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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780939511174
ISBN number: 0939511177
Label: Mystic Seaport Museum
Manufacturer: Mystic Seaport Museum
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 208
Printing Date: June 01, 2006
Publishing house: Mystic Seaport Museum
Sale Popularity Level: 849831
Studio: Mystic Seaport Museum
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Brief Book Summary:
In a lavishly illustrated book, John Rousmaniere tells the story of the remarkable sailors, the great boats, the tactics, the Gulf Stream ordeal, and the lure of Bermuda that make this the world's classic ocean race. A joint publication of Mystic Seaport and the Cruising Club of America, A Berth to Bermuda explains that addiction, bringing to life the vivid personalities that make the Newport-Bermuda race what it is today.
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Rated by buyers -
John Rousmanier has sailed in 14 Bermuda Races, he recently reported. He is also a well-known writer of sailing non-fiction. His account of the 1979 Fastnet disaster, for example, is the best discusion of what happened and why. This is a history of the Bermuda Race, which takes place in even-numbered years, from the inception in 1906. At that time, it was intended to make the point that small boats could go to sea with amateur crews in safety. The point has long since been proven. It is the highlight of the east coast sailing scene every other year and a "berth to Bermuda' is a sought after spot. People boast about having made a Bermuda Race the rest of their lives, no matter how they finished in the race.
It has also made the point that handicap rules have finally been perfected to the point that all boats, new or not, custom designed or not, can compete in the same event. In 1966, the Bermuda Race was won by a Cal 40, a new, relatively cheap, production fiberglass sailboat. This caused severe reverberations among the east coast yachting elite. There was even a proposal to buy up all the Cal 40s and burn them. After that, and with the appearance of more fiberglass boats, the race became more of an everyman's event. The last two Bermuda Races have been won by, you guessed it, a 40-year-old Cal 40. The story is well told and I recommend it.
Rated by buyers -
This year, 2006, marked the centennial of the classic Bermuda Race. When it was very first sailed in 1906 from New York City, the Bermuda Race made the sea a playground by creating a new sport--ocean racing by amateur sailors in normal boats. Over the past 100 years, some 4,500 boats and 46,000 men and women have raced to Bermuda, most of them with little real hope of winning.
We were there at the start of the Centennial Race on race committee duty, with a record number of entries sent off to sea like clockwork in ever more impressive classes. It was a beautiful dance to watch. John Rousmaniere - yachting historian, writer, accomplished sailor, and true gentleman - was also at the starting line this year as in many years past. We could not think of anyone better to be telling the story of this classic race from Newport, a legendary starting line, to Bermuda, a speck of an onion patch on the ocean.
Sponsored by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the race now is so competitive and compelling that all heads turn in the direction of its mere mention, so challenging that sailors ask themselves why they are doing it again, and so addictive that they keep coming back. Held every other year (alternating with the Marion to Bermuda Race which is for `cruising sailboats'), and no longer a contest entirely for 'normal boats' given some of the high end entries, it is the race to take part in. Jim Mertz of American Yacht Club held the record for most number of Bermuda races sailed at 30 - his last being in 2004.
In this lavish book replete with historical facts and photos, John Rousmaniere tells the story of the remarkable sailors, the great boats, the tactics, the Gulf Stream ordeal, and the lure of Bermuda that make this the world's classic ocean race. Did you know that the very first Bermuda race went from Brooklyn to Bermuda? Do you know what controversies surrounded the very first start? What one addition to the Bermuda Race probably made the biggest difference in its success? It's all there in John's beautifully written, elegantly laid out, and smartly chronicaled tale.
I cannot think of a better holiday or birthday gift for the sailing enthusiast.
Other books by John Rousmaniere include In a Class by Herself (about Bolero) and Fastnet Force 10.
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