Do Day for Marion Bermuda Racers

by Talbot Wilson

Marion MA, June 13, 2019: When the race office at Beverly YC in Marion MA opened Thursday morning 12 of the 41 boats still had to do their final registration check-in and final paperwork. The rush was on.

Skippers also had to pick up their YB tracking transponders, so race officials, friends and families and other race watchers on land and at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, the Bermuda partner in the race, can follow them to Bermuda with the Race Tracking app.

It was Do-Day for all the Marion Bermuda racers, the day they did all the last minute chores they had left to do. And weather was nasty on Sippican Harbor in Marion, too. Yachts were tossing on their moorings and rain showers were preparing crews for the wetness of the Gulf Stream crossing that’s just over the horizon.

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Marion Bermuda Full Moon Rising

Marion MA, June 8, 2019: Sailors preparing for the 2019 Marion Bermuda Race— the first warning for the first start is Friday at 12 noon— have a busy week ahead of them. Many boats will be out doing safety drills and making last minute adjustments, and all will be stowing provisions and loading offshore gear. One important task is to test all satellite phones to make sure contact with the Offshore communications team are linked and locked.

Each yacht must demonstrate that their satellite communication system operates properly by having someone from the yacht’s crew place a satellite phone call to and receive a satellite phone call from the Offshore Communications Team. They will call a designated number posted in the Race News Updates on the web site. The Offshore Communications Team will be available for the Communications Registration daily from 0900 to 1600 now until the end of registration.

Of the 42 boats entered in the two divisions of this year’s race, 14 of them will be sailing as Celestial Navigation entries racing for the Beverly Yacht Club Polaris Trophy and the Navigator’s Trophy. The Marion Bermuda Race is the only offshore race originating in a US port that has a celestial division and awards excellence in steering by the stars.

Ron Wisner, the guru of Marion Bermuda celestial navigators, has posted an excellent article — “Prepping the Celestial Boat for the Marion to Bermuda Race — Including the New AIS Rules”. This is a ‘must read’ article for all celestial entries and everyone else interested in the celestial challenge.

He writes… “Every boat owner has a winter “boat list” of projects and maintenance as the boat is being readied for the next season. However, if the owner is doing the Marion Bermuda race [by celestial navigation], the usual winter’s “boat list” has doubled.”

“The celestial boat has some additional preparations that the other boats do not. Some of this additional preparation stems from the fact that we cannot use our electronic instruments. Other preparations come from the nature and practice of the actual navigation.”

He continues with a discussion of on board networks and AIS which is required in the 2019 race for all entries.

“On today’s modern boat,” Wisner says, “the instruments are part of a network and they talk to each other. The chart-plotter sends GPS data to other instruments on board such as repeaters and radar, including the boat’s position to the VHF, making that information difficult to avoid. In order to prepare for the race, decisions must be made regarding what instruments will remain on and how to avoid seeing information which is not allowed. Ways must be found to cover up the fields with tape or placards on any instruments aboard which display positions or other GPS data.”

“This year will be the first year in which AIS is required. The rules state that every effort is to be made that AIS is continuously broadcasting the boat’s name and MMSI number, however, there is no requirement that the boat receives or monitors AIS."

"The rules additionally require the best efforts to monitor AIS for AIS-SART or similar distress signals at all times. However, this requirement is fulfilled by monitoring of VHF which will receive both mayday distress calls and DSC signals. DSC broadcasts the same information as AIS, that of the vessel name and position, and in the same line-of-sight range of up to 20 nautical miles.”

Other topics in the article focus on Boat Speed: What’s Old is New, the ship’s log the compass, paper charts and the clock… knowing GMT.

Wisner concludes, “We will have a full moon for the start of the race which will be nice for night sailing. For navigators, the full moon will offer an opportunity to take moon sights at night, especially useful if you happen to hit the Gulf Stream at night.”

Special Prizes and Awards Competition for special awards is a unique attraction for the Marion-Bermuda Race. The Notice of Race has all the details.

Go to the website for photos and descriptions of the trophies and the competition for them.

The R&W Rope Rigging Solutions Team Trophy is offered for established Yacht Clubs or Sailing organizations that form a team of three member yachts. The team whose three yachts have the lowest corrected time total will be the winner.

Yachts sailing with a crew of two, a crew of three or four or an all-female crew of any number may compete in the double-handed, short-handed, and all-female competitions respectively. Prizes are the Double-Handed Trophy, the short-handed L. Bryon Kingery, Jr. Memorial Trophy and the Commodore Faith Paulsen Trophy for the ladies.

A “family” yacht racing for the Beverly Family Trophy is one with a crew of five or more with all or all-but-one being members of a single household or a single family may race for the family prize. Persons related to a common grandparent and spouses of these “family”, too.

The Offshore Youth Challenge Trophy encourages youth participation. A "Youth" yacht has at least four (4) youths aboard with at least 66% of the crew qualified as youths. A youth sailor must be 16 years of age or older but not more than 23 years old by June 14, 2019. One or more adults at least 23 years old by June 14, 2019 must be on board.

The Beverly Yacht Club Polaris Trophy is a prize for stargazers. If a yacht has elected to be celestially navigated, she will receive a 3% favorable adjustment to her ORR rating.

About the Marion Bermuda Race
The 2019 race is the 22nd Marion Bermuda Race and the 42nd year for the 645-mile open ocean challenge for cruiser type yachts.

The first Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race in 1977 saw 104 starters cross the line. Over the forty-two years since that first race the race has evolved into a true offshore challenge for cruising yachts, amateur, family and youth sailors. Special prizes abound to emphasis celestial navigation, short handed sailing, family crews and regional competition. The race is handicapped under the ORR rating system to assure the fairest scoring available for ocean racing yachts.

About the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association
The Marion Bermuda Race encourages the development of blue-water sailing skills on seaworthy yachts that can be handled safely offshore with limited crew. The Marion Bermuda Race is a 501(c)(3) organization and among other educational efforts, supports and encourages Youth Sailing programs. The Marion to Bermuda Race is organized and run entirely by hundreds of volunteering members of The Beverly Yacht Club (BYC), The Blue Water Sailing Club (BWSC) and The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) for the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association.

Press Contact
Talbot Wilson
[email protected]
850-217-7138