Navigator’s Log #1
June 15, 2026
In just a few days, I will have the incredible honor of taking my place at the navigation station aboard Running Tide as we set out from Newport bound for Bermuda.
I've been fortunate enough to sail with some outstanding programs over the years and to race aboard some truly remarkable boats. Yet this opportunity feels different.
The Newport to Bermuda Race is one of offshore sailing's great traditions. First run in 1906, it is the oldest regularly scheduled ocean race in the world. For 120 years, sailors have gathered in Newport, looked over the horizon toward Bermuda, and accepted the same challenge: approximately 636 miles of changing weather, the unpredictability of the Gulf Stream, sleep deprivation, teamwork, and the constant requirement to make good decisions when conditions are rarely perfect.
Generations of navigators have sat at chart tables wrestling with the same questions we ask today: Do we go east or west? Where do we cross the Stream? Do we sail the shortest distance or chase pressure? Technology has changed, but the fundamental challenge remains the same. The ocean still gets the final vote.
What makes this race especially meaningful is the boat beneath our feet.
Running Tide is not simply another entry on the starting line. She carries with her a history that few racing yachts can claim. Designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built during an era when offshore boats were expected to be both beautiful and capable, she has spent decades proving exactly that. She has competed in countless races, won hundreds of trophies, and has earned a reputation as one of the truly iconic yachts of the Chesapeake.
Most notably, Running Tide etched her name into offshore racing history in 1976 when she won the Newport to Bermuda Race overall. Fifty years later, we have the privilege of bringing her back to Newport and pointing her bow toward Bermuda once again.
Think about that for a moment.
Fifty years ago, another crew stood on this same deck (Sort of) making preparations. Another navigator studied weather charts and Gulf Stream analyses and wanted to get back to his wife as fast as possible. Another group of sailors trusted one another enough to head offshore together. They created stories that are still told today.
Now it is our turn.
We are not just racing to Bermuda. We are serving, for a brief moment in time, as custodians of this boat's legacy. Our responsibility is to sail her well, take care of one another, make smart decisions, and honor those who came before us by adding another worthy chapter to her remarkable story.
I am humbled by the trust placed in me to navigate this extraordinary boat and crew through one of offshore sailing's greatest races. It is a responsibility I do not take lightly and an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Over the coming days, I'll be sharing additional Navigator's Log entries as we prepare for the start, track the evolving weather, make the inevitable routing decisions, and eventually head offshore toward Bermuda. Once the race begins, I'll do my best to continue posting updates and insights from this adventure whenever conditions allow.
Until then, the charts are spread out, the PC's are crunching numbers and optimal routes, forecasts are downloading, and the countdown to Newport is officially underway.
Fair winds.
— Mike Jones, Navigator, Running Tide
Newport to Bermuda Race 2026