Newport Bermuda Race
Newport Bermuda Race takes place Mid-Jun 2028 (biennial, even years; the 2026 edition started Jun 19) in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The dress code is New England summer casual with a light jacket for the breezy coastal points. Yacht club functions in Newport and at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club are smart-casual, and a blazer is never wrong. Free to attend; budget up to 2000 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
635 nautical miles from Newport across the Gulf Stream to Bermuda, first sailed in 1906 and run every two years since. Reading the Stream's meanders and eddies is the defining tactical challenge and the reason navigators love it. It is a rite of passage for American offshore sailors, finishing off St David's Head with prize-giving at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.
- When
- Mid-Jun 2028 (biennial, even years; the 2026 edition started Jun 19)
- Where
- Newport, Rhode Island, USA
- Dress code
- New England summer casual with a light jacket for the breezy coastal points. Yacht club functions in Newport and at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club are smart-casual, and a blazer is never wrong.
- Cost
- Free to attend; budget up to 2000 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
- Weather
- 18 - 24C at the Newport start, often sunny with a sea breeze; the Gulf Stream crossing offshore can be hot, squally and rough
- When to book
- Newport rooms for race weekend book 6+ months out; entries open roughly a year ahead and crew must meet safety and qualifying-mile requirements well in advance
- Getting there
- PVD (Providence), 45 min to Newport; BOS is 90 min; BDA (Bermuda) for the finish
- Where to stay
- Castle Hill Inn (grand, overlooking the start area on Ocean Drive), The Chanler at Cliff Walk (boutique luxury above Easton's Beach), Gurney's Newport Resort & Marina (on Goat Island, walkable to the harbour)
- Official site
- https://bermudarace.com
How to attend
The start off Newport is free to watch from Fort Adams State Park, Brenton Point, Castle Hill and the Ocean Drive shoreline. To race you need a qualifying offshore yacht, a crew meeting the race's safety and experience requirements and an accepted entry through the organising committee of the Cruising Club of America, New York Yacht Club and Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Crew berths turn up on the race's crew listings and through offshore clubs in the winter before. Bermuda's finish-week social programme is largely club-based rather than public.
The start off Newport is free to watch from Fort Adams and the Ocean Drive shoreline; the organising clubs accept boat entries only and sell no spectator ticket.
Insider tip
Castle Hill Inn's lawn sits right by the start sequence - book a table well ahead, or walk out to Brenton Point State Park for essentially the same view for nothing.
Get inside Newport Bermuda Race
Booking matters here: newport rooms for race weekend book 6+ months out; entries open roughly a year ahead and crew must meet safety and qualifying-mile requirements well in advance. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.