Looking for a way to start summer off right? Join me June 21st to watch 170-plus boats start a 636-mile race to Bermuda! I’ll be doing commentary from the top deck of the Coastal Queen, and tickets are still available. Even if you heard my race commentary in 2022, veteran Sheila McCurdy says every Bermuda Race is different; “It’s like using the same musical notes with different instruments to create very different riffs each time out.” So come back and join the fun again this year!
I’ll admit right up front: there’s significant commentary competition this time around. For the first time since 1906, the race will start inside Narragansett Bay—right off Fort Adams—and the organizers have signed on some impressive narrators of their own. But onboard the Coastal Queen, we’ll share a guided tour of our beautiful Bay before and after the start, as well as a bird’s eye view from the tallest vessel of all. You can also listen in on the official commentary, while admiring the crowded rocky shoreline from a comfortable seat!
Another perk, while supplies last: your very own copy of the official race program, an impressive collection of stories normally available only to race participants. I contributed a piece about Hound’s history in the Bermuda Race, which was a fun way to use all the details I dug up while doing book research. This handsome 59-footer will be starting her fourteenth Bermuda Race in search of her fourth class victory, and I’ll definitely be cheering extra loud when she approaches the line.
Watching from the Coastal Queen’s top deck is as different from watching on land, at sea level, as a midday watch is from the dark of night: an unmatched view, with no piloting responsibilities. And all of my books will be available, dangerously close to the bar, thanks to friend and very experienced offshore sailor Liz Baylis. You can board in either Newport or Jamestown, so go sign up before tickets sell out—and then come back here and add a comment so I know you’re joining us on June 21.
Can’t wait for the first day of summer!
Buy tickets here
