Beneath sunny skies and a light breeze, the 32-boat fleet in the 2023 Marion Bermuda Race set sail from just off Marion, Massachusetts on Friday, June 16th. While the breeze briefly filled in overnight with a low-pressure system coming up from the southwest, by Saturday morning the midpack of the fleet was averaging about two knots of boat speed. As the fleet approaches the Gulf Stream, the forecast shows the breeze starting to build slightly, but for now, models show that this race will be a true test of patience and skill.
The fleet can be tracked using Yellow Brick Tracking at https://yb.tl/MBR23 or through the YB Tracker App.
As of Saturday midday, the King Marine Reichel-Pugh 66 Boudicca, skippered by Richard Moody from Jamestown, Rhode Island, held a commanding lead for line honors for both the fleet and the performance class. Lyric, an X-Yachts X 49 skippered by Jay Hansen, also from Jamestown, sits in second — but approximately 97 miles off of the leader. The US Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Team's Navy 44, Defiance, is just a few miles behind. The Navy boat is skippered by Junior/Midshipman Phillip Pacheco, and is in race class B.
One boat, Tiara, a Cape Dory 36, retired after the start due to a broken furler. No injuries were reported on board.
A full NOR, as well as further information about the race and its surrounding events, is on the race website www.marionbermuda.com.
Scratch sheets by class with skipper names are available here: https://marionbermuda.com/mb/scoring/pcsreportpdf.php
More photos of the start are available at http://www.spectrumphotofg.com/
