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Carina Goes for More Honors

June 12, 2014

By John Rousmaniere

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June 11, 2014 – Today’s Newport Bermuda Race news:

Frank bohlen's gulf stream analysis  , crew lists    , special prizes   , sign up for official offshore emails, rives potts prepares carina for her 21st bermuda race.

By Talbot Wilson

Carina , the sturdy black-hulled McCurdy & Rhodes 48 foot sloop now owned by Rives Potts of Westbrook CT, has sailed the classic Newport Bermuda Race 20 times, more than any other boat. Under her original owner, Richard Nye she won the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy in 1970. Potts won the trophy with Carina in 2010 and 2012. Now he is poised for a triple. If he makes it, he will break or tie some records along the way.

Here are the stats as composed by race historian John Rousmaniere:

Most victories for a skipper:  3 (tie) — John Alden in three Malabars (1923, 1926, 1932), and Carleton Mitchell in Finisterre (1956, 1958, 1960);   2 (tie) — Robert N. Bavier Sr.,  Memory (1924) and Edlu (1934); Richard S. Nye, Carina (1952, 1970); Peter Rebovich, Sinn Fein (St. David’s Lighthouse Division 2006, 2008); Rives Potts, Carina (St. David’s Lighthouse Division, 2010, 2012)

Most victories for a boat:  4 —Carina (1970, 1982 and St. David’s Lighthouse Division, 2010, 2012); 3 —Finisterre (1956, 1958, 1960);   2 (tie) —Baruna (1938, 1948) and Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich (2006, 2008)

Most successive victories in the same boat:  3 —Finisterre (1956, 1958, 1960), 2—Sinn Fein (2006, 2008), Carina (2010, 2012)

If Potts and the Carina crew win, Potts will move into a tie for the most victories by a skipper, Carina will set a record for the most victories by a boat, and Potts, Carina and crew will tie with Carleton Mitchell’s Finisterre with three successive victories.

Like the Triple Crown of horse racing fame the odds are against Carina. Potts mused, “I think the odds are about 1:165 against us... just like everyone else. Everyone has the same weather and the same Gulf Stream info and just about everyone entered in the race is a good sailor. I believe it comes down to whoever makes the right (or lucky) decisions a few times during the race.”

“Carina is a mid-sized boat in this race.” Potts added, “And hopefully she will benefit if we see average conditions. If the wind blows harder early on and then lessens later, the big boats will do well. If the winds are lighter early on then freshen on Tuesday and Wednesday, the smaller boats will be smiling. We are hoping for fairly steady conditions that will not favor either end of the scratch sheet.”

Potts hasn’t done anything to change Carina from her winning form. “We’ve just checked and fixed things to avoid unnecessary breakdowns. Mistakes cost time,” he emphasized, “and in this competitive fleet, one mistake or one gear failure can cost you several places.” Potts hasn’t adjusted his sail inventory for 2014, “just replaced or repaired damaged and worn out sails.”

When asked why he thinks Carina has done so well in Newport Bermuda racing whether its design, preparation, crew work, sails or all of these, Potts replied,  “All these factors figure into any good finish. I do believe that Carina's design likes the ocean conditions.... she tracks well, is comfortable for the crew, and seems to like all [wind and wave] conditions. The crew is really terrific.... quite a few fathers and sons... all "A" types who like to compete. They stay focused on the mission. And we have a good time.”

In 2012 Potts’ Carina was also on the winning Onion Patch Team getting one hand on the Onion Patch Trophy for the series. He would still like to finish as the top individual boat in the series and put both hands on the Henry B. duPont Trophy. Potts noted, however, “It is tough to be the top individual boat in a series like the Onion Patch series. You have to do well in all conditions... inshore and offshore, windward-leeward and around government marks and laid buoys in Bermuda.”

Potts commented on the new Navigators Division of the Onion Patch Series, with round the cans racing in the New York Yacht Club’s 160 th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta in Bermuda.

