newport to bermuda race

 Being a newcomer in Bermuda, I never knew that there is a race happening every 2 years that starts in Rhode Island and ends in Bermuda.  Apparently, I have a lot more to learn about the traditions of Bermuda.  Luckily, I came at the year that the Newport to Bermuda race is happening. 

I found out about the race through a colleague.  He likes sailing so he was up to date on sailing events in Bermuda.  Living in a small island with limited activities to choose from, G and I went to the yacht club to see what he was talking about.  After fighting our way through a throng of spectators and sailors, we found ourselves at a dock filled with perhaps million dollar sail yachts that evidently traversed the treacherous waters of the Atlantic.  Most of the sailboats just reached the port so a lot of the sailors are in the midst of tidying up their boats, doing their laundry or just enjoying relaxing under the Bermuda sun. 

I have never been close to a sailboat in my entire life and I was amazed at how huge and luxurious they are.  After seeing the entire fleet, I can’t help but wish I could set my foot on one sailboat just to see how it is inside.  But being with a guy isn’t really the best way to try to do that. 

That same day after work, I asked some of my girl friends to go back to the yacht club with me.  My intention is just to show them what I saw earlier in the day and take some pictures of the yachts as well.  But walking with a group of girls on a dock full of men sailors definitely worked its wonders and we eventually found ourselves aboard some of the nicest yachts in the race. 

Above is the first yacht we got the privilege of seeing.  I thought it was already big but they said their yacht is just mid-sized and not as luxurious as the other big yachts docked at the other end.  They actually told us to try to get ourselves into one of the bigger yachts so they could see them too. 

After our first tour and some tidbits about sailing, we walked on and another group of sailors asked us to hop on their boat.  This one was a lot bigger, neater and more luxurious.  It was called “Mischievous”, which was sailed by 16 men from Newport to Bermuda.  I was impressed!  16 is a lot of manpower!

This is a picture of the interior of the 2nd yacht.  It looks really sleek but I don’t think my pictures gave it any justice.  Anyway, following are the pictures we took from outside the boat.

The guy in blue, Mark, is the owner of the kickass boat. 

Wishing it is my boat…

These sailors, including Mark and the guys from the 1st boat are so nice enough to accommodate us and give us a primer on sailing.  We actually learned that sailing is more complicated than it looks.  There are a lot of things to remember including the color of ropes.  This is Evan’s cheat sheet on their yacht:

Honestly, I don’t remember a thing about sailing because I know from the start that I’m too lazy for it.  But these sailors are so nice, down to earth and so unselfish for making people ignorant of sailing (like me) tour their boats and educate us. 

And yeah, not only girls are allowed to tour their boats, kids and their dads too.