son. We would not want to discourage more aggressive double-handed racing, but we will keep an eye on the growth of this division, for at some time even it may need further sub-division if it continues to grow.?

RBYC commodore Fox said he too wanted to focus on those core divisions and in addition saw an opportunity to bring in the cutting edge boats, racing for a significant trophy.

?We have an obligation to the amateur sailor,? Cox explained, ?but we also want to provide a venue for growth and development of offshore sailing skill and technology at the same time.

?We want to include the entire offshore community in the best possible ways for both the sailors and for the Bermuda race, too.?

The 2006 race saw the introduction of fleet-wide electronic position reporting through iBoat Tracking And the 2008 edition will continue to bring the race to the public at home with electronic reporting and race tracking via the internet.

With 264 entries, the recent race broke the old record by 82 boats. Organisers have attributed that not only to the lure of the centennial celebration, but also to the hard work of the race chairman Bill Barton and the rest of the race organising committee including the Participation Committee led by Dr. Richard Shulman.

The committee orchestrated an entry drive at the personal, friends and family level, contacted potential participants through mail and e-mail campaigns, and had a presence at major national and international regattas for the two years between races. That work, they say, will continue in order to attract the type of fleet that organisers have in mind for 2008.