“I love it!” he exclaimed. “I have been lobbying for a good while to offer more family friendly courses. Older heavier boats like Carina, and many of the older Swans and the like, plus the classics, do not enjoy the rigors of thrashing around a WL course day in and day out. It beats up the boats and the crews. Good for many, but not good for all... so alternative navigator courses will get more people racing and make sailing more fun... seems like a pretty good outcome.”

Potts concluded by saying, “The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee did a great job in pairing down many of the requirements for the race this year. They communicated with the competitors very well throughout. I believe that this year was the most user-friendly that I can remember.

"My hat is off to all of the dedicated volunteers who made this work for everyone. It is not easy.”

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Review of Carina

Basic specs..

The boat equipped with a yawl rig. A yawl rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a yawl allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.

Unknown keel type

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 3.10 - 3.20 meter (10.17 - 10.47 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard engine

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Carina is 1.50, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Carina is about 294 kg/cm, alternatively 1649 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 294 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1649 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio) Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind: - Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15 - Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20 - Racers have ratios above 20 - High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24 Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 15.85

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 59m 2 (635 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Carina it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

Carina takes Newport Bermuda Race. How a penalty helped secure the win

The St. David’s Lighthouse Division of the 53rd Newport Bermuda Race has been won by Carina. Finishing with a corrected time of two days and 16 hours and 12 minutes, Carina sailed past the division’s namesake landmark just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday, securing its place in the history books as the most-winning yacht in the race's 118-year history since its founding in 1906. A total of 96 boats started in the St. David's division.

This is the fourth Newport Bermuda Race win for Carina, following victories in 1970, 2010 and 2012 – three of which have been under the ownership of Rives Potts.

“It means a great deal, I’m just so proud of the crew,” said Potts, who met the boat and its sailors as they docked at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC). “A lot of [the crew] are on the boat for the very first time, and they all did well.” 

Carina’s skipper W. Barrett Holby, Jr. added, “from five minutes before the start we just raced hard. We realized we were doing well, but we didn’t think about that, we just kept racing.” Holby sang the praises of his crew saying, “everybody pulled their own – we had great food, great navigation, great sailors, and great helmsmen. Everything came together.”

Carina was able to lead its class out of Narragansett Bay early but, like all competing vessels, was impacted by weather conditions near the top of the course. Holby stated that at times it felt like the boat had a personal rain cloud and still wind following the boat.

In the Gibbs Hill division, Summer Storm 52 has become the Gibbs Hill Division Champion. That boat’s experienced crew included owner and skipper Andy Berdon and navigator Chris “Lew” Lewis, who also navigated the division’s winning boat in the last Newport Bermuda Race in 2022.

“It was champagne sailing most of the way for us,” said Berdon. “The hardest part for us was getting out of Newport because a series of fronts caused light and variable winds. We were able to outside Newport and keep up speed the whole way to get into the ocean breeze.”

Berdon credits boat captain Alec Snyder with the boat preparation as well. The boat was inside a shed in Germany in February, and it is now sitting on top of the podium in Bermuda. There were 16 boats in Gibbs Hill, a division that has no limits on professional crew. 

Scores of boats completed the race late Monday and early Tuesday, including some closely followed teams. Hound crossed the finish line Monday night with a corrected time of two days and 16 hours and 25 minutes. This includes a 30-minute penalty for crossing the starting line early - which means as the delta between Carina and Hound is 9 minutes, the penalty cost Hound the overall win.  

In the Finisterre division,  Northeast Wind  won with a corrected time of 2 days 15 hours and 53 minutes. Skipper  Frank Sobchak , along with his Hinckley 48 sloop and crew, were thrilled upon arriving in Bermuda to learn of their victory.

In the doublehanded division, the inspirational Phil Haydon and his Alexander Kraebel sailed into the top spot on board their Sunfast 3300 Fearless. Haydon founded Sail for Epilepsy and uses his story and journey to educate and inspire. He says they were not following the tracker at all during the race, so they are so happy and emotional to learn about their win upon arriving in Bermuda.

 “We had a strategy we were going to execute, and we did, and it paid off. We have been working for over a year training, and all the hard work paid off.” Haydon dedicates the win to his virtual shipmates, those supporters he hopes to inspire to take “one more step” and “Fear. Less.”

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