HISTORY

The Annapolis to Newport race is one of the most historic and well-known of the US East Coast blue water races. Linking two seaports dating from our nation's birth, Annapolis and Newport, the race provides a contrast between the country's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Such a challenge is the Chesapeake, that the 1997-1998 Whitbread Round the World Race for the Volvo Trophy added it to the course, as did the Volvo Ocean Race in 2002 and 2006.

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The course heads south for 120 miles from Annapolis to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, then east to the Chesapeake Light and hence northeast to Newport. After navigating the shallows and currents of the Bay, navigators have to decide if they want to sail the rumbline to Newport, go in towards the shore, or head further into the Ocean. In 2017, Stephen Murray Jr.'s Warrior, a modified Volvo 70, broke the old course record by over 2 hours, finishing the race in 40 hours, 14 minutes, 36 seconds. The previous record time for the race was held by Carrera, Joseph Dockery's Farr 60 skippered by Chris Larson, which set the course record in 2001 of 42 hours, 58 minutes, 12 seconds. This broke the prior record set by Chessie Racing, George Collins' Santa Cruz 70, in 1999 at 47 hours and 45 minutes, which in turn had beaten the 12 year old record (53 hours and 31 minutes) of Starlight Express, a ULDB 70.