As the COVID-19 pandemic spawns a progressively wider impact on the world at large, it is cutting a similarly wide swath through sailing events worldwide. A sampling of canceled events includes the 2020 St. Thomas International Regatta, the 2020 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, the 2020 BVI Spring Regatta, the 2020 Antigua Bermuda Race, the British Cheddar Ales Chase, the 2020 Maine Boatbuilders Show, the 2020 Palm Beach International Boat Show (rescheduled), the RORC Easter Challenge, the 2020 Newport to Ensenada Race, the 2020 OSTAR/TWOSTAR Transatlantic Race, and the 2020 Newport Bermuda Race in addition to many more.
The three final legs of the 2019-20 Clipper Round the World Race, which began in September 2019, have been postponed for 10 months. The boats and crews, originally scheduled to depart the Philippines on March 21 bound for Seattle, were quarantined at Subic Bay on March 15.
Even with these unpleasant developments for ocean racers, there is hopeful news for the future: The organizers of the 2021-22 Ocean Race have announced that race will go forward in October 2021, with racers departing from Alicante, Spain, in October 2021, visiting 10 international cities and finishing in Genoa, Italy, in the summer of 2022.
