Bemuda 1-2
Pogo and Open 60 between Newport and Bermuda
Hervé Favre enters the races with the smaller boat
mardi 27 mai 2003 –
The Bemuda 1-2 or simply the 1-2 as it is very often referred to, is the most important shorthanded race in North America. The start takes place in the Mecca of sailing on the East Cost : Newport, RI : historical site of the America’s Cup, finish of the famous O-Star or English Transat, start and finish of Around Alone. The skippers will head on the 7th of June South-East to cross the famous Gulf Stream before finishing in sunny Bermuda, 650 miles away. After one week of visiting the pink sand beaches, the yachts will head back to Newport doublehanded on the 20th of June. Now, if you had not guessed before, you know why the race is called 1-2 : one way solo, return doublehanded !
This biennal regatta is in existence since 1977 and has the same course as its bigger sister the Newport-Bermuda race which is a fully crewed race. In general and if the Azores-Bermuda high is in place, the way to Bermuda is mostly upwind and the return is downwind.
Yachts will be classified in 4 different classes in accordance with PHRF rating. All boats between 28 and 60 feet are allowed to race. A lot of famous Around Alone skippers have done the 1-2 such as Brad Van Liew, Derek Haltfield, Pierre Mouligné and of course the Bermuda local sailor Alan Paris. This year will even see Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal take part, just one month after he has finished Around Alone in second place behind Brad Van Liew. However, most of the participants are pure Corinthians and the atmosphere is closer to a Mini-Transat than the Route du Rhum.
• THE COURSE IN DETAILS :
The course is very tactical and depending on the conditions any boat, from the biggest to the smallest can pretend to win her class.

There are three main areas with a distinct strategy :
1. From Newport to the Gulf Stream, the yachts sail in rather cold water and there is often fog. Everyboday tries to positin itself for the crossing of the Stream. On the Northern side of the Stream are some warm eddies which turn clockwise. It is therefore important to be on the west side of the eddy. The speed in the eddy can reach three knots and can quickly create big differences between boats. Skippers who want to win will have checked weeks before the evolution of the Stream and the locations of its eddies.
2. The Crossing of the Gulf Stream happens usually in a west to east direction by triying to cut it as short as possible but there is no fixed rule. Because of the important water difference between the Stream and the northerly waters, peculiar weather phenomenoms happen such as strong lightning storms. It is at this time that you realise that the temperatur sensor on the depth instrument is not only useful to check the water temperature before going for a bath...
The sea in the Stream is rough because of the interaction of currrent (up to 4 knots) and the wind.
3. Before the final sprint to Bermuda, there are some more eddies to be careful of . These eddies are cold eddies and the current runs counterclockwise. Once out of those last eddies, there is usually some nice sailing in warm waters until the finish in Bermuda (water temperature of 75°F against a mere 50°F in Newport.
• Hervé Favre’s race aboard a Pogo 650
Hervé’s preparation disturbed by a lightning strike. His POGO was hit 2 weeks ago by a lightning strike, which destroyed all
her electronics, including the autopilot. Hervé had planned to sail solo to
Newport to get some miles single-handed under the belt but without this
essential piece of equipment, it is impossible. And of course there are no
parts available in Bermuda... Hervé will therefore sail with Kevin
Broughton, a regular crew on the Wednesday night series and the BOCA races.
This will be his maiden offshore crossing and he is quite looking forward to
it. The electronics will be replaced in Newport the week before the start.
The entry list is now closed and there are more than 30 boats registered.
The biggest is an Open 60 and the smallest ..... Yes , this is Hervé’s POGO.
However the PHRF rating attributed to the yacht is awful and very low and
will be very difficult to save against the others. The rating of 102 makes
the yacht look like it is 40 foot long !!!
The float of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, representing Hervé’s boat, won
the first price of their category this monday during the parade. The whole
family (including Hervé’s sister and her daughter who are visiting them)
went to help glue the dry flowers on the float during the week-end.The
parade was fantastic despite the torrential rains.
Hervé and Kevin will set sail Tuesday night, after checking the weather
forecasts with the local weatherman, filling the boat of food and clearing
customs. Their estimated time arrival in Newport is Sunday 1st of June.
For pictures and more details on the Bermuda 1-2, visit Hervé’s website :
http://www.mini-transat.net.