Annapolis to Newport Ocean Race

Organized by the Annapolis Yacht Club, 2023 will be the 39th running of the 475 mile biennial Annapolis-Newport Race. However, the race has existed in various forms back to 1871, 1875, and 1879 when it went from Sandy Hook to Cape May with two to five entries each race. After a big time gap, it was raced again in 1927-33 and 1939 from New London, CT to Gibson Island, MD. In 1941, the race was from New London to Hampton, VA, and during the same year, a Newport-Annapolis race was promoted, but World War II intervened. The Annapolis-Newport race was officially established in 1947 to be on a continuing basis in alternate years with the Newport-Bermuda Race. Attached is a 1947 Baltimore Sun article on the race. Until the mid-50s, it was the Newport-Annapolis race, but after much complaining by the competitors about slow trips up the Chesapeake after a long ocean race, the course was reversed in 1957.