The Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race is set to begin at 12:55 p.m. this Sunday, July 6, off Marblehead, marking the 40th biennial running of this premiere ocean racing event. This coveted town tradition is a 361-nautical mile offshore course and is not only a World Sailing category 2 event but is also considered to be one of the pre-eminent ocean races of the North Atlantic.
“This is a bucket list race for many competitive sailors, but it also is known as a true navigators’ race,” said vice commodore of the Boston Yacht Club Kate Ferris Richardson, noting that the race offers the challenge of the strong tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy, passing the notorious Cape Sable Island and anticipating the fog and cold in the Gulf of Maine and beyond.
“The race offers all the opportunity, variables and challenges that are the hallmark of any great offshore ocean race,” she added.
COURTESY PHOTOS / BRUCE DURKEE
The competition is rooted in history and tradition dating back to earlier centuries when Nova Scotia and the ‘Boston States’ competed and collaborated in the fishing and maritime trades.
The enthusiasm for events like the International Schooner Races of the 1930s, an intense competition between schooners from Gloucester and Nova Scotia had long been admired by yachtsmen who thrived on competition. It was not until 1939 that the Boston Yacht Club of Marblehead and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron of Halifax formalized the event which has been running ever since.
“We have 50 boats participating with youth teams coming from Oakcliff Sailing Center in Rye, New York, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and a team from the New Bedford Community Sailing Youth Offshore organization,” Richardson said. Additionally, the race will feature the return of a classic, the L. Francis Herreshoff designed Ticonderoga, which first won the event in 1946.
“It is going to be a fantastic race in part because all of our visiting sailors will be here prior to the start on Sunday. They will be able to take part in our arts festival and 4th of July traditions. The combination will be a fantastic experience for sailors and the energy in town is always so great,” Richardson added.
There are 13 Canadian entries including Will Apold from Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia, who first competed in the race in 1995 on LadyHawke, a C&C 37. Apold has the distinction of being the only Canadian to ever win the line honors race, which he did in 2011 on Valkyrie, a 78-foot Swan.
This year, Apold, age 77, will be competing on Dragon Fire, a 33-foot J99.
As a Canadian, Apold notes that, “I like the fact that you are racing home. That makes it quite special with family and friends waiting for us. You don’t get that support when you are racing from one unfamiliar port to another” he said. In fact, this year he is taking the family with him, as four of the five crew on Dragon Fire will be Apolds. Will, his daughter Christine, his son Robb, who is coming out of retirement to do the race, and his grandson Liam.
A competitive newcomer to this year’s Marblehead to Halifax race is Boudicca, owned by veteran sailor Rich Moody. In last year’s Newport to Bermuda race Boudicca won its division with a corrected time of two days, 17 minutes and one second. The boat previously won the 2023 Marion Bermuda Race, setting a record for the 705-mile course.
Returning to this year’s Marblehead to Halifax race is Jesse Terry’s Abigail, a 1956 wood 39-foot ketch Abigail designed by John Alden. This classic yacht participated in the Marblehead to Halifax Race in 2023 but had a hard time with the light, upwind weather. Terry is hoping for better, more off-wind conditions, for this year’s race and his 12-ton boat.
“We had such a great experience in Marblehead last time, it’s such a delightful and historic yachting center and it was great to enjoy the hospitality of Halifax at the other end,” he said. “This is the type of racing that Abigail should be doing, it’s what she was built for.”
Some 68 years later, she is clearly still game for the challenge. Be sure and root for the hometown skippers and their teams which will include, among others, Brian Barmmer on the J109 Saorsa; (Boston Yacht Club) Philip Helmes and crew on the J133 Fast Company (Corinthian Yacht Club); Eliot Shanabrook on the J-109 Hafa Adai (Marblehead Yacht Club); and John Thompson’s Frers 36 Hall Pass (Eastern Yacht Club).
The competitors start a bit offshore but will sail directly towards shore where they can be viewed just off Chandler Hovey Park rounding the first mark before heading to Canada.
For more information about the start of the race and all the onshore activities go to marbleheadtohalifax.com.
Vicki Staveacre, of Marblehead, contributed to this report.
