The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee has named West Marine as an official supplier for the 47th Newport Bermuda Race. Said Race Chairman Bjorn Johnson, “West Marine has long been a friend to sailors as a supplier of boating equipment and as a sponsor of safety at sea seminars, including the one before our race. Now we are very pleased to welcome West Marine as a sponsor of the Newport Bermuda Race and name West our official supplier.”
Newport Bermuda Race
On May 28, West Marine opens its new Newport Flagship West Marine store at 379 West Main Road in Middletown, RI. Almost three times larger than West Marine’s former store on Connell Highway, the new store has a significantly larger inventory and a full-service rigging shop. The store is also home to two other West Marine operations, Port Supply and Professional Captain’s Services.
The new store will provide free transportation for Newport Bermuda Race sailors between the Newport waterfront and the store during the week before the race start on June 18.
“West Marine is pleased to have this relationship with the historic Newport Bermuda Race,” said Chuck Hawley, West Marine’s Vice President for Product Information. “As the oldest ocean race and also one of the most challenging, with its 635-mile course from Newport across the Gulf Stream to Bermuda, the race takes seamanship, safety, and gear
very seriously, just as we do at West Marine.”
Founded in 1906, the Newport Bermuda Race is organized by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. For more information, visit -BermudaRace.com.
West Marine is the largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, with more than 330 company-operated stores in 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company offers approximately 50,000 products and the convenience of exchanging catalog and Internet purchases at stores.
