Large Spectator Crowd Expected for the start of the Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race
Onshore spectators will have a birds’ eye view of the start of the 39th Biennial Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race on Sunday, July 9 2023.
“These yachts are spectacular under sail”, said Scott Sarazen, Vice Commodore of the Boston Yacht Club and co-chair of the MHOR. “If the wind and weather are favorable, we hope as many people as possible will enjoy the sight.” The 70+ yachts will start near Halfway Rock and head west toward the shore, turning south just off Marblehead Neck before turning again at Tinkers Rock to set a course for Halifax, crossing the starting line at 1pm. The best places for onshore viewing will be Chandler Hovey Park and Castle Rock on Marblehead Neck.
The 2023 fleet is impressive with 14 boats over 50 feet, including the 75’ Brooklyn Boat Yard Isobel, the 68’ Mills Space Monkey, the Naval Academy’s Reichel Pugh Kodiak and the 60’ Lyman-Morse Windwalker. There are also five entrants from Marblehead, Chariad from the Boston Yacht Club, Hall Pass and Eos from the Eastern, Fast Company III from the Corinthian and Hafa Adai from the Marblehead Yacht Club. A full list of entrants can be found on the current entries and special competitions page.
The race committee asks that pleasure boaters will be respectful of the starting course and stay behind the floating red marker buoys. There will be approximately 25 Spectator Control Boats, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Marblehead Harbormaster assisted by the Salem Harbormaster as well as volunteers from the yacht clubs patrolling the starting area and each of the turn marks. There will also be two Royal Canadian Navy vessels, HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Moncton to escort the racers to Nova Scotia.
The patrol boats will be flying yellow flags and will be keeping the course open for the MHOR yachts. Kindly avoid crossing the race path and avoid the middle zone altogether. A map of the starting area and turning marks is available on the spectator info page of the Marblehead to Halifax website. Best safe boating practice would be to keep your speed slow and kindly respect the Spectator Control Boats with the yellow flags as well as all authorities such as the USCG, and Harbormasters.
Yachting enthusiasts can follow the race on the race Facebook page or this website. Each competitor will be equipped with a GPS transponder so the progress of each yacht can be tracked on our race tracker or the YB races mobile app.