Bermuda’s sailing regattas and races are seeing high registration spikes, assigned to the hullaballoo surrounding America’s Cup, said Bermuda Tourism Authority today.

The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club reported thirty-four registrations for the Annapolis Bermuda Race this June, with over 2 months still left in the registration procedure. This is an 89% increase over registrations compared to the most recent race in the year 2014.
To date the Newport Bermuda Race 2016, the fiftieth since Royal Bermuda Yacht Club co-arranged the classic in the year 1906, presently has 179 applications to enter. Out of those, hundred and sixty have been accepted, while the rest are working to cope with the tough qualifications. Organizers expect to reach the new two-hunderd boat limit. This would be an increase of twenty-two percent over the year 2014.  The last date for online entry is 15th May.

In both these cases, the organizers believe they are looking a spike in interest as Bermuda is home to the America’s Cup in the year 2017, said the BTA. RHADC vice commodore Neil Redburn said that they are arranging the sailors of the Annapolis Bermuda Race for the first time and they are overjoyed to see this incredible level of interest. He added that there was concern regarding the sustainability of the race given the relatively low number of entries in the year 2014, but the excitement across the America’s Cup has clearly solved that issue.