The battle to be the first monohull to Bermuda was hotly contested with four Doyle powered yachts. Callisto, Warrior Won, Wizard and Hooligan battling it out at the front of the fleet since departing Newport, RI on Friday morning.
The first classes started in a 22-knot southwesterly in a ripping ebb tide, followed by a brief influx of dense fog, a period of sunshine, and then a line of soaking thunderstorms that halted the starting procedure. By the time the last three classes got underway they could barely get across the starting line. Fortunately, the ebb tide out of Narragansett Bay was still pushing the fleet toward Bermuda.
After nearly three days of intense racing it was Christopher Sheehan’s Pac52 Warrior Won, with Doyle Sails expert Stu Bannatyne onboard, who were the first monohull to reach Bermuda in a corrected elapsed time of 2d 9h 20m 37s, finishing 45 minutes ahead of rival Pac52 Callisto, with an elapsed time of 2d 10h 25m 7s. Third and fourth across the line was Doyle powered yachts Wizard and Hooligan.
Jim and Kate Murray’s pro-am crew onboard Callisto combines a small number of world-class pros including Doyle Sails expert Justin Ferris alongside Ian Moore and Jared Henderson. The core of the veteran amateurs are from the Great Lakes, having competed in the 2021 Transpac and the 2022 Caribbean 600, this was their first Newport to Bermuda race.
RP69 Wizard chartered by Fred Detwiler & Bruce Aikens, finished a close third place behind Callisto. “This is my eighth Bermuda Race, but it will be special this year because I’m sailing with my son, Griffin,” said 54-year-old Latimer Spinney (Newport, R.I.), who’s racing on the R/P 69 Wizard, aboard which there are four sets of fathers and sons racing.
In fourth place was TP52 Hooligan, with Brad Boston from Doyle Sails Ontario onboard.
Our condolences are with the family of Capitan Colin Golder who lost his life during this years race.
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // As sailors, our obsession with sailing connects us to the water. The water is our playground, a sanctuary where we seek enjoyment, a competitive playing field where we race as comrades; it’s sometimes our home and always a place that unlocks our sense of adventure wherever that adventure might take us.
Our obsession with sailing takes us to every corner of the world and onboard every yacht. We become part of teams, share in the adventures of friends and families, sharing our knowledge and experience with those who have the same passion for sailing as we do. Sailing is in our DNA, where the water unlocks our sense of adventure. We are the custodians of a legacy that has been supporting sailors for close to four decades, and while our world changes around us, our commitment to sailors who seek the same enjoyment and adventure as we do hasn’t.
From our sailors to yours. We are your experts in sailing. Your adventure starts with Doyle. By sailors, for sailors